Map of United States | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide19891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023 | More stats

top of page


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 most 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.


top of page


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
Total: 9,629,091 km²
Land: 9,158,960 km²
Water: 470,131 km²
Note: includes only the 50 states and District of Columbia
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
Total: 12,248 km
Border countries: (3) Canada 8,893 km; (including 2,477 km; with Alaska), Cuba 29 km; (US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay), Mexico 3,326 km
Note: Guantanamo Naval Base is leased by the US and thus remains part of Cuba

Coastline: 19,924 km

Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: 24 NM
Continental shelf: not specified
Exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
Territorial sea: 12 NM

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
Extremes lowest point: Death Valley -86 m
Extremes highest point: Mount McKinley 6,194 m

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

Land use
Arable land: 19%
Permanent crops: 0%
Permanent pastures: 25%
Forests and woodland: 30%
Other: 26% (1993 est.)

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)


top of page


Population: 278,058,881 (July 2001 est.)
Growth rate: 0.9% (2001 est.)
Below poverty line: 12.7% (1999 est.)

Nationality
Noun: American
Adjective: American

Ethnic groups
Note: a separate listing for Hispanic is not included because the US Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean a person of Latin American descent (especially of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin) living in the US who may be of any race or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc.)

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
0-14 years: 21.12% (male 30,034,674; female 28,681,253)
15-64 years: 66.27% (male 91,371,753; female 92,907,199)
65 years and over: 12.61% (male 14,608,948; female 20,455,054) (2001 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 0.9% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 14.2 births/1000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 8.7 deaths/1000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: 3.5 migrant(s)/1000 population (2001 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
International agreements party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
International agreements signed but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Hazardous Wastes

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.05 male/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male/female
Total population: 0.96 male/female (2001 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 6.76 deaths/1000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 77.26 years
Male: 74.37 years
Female: 80.05 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.06 children born/woman (2001 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.61% (1999 est.)
People living with hivaids: 850,000 (1999 est.)
Deaths: 20,000 (1999 est.)

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 97%
Male: 97%
Female: 97% (1979 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


top of page


Country name
Conventional long form: United States of America
Conventional short form: United States
Abbreviation: US or USA

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
Note: from 18 July 1947 until 1 October 1994, the US administered the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, but recently entered into a new political relationship with all four political units: the Northern Mariana Islands is a commonwealth in political union with the US (effective 3 November 1986); Palau concluded a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 1 October 1994); the Federated States of Micronesia signed a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 3 November 1986); the Republic of the Marshall Islands signed a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 21 October 1986)

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
Chief of state: President George W. BUSH (since 20 January 2001) and Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
Head of government: President George W. BUSH (since 20 January 2001) and Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president with Senate approval
Elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by a college of representatives who are elected directly from each state; president and vice president serve four-year terms; election last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004)
Election results: George W. BUSH elected president; percent of popular vote - George W. BUSH (Republican Party) 48%, Albert A. GORE, Jr. (Democratic Party) 48%, Ralph NADER (Green Party) 3%, other 1%

Legislative branch
Elections: Senate - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held 4 November 2002); House of Representatives - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held 4 November 2002)
Election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 50, Democratic Party 50; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 221, Democratic Party 211, independent 2, vacant 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (its nine justices are appointed for life by the president with confirmation by the Senate); United States Courts of Appeal; United States District Courts; State and County Courts

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party [Terence McAULIFFE national committee chairman]; Republican Party [James S. GILMORE III national committee chairman]; several other groups or parties of minor political significance

International organization participation: APEC ARF (dialogue partner) AsDB ASEAN (dialogue partner) 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 UNIKOM UNITAR UNMEE 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


top of page


Economy overview: The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world with a per capita GDP of $36,200 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 comparable 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 1994-2000 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. Growth weakened in the fourth quarter of 2000; growth for the year 2001 almost certainly will be substantially lower than the strong 5% of 2000. The outlook for 2001 is further clouded by the continued economic problems of Japan Russia Indonesia Brazil and many other countries.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 5% (2000 est.)

