Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition
republic
Independence date
4 July 1776 (from Great Britain)
24 May 1822 (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.)
Roman Catholic 95%, other 5%
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), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua)
petroleum, bananas, cut flowers, shrimp, cacao, coffee, hemp, wood, fish
External Debt
$14,710,000,000,000 $
$20,030,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
the US dollar is used; the sucre was eliminated in 2000
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
4.600%
2.300%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
110
1
Location
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru
Area
9,826,675 km sq
283,561 km sq
Coastline
19,924 km
2,237 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 along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands
