Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a governor
Population
313,847,465
109,011
Life Expectancy
78.490 years
73.300 years
Capital City
Washington, DC
Largest city
New York City (population: 8,008,280)
Saint George's (population: 7,500)
Human Development Index
0.95
0.774
GDP per capita
$49,000 US
Literacy Rate
99%
96%
Corruption Perception Index
7.3
NA
Percentage of Women in Parliament
16.6%
21.4%
Wealthiest Citizens
William Gates III ($40.0bn US)
NA
Unemployment Rate
9.000%
Death Penalty
Legal
Abolished in practice
Political System
Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition
parliamentary democracy
Independence date
4 July 1776 (from Great Britain)
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 53%, Anglican 13.8%, other Protestant 33.2%
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
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago
Area
9,826,675 km sq
344 km sq
Coastline
19,924 km
121 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
