Map of United States | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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Background: The United States became the world's first modern democracy after its break with Great Britain (1776) and the adoption of a constitution (1789). During the 19th century many new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions. The two major traumatic experiences in the nation's history were the Civil War (1861-65) and the Great Depression of the 1930s. Buoyed by victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991 the US remains the world's most powerful nation-state. The economy is marked by steady growth low unemployment and inflation and rapid advances in technology.


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Location: North America bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean between Canada and Mexico

Geographic coordinates: 38 00 N 97 00 W

Map reference: North America

Area
Comparative: about one-half the size of Russia; about three-tenths the size of Africa; about one-half the size of South America (or slightly larger than Brazil); slightly larger than China; about two and one-half times the size of Western Europe

Land boundaries

Coastline: 19,924 km

Maritime claims

Climate: mostly temperate but tropical in Hawaii and Florida arctic in Alaska semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains

Terrain: vast central plain mountains in west hills and low mountains in east; rugged mountains and broad river valleys in Alaska; rugged volcanic topography in Hawaii

Elevation

Natural resources: coal copper lead molybdenum phosphates uranium bauxite gold iron mercury nickel potash silver tungsten zinc petroleum natural gas timber

Land use

Irrigated land: 207,000 km² (1993 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: tsunamis volcanoes and earthquake activity around Pacific Basin; hurricanes along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts; tornadoes in the midwest and southeast; mud slides in California; forest fires in the west; flooding; permafrost in northern Alaska a major impediment to development

Geography
Note: world's third-largest country (after Russia and Canada)


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Population: 275,562,673 (July 2000 est.)
Growth rate: 0.91% (2000 est.)
Below poverty line: 12.7% (1999 est.)

Nationality

Ethnic groups: white 83.5% black 12.4% Asian 3.3% Amerindian 0.8% (1992)

Languages: English Spanish (spoken by a sizable minority)

Religions: Protestant 56% Roman Catholic 28% Jewish 2% other 4% none 10% (1989)

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 0.91% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 14.2 births/1000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 8.7 deaths/1000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: 3.5 migrant(s)/1000 population (2000 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: air pollution resulting in acid rain in both the US and Canada; the US is the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels; water pollution from runoff of pesticides and fertilizers; very limited natural fresh water resources in much of the western part of the country require careful management; desertification

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 6.82 deaths/1000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

Total fertility rate: 2.06 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name

Government type: federal republic; strong democratic tradition

Capital: Washington DC

Administrative divisions: 50 states and 1 district*; Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia* Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Dependent areas: (14) American Samoa, Baker Island, Guam, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands, Navassa Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palmyra Atoll, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Wake Island

Independence: 4 July 1776 (from Great Britain)

National holiday: Independence Day 4 July (1776)

Constitution: 17 September 1787 effective 4 March 1789

Legal system: based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

Legislative branch: bicameral Congress consists of Senate (100 seats one-third are renewed every two years; two members are elected from each state by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and House of Representatives (435 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (the nine justices are appointed for life by the president with confirmation by the Senate)

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party [Steve GROSSMAN national committee chairman]; Republican Party [Jim NICHOLSON national committee chairman]; several other groups or parties of minor political significance

International organization participation: ANZUS APEC AsDB Australia Group BIS CCC CE (observer) CERN (observer) CP EAPC EBRD ECE ECLAC ESCAP FAO G-5 G-7 G-10 IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICFTU ICRM IDA IEA IFAD IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO Inmarsat Intelsat Interpol IOC IOM ISO ITU MINURSO MIPONUH NAM (guest) NATO NEA NSG OAS OECD OPCW OSCE PCA SPC UN UN Security Council UNCTAD UNHCR UNIDO UNIKOM UNMIBH UNMIK UNOMIG UNRWA UNTAET UNTSO UNU UPU WCL WHO WIPO WMO WTrO ZC

Diplomatic representation

Flag description: thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 50 small white five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars; the 50 stars represent the 50 states the 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies; known as Old Glory; the design and colors have been the basis for a number of other flags including Chile Liberia Malaysia and Puerto Rico

