Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition
multiparty 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.)
Christian 79.9%, Muslim 12.8%, other 3%, none 4.3% (1998 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
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Southern Africa, east of Zambia
Area
9,826,675 km sq
118,484 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
sub-tropical; rainy season (November to May); dry season (May to November)
