Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition
republic
Independence date
4 July 1776 (from Great Britain)
15 August 1945 (from Japan)
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.)
Christian 26.3% (Protestant 19.7%, Roman Catholic 6.6%), Buddhist 23.2%, other or unknown 1.3%, none 49.3% (1995 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
Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high school
semiconductors, wireless telecommunications equipment, motor vehicles, computers, steel, ships, petrochemicals
External Debt
$14,710,000,000,000 $
$413,400,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
South Korean won (KRW) per US dollar - 1,101.7 (2008 est.), 929.2 (2007), 954.8 (2006), 1,024.1 (2005), 1,145.3 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
4.600%
2.700%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
110
31
Location
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea
Area
9,826,675 km sq
99,720 km sq
Coastline
19,924 km
2,413 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
temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter
