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| Introduction | United States |
| Background: | Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions. The two most traumatic experiences in the nation's history were the Civil War (1861-65) and the Great Depression of the 1930s. Buoyed by victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the US remains the world's most powerful nation state. The economy is marked by steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology. |
| People | United States |
| Population: | 293,027,571 (July 2004 est.) |
| Age structure: | 0-14 years: 20.8% (male 31,122,974; female 29,713,748) 15-64 years: 66.9% (male 97,756,380; female 98,183,309) 65 years and over: 12.4% (male 15,078,204; female 21,172,956) (2004 est.) |
| Median age: | total: 36 years male: 34.7 years female: 37.4 years (2004 est.) |
| Population growth rate: | 0.92% (2004 est.) |
| Birth rate: | 14.13 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Death rate: | 8.34 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Net migration rate: | 3.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate: | total: 6.63 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 7.31 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 77.43 years male: 74.63 years female: 80.36 years (2004 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: | 2.07 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 0.6% (2003 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 950,000 (2003 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 14,000 (2003 est.) |
| Nationality: | noun: American(s) adjective: American |
| Ethnic groups: | white 77.1%, black 12.9%, Asian 4.2%, Amerindian and Alaska native 1.5%, native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0.3%, other 4% (2000) note: a separate listing for Hispanic is not included because the US Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean a person of Latin American descent (including persons of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin) living in the US who may be of any race or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc.) |
| Religions: | Protestant 52%, Roman Catholic 24%, Mormon 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 1%, other 10%, none 10% (2002 est.) |
| Languages: | English, Spanish (spoken by a sizable minority) |
| Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97% male: 97% female: 97% (1999 est.) |
| Government | United States |
| Country name: | conventional long form: United States of America conventional short form: United States abbreviation: US or USA |
| Government type: | Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition |
| Capital: | Washington, DC |
| Administrative divisions: | 50 states and 1 district*; Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia*, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming |
| Dependent areas: | American Samoa, Baker Island, Guam, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands, Navassa Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palmyra Atoll, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Wake Island note: from 18 July 1947 until 1 October 1994, the US administered the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. It entered into a political relationship with all four political units: the Northern Mariana Islands is a commonwealth in political union with the US (effective 3 November 1986); Palau concluded a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 1 October 1994); the Federated States of Micronesia signed a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 3 November 1986); the Republic of the Marshall Islands signed a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 21 October 1986) |
| Independence: | 4 July 1776 (from Great Britain) |
| National holiday: | Independence Day, 4 July (1776) |
| Constitution: | 17 September 1787, effective 4 March 1789 |
| Legal system: | based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
| Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch: | chief of state: President George W. BUSH (since 20 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President George W. BUSH (since 20 January 2001) ; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president with Senate approval elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by a college of representatives who are elected directly from each state; president and vice president serve four-year terms; election last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008) election results: George W. BUSH reelected president; percent of popular vote - George W. BUSH (Republican Party) 50.9%, John KERRY (Democratic Party) 48.1%, other 1.0% |
| Legislative branch: | bicameral Congress consists of the Senate (100 seats, one-third are renewed every two years; two members are elected from each state by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives (435 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 55, Democratic Party 44, independent 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 231, Democratic Party 200, undecided 4 elections: Senate - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2006); House of Representatives - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2006) |
| Judicial branch: | Supreme Court (its nine justices are appointed for life on condition of good behavior by the president with confirmation by the Senate); United States Courts of Appeal; United States District Courts; State and County Courts |