Real gdp per capita ppp

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 2%
Industry: 18%
Services: 80% (1999)

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: 5.6% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 140.9 million (includes unemployed) (2000)
By occupation note: figures exclude the unemployed

Unemployment rate: 4% (2000)

Youth unemployment

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

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 1.8%
Highest 10: 30.5% (1997)

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $1.828 trillion
Expenditures: $1.703 trillion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999)

Public debt

Taxes and other revenues

Revenue

Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September

Current account balance

Inflation rate consumer prices: 3.4% (2000)

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: $776 billion (f.o.b. 2000 est.)
Commodities: capital goods automobiles industrial supplies and raw materials consumer goods agricultural products
Partners: Canada 23% Mexico 14% Japan 8% UK 5% Germany 4% France Netherlands (2000)

Imports: $1.223 trillion (f.o.b. 2000 est.)
Commodities: crude oil and refined petroleum products machinery automobiles consumer goods industrial raw materials food and beverages
Partners: Canada 19% Japan 11% Mexico 11% China 8% Germany 5% UK Taiwan (2000)

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
Note: financial institutions in France, Italy, and Germany and eight other European countries started using the euro on 1 January 1999 with the euro replacing the local currency in consenting countries for all transactions in 2002


top of page


Electricity access

Electricity production: 3.678 trillion kWh (1999)
By source fossil fuel: 69.64%
By source hydro: 8.31%
By source nuclear: 19.8%
By source other: 2.25% (1999)

Electricity consumption: 3.45 trillion kWh (1999)

Electricity exports: 14 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity imports: 43 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity installed generating capacity

Electricity transmission distribution losses

Electricity generation sources

Petroleum

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


top of page


Telephones fixed lines

Telephones mobile cellular: 69.209 million (1998)

Telephone system
General assessment: a very large, technologically advanced, multipurpose communications system
Domestic: a large system of fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and domestic satellites carries every form of telephone traffic; a rapidly growing cellular system carries mobile telephone traffic throughout the country
International: 24 ocean cable systems in use; satellite earth stations - 61 Intelsat (45 Atlantic Ocean and 16 Pacific Ocean), 5 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 4 Inmarsat (Pacific and Atlantic Ocean regions) (2000)

Broadcast media

Internet country code: .us

Internet users: 148 million (2000)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


top of page


Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $276.7 billion (FY99 est.)
Percent of gdp: 3.2% (FY99 est.)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


top of page


National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 14,720 (2000 est.)
With paved runways total: 5,174
With paved runways over 3047 m: 182
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 220
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1,331
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 2,440
With paved runways under 914 m: 1,001 (2000 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 9,546
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 3
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 6
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 164
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1,675
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 7,698 (2000 est.)

Airports with paved runways
Total: 5,174
Over 3047 m: 182
2438 to 3047 m: 220
15-24 to 2437 m: 1,331
914 to 1523 m: 2,440
Under 914 m: 1,001 (2000 est.)

Airports with unpaved runways
Total: 9,546
Over 3047 m: 3
2438 to 3047 m: 6
15-24 to 2437 m: 164
914 to 1523 m: 1,675
Under 914 m: 7,698 (2000 est.)

Heliports: 131 (2000 est.)

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

Railways
Total: 225,750 km mainline routes
Standard gauge: 225,750 km 1.435-m gauge (1999)

Roadways

Waterways
Note: navigable inland channels, exclusive of the Great Lakes

Merchant marine
Total: 376 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 10,814,622 GRT/14,416,517 DWT
Ships by type: barge carrier 9, bulk 68, cargo 29, chemical tanker 13, combination bulk 3, container 80, liquefied gas 1, multi-functional large-load carrier 3, passenger 9, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 98, roll on/roll off 49, short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 9 (2000 est.)

Ports and terminals


top of page


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