Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition
parliamentary republic
Independence date
4 July 1776 (from Great Britain)
20 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.)
Evangelical Lutheran 13.6%, Orthodox 12.8%, other Christian (including Methodist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal) 1.4%, unaffiliated 34.1%, other and unspecified 32%, none 6.1% (2000 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
Estonian (official) 67.3%, Russian 29.7%, other 2.3%, unknown 0.7% (2000 census)
machinery and equipment 29%, wood and paper 13%, metals 10%, food products 8%, textiles 5%, chemical products (2007)
External Debt
$14,710,000,000,000 $
$25,220,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
krooni (EEK) per US dollar - 10.7 (2008), 11.535 (2007), 12.473 (2006), 12.584 (2005), 12.596 (2004) note: the krooni is pegged to the euro
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
4.060%
2.000%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
110
2
Location
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland, between Latvia and Russia
Area
9,826,675 km sq
45,228 km sq
Coastline
19,924 km
3,794 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
