Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a governor-general Prime minister: Baldwin Spencer
Population
313,847,465
89,018
Life Expectancy
78.490 years
75.690 years
Capital City
Washington, DC
Saint John's
Largest city
New York City (population: 8,008,280)
Saint John's (population: 24,226)
Human Development Index
0.95
0.83
GDP per capita
$49,000 US
$18,200 US
Literacy Rate
99%
85.8%
Corruption Perception Index
7.3
NA
Percentage of Women in Parliament
16.6%
16.7%
Wealthiest Citizens
William Gates III ($40.0bn US)
NA
Unemployment Rate
9.000%
11.000%
Death Penalty
Legal
Legal
Political System
Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition
constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government
Independence date
4 July 1776 (from Great Britain)
1 November 1981 (from UK)
Religions
Protestant 51.3%, Roman Catholic 23.9%, Mormon 1.7%, other Christian 1.6%, Jewish 1.7%, Buddhist 0.7%, Muslim 0.6%, other or unspecified 2.5%, unaffiliated 12.1%, none 4% (2007 est.)
Anglican 25.7%, Seventh Day Adventist 12.3%, Pentecostal 10.6%, Moravian 10.5%, Roman Catholic 10.4%, Methodist 7.9%, Baptist 4.9%, Church of God 4.5%, other Christian 5.4%, other 2%, none or unspecified 5.8% (2001 census)
Languages
English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census) note: Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii
petroleum products, bedding, handicrafts, electronic components, transport equipment, food and live animals
External Debt
$14,710,000,000,000 $
$359,800,000 US
Exchange Rate
East Caribbean dollars (XCD) per US dollar - 2.7 (2007), 2.7 (2006), 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003) note: fixed rate since 1976
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
4.060%
0.500%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
110
0
Location
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east-southeast of Puerto Rico
Area
9,826,675 km sq
443 km sq
Coastline
19,924 km
153 km
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
tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation