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: The US has the most technologically powerful diverse advanced and largest economy in the world with a per capita GDP of $33,900 In this market-oriented economy private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions and government buys needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace. US business firms enjoy considerably greater flexibility than their counterparts in Western Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capital plant lay off surplus workers and develop new products. At the same time they face higher barriers to entry in their rivals' home markets than the barriers to entry of foreign firms in US markets. US firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances especially in computers and in medical aerospace and military equipment although their advantage has narrowed since the end of World War II. The onrush of technology largely explains the gradual development of a 'two-tier labor market' in which those at the bottom lack the education and the professional/technical skills of those at the top and more and more fail to get pay raises health insurance coverage and other benefits. Since 1975 practically all the gains in household income have gone to the top 20% of households. The years 1994-99 witnessed solid increases in real output low inflation rates and a drop in unemployment to below 5%. Long-term problems include inadequate investment in economic infrastructure rapidly rising medical costs of an aging population sizable trade deficits and stagnation of family income in the lower economic groups. The outlook for 2000 is clouded by the continued economic problems of Japan Russia Indonesia Brazil and many other countries. Domestically the potentially most serious problem is the exuberant level of stock prices in relation to corporate earnings.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 4.1% (1999 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $33,900 (1999 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: wheat other grains corn fruits vegetables cotton; beef pork poultry dairy products; forest products; fish

Industries: leading industrial power in the world highly diversified and technologically advanced; petroleum steel motor vehicles aerospace telecommunications chemicals electronics food processing consumer goods lumber mining

Industrial production growth rate: 2.4% (1999 est.)

Labor force: 139.4 million (includes unemployed) (1999)
By occupation managerial and professional: 30.3%
By occupation technical sales and administrative support: 29.2%
By occupation services: 13.4%
By occupation manufacturing mining transportation and crafts: 24.5%
By occupation farming forestry and fishing: 2.6% (1999)

Unemployment rate: 4.2% (1999)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 12.7% (1999 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September

Inflation rate consumer prices: 2.2% (1999)

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $663 billion (f.o.b. 1998 est.)
Commodities: capital goods automobiles industrial supplies and raw materials consumer goods agricultural products
Partners: Canada 23% Mexico 12% Japan 8% UK 6% Germany 4% France 3% Netherlands 3% (1998)

Imports: $912 billion (c.i.f. 1998 est.)
Commodities: crude oil and refined petroleum products machinery automobiles consumer goods industrial raw materials food and beverages
Partners: Canada 19% Japan 13% Mexico 10% China 8% Germany 5% UK 4% Taiwan 4% (1998)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $862 billion (1995 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: British pounds per US$ - 0.6092 (January 2000) 0.6180 (1999) 0.6037 (1998) 0.6106 (1997) 0.6403 (1996) 0.6335 (1995); Canadian dollars (Can$) per US$ - 1.4489 (January 2000) 1.4857 (1999) 1.4835 (1998) 1.3846 (1997) 1.3635 (1996) 1.3724 (1995); French francs (F) per US$ - 5.65 (January 1999) 5.8995 (1998) 5.8367 (1997) 5.1155 (1996) 4.9915 (1995) 5.5520 (1994); Italian lire (Lit) per US$ - 1668.7 (January 1999) 1763.2 (1998) 1703.1 (1997) 1542.9 (1996) 1628.9 (1995) 1612.4 (1994); Japanese yen per US$ - 105.16 (January 2000) 113.91 (1999) 130.91 (1998) 120.99 (1997) 108.78 (1996) 94.06 (1995); German deutsche marks (DM) per US$ - 1.69 (January 1999) 1.9692 (1998) 1.7341 (1997) 1.5048 (1996) 1.4331 (1995) 1.6228 (1994); Euro per US$ - 0.98673 (January 1999) 0.93863 (1999)


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Electricity
Production: 3.62 trillion kWh (1998)
Consumption: 3.365 trillion kWh (1998)
Exports: 12.772 billion kWh (1998)
Imports: 39.513 billion kWh (1998)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 178 million (1999)
Mobile cellular: 55.312 million (1997)

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet
Service providers isps: 7,600 (1999 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $276.7 billion (FY1999 est.)
Percent of gdp: 3.2% (FY1999 est.)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 14,572 (1999 est.)

Heliports: 118 (1999 est.)

Pipelines: petroleum products 276,000 km; natural gas 331,000 km (1991)

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: 41,009 km of navigable inland channels exclusive of the Great Lakes

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: maritime boundary disputes with Canada (Dixon Entrance Beaufort Sea Strait of Juan de Fuca Machias Seal Island); US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased from Cuba and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease; Haiti claims Navassa Island; US has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other nation; Marshall Islands claims Wake Island

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: consumer of cocaine shipped from Colombia through Mexico and the Caribbean; consumer of heroin marijuana and increasingly methamphetamines from Mexico; consumer of high-quality Southeast Asian heroin; illicit producer of cannabis marijuana depressants stimulants hallucinogens and methamphetamines; drug-money-laundering center