Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition
republic
Independence date
4 July 1776 (from Great Britain)
9 July 1816 (from Spain)
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.)
nominally Roman Catholic 92% (less than 20% practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 4%
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
Spanish (official), Italian, English, German, French
soybeans and derivatives, petroleum and gas, vehicles, corn, wheat
External Debt
$14,710,000,000,000 $
$136,800,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Argentine pesos (ARS) per US dollar - 3.1636 (2008 est.), 3.1105 (2007), 3.0543 (2006), 2.9037 (2005), 2.9233 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
4.060%
0.800%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
110
6
Location
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay
Area
9,826,675 km sq
2,780,400 km sq
Coastline
19,924 km
4,989 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
mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest
