Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition
republic; authoritarian presidential rule, with little power outside the executive branch
Independence date
4 July 1776 (from Great Britain)
1 September 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.)
Muslim 88% (mostly Sunnis), Eastern Orthodox 9%, other 3%
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
Uzbek 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1%
cotton, gold, energy products, mineral fertilizers, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, textiles, food products, machinery, automobiles
External Debt
$14,710,000,000,000 $
$8,570,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Uzbekistani soum (UZS) per US dollar - 1,317 (2008 est.), 1,263.8 (2007), 1,219.8 (2006), 1,020 (2005), 971.265 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
4.060%
3.500%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
110
6
Location
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Central Asia, north of Afghanistan
Area
9,826,675 km sq
447,400 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
mostly midlatitude desert, long, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid grassland in east
