Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition
constitutional monarchy
Independence date
4 July 1776 (from Great Britain)
2 March 1956 (from France)
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.)
Muslim 98.7%, Christian 1.1%, Jewish 0.2%
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
Arabic (official), Berber dialects, French often the language of business, government, and diplomacy
clothing and textiles, electric components, inorganic chemicals, transistors, crude minerals, fertilizers (including phosphates), petroleum products, citrus fruits, vegetables, fish
External Debt
$14,710,000,000,000 $
$28,080,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Moroccan dirhams (MAD) per US dollar - 7.526 (2008 est.), 8.3563 (2007), 8.7722 (2006), 8.865 (2005), 8.868 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
4.060%
5.000%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
110
2
Location
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Western Sahara
Area
9,826,675 km sq
446,550 km sq
Coastline
19,924 km
1,835 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
Mediterranean, becoming more extreme in the interior
