Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition
republic in name, although in fact a dictatorship
Independence date
4 July 1776 (from Great Britain)
25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
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.)
Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)
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
machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs
External Debt
$14,710,000,000,000 $
$33,730,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Belarusian rubles (BYB/BYR) per US dollar - 2,130 (2008 est.), 2,145 (2007), 2,144.6 (2006), 2,150 (2005), 2,160.26 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
4.060%
1.400%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
110
19
Location
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Area
9,826,675 km sq
207,600 km sq
Coastline
19,924 km
0 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
cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