| Political parties and leaders: | Democratic Party [Terence McAULIFFE]; Green Party [leader NA]; Libertarian Party [Steve DASBACH]; Republican Party [Edward GILLESPIE] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders: | NA |
| International organization participation: | AfDB, ANZUS, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, G-5, G-7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MICAH, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UN Security Council, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC |
| Flag description: | 13 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars; the 50 stars represent the 50 states, the 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies; known as Old Glory; the design and colors have been the basis for a number of other flags, including Chile, Liberia, Malaysia, and Puerto Rico |
| Communications | United States |
| Telephones - main lines in use: | 181,599,900 (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular: | 158.722 million (2003) |
| Telephone system: | general assessment: a large, technologically advanced, multipurpose communications system domestic: a large system of fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and domestic satellites carries every form of telephone traffic; a rapidly growing cellular system carries mobile telephone traffic throughout the country international: country code - 1; 24 ocean cable systems in use; satellite earth stations - 61 Intelsat (45 Atlantic Ocean and 16 Pacific Ocean), 5 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 4 Inmarsat (Pacific and Atlantic Ocean regions) (2000) |
| Radio broadcast stations: | AM 4,762, FM 5,542, shortwave 18 (1998) |
| Radios: | 575 million (1997) |
| Television broadcast stations: | more than 1,500 (including nearly 1,000 stations affiliated with the five major networks - NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, and PBS; in addition, there are about 9,000 cable TV systems) (1997) |
| Televisions: | 219 million (1997) |
| Internet country code: | .us |
| Internet hosts: | 115,311,958 (2002) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 7,000 (2002 est.) |
| Internet users: | 159 million (2002) |
| Transportation | United States |
| Railways: | total: 228,464 km standard gauge: 228,464 km 1.435-m gauge (2003) |
| Highways: | total: 6,406,296 km paved: 4,148,395 km (including 74,898 km of expressways) unpaved: 2,257,902 km (2002) |
| Waterways: | 41,009 km (19,312 km used for commerce) (2004) |
| Pipelines: | petroleum products 244,620 km; natural gas 548,665 km (2003) |
| Ports and harbors: | Anchorage, Baltimore, Boston, Charleston, Chicago, Duluth, Hampton Roads, Honolulu, Houston, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Port Canaveral, Portland (Oregon), Prudhoe Bay, San Francisco, Savannah, Seattle, Tampa, Toledo |
| Merchant marine: | total: 466 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 12,436,658 GRT/14,630,116 DWT by type: barge carrier 8, bulk 69, cargo 75, chemical tanker 12, combination bulk 2, combination ore/oil 1, container 100, multi-functional large load carrier 3, passenger 12, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 81, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 83, short-sea/passenger 3, vehicle carrier 12 foreign-owned: Australia 2, Canada 7, Denmark 17, Malaysia 1, Netherlands 1, Norway 6, Singapore 3, United Kingdom 5 registered in other countries: 670 (2003 est.) |
| Airports: | 14,807 (2003 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways: | total: 5,128 over 3,047 m: 188 2,438 to 3,047 m: 221 914 to 1,523 m: 2,383 under 914 m: 961 (2004 est.) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1,375 |
| Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 9,729 under 914 m: 7,843 (2004 est.) over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 1,718 1,524 to 2,437 m: 160 |
| Heliports: | 155 (2003 est.) |
| Military | United States |
| Military branches: | Army, Navy and Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard (Coast Guard administered in peacetime by the Department of Homeland Security, but in wartime reports to the Department of the Navy) |
| Military manpower - military age and obligation: | 18 years of age (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - availability: | males age 15-49: 73,597,731 (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service: | NA (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually: | males: 2,124,164 (2004 est.) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $370.7 billion (FY04 est.) (March 2003) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 3.3% (FY03 est.) (February 2004) |
| Transnational Issues | United States |
| Disputes - international: | Prolonged drought, population growth, and outmoded practices and infrastructure in the border region has strained water-sharing arrangements with Mexico; undocumented nationals from Mexico and Central America continue to enter the United States illegally; 1990 Maritime Boundary Agreement in the Bering Sea still awaits Russian Duma ratification; managed maritime boundary disputes with Canada at Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and around the disputed Machias Seal Island and North Rock; The Bahamas have not been able to agree on a maritime boundary; US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased from Cuba and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease; Haiti claims US-administered Navassa Island; US has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other state; Marshall Islands claims Wake Island |
| Illicit drugs: | consumer of cocaine shipped from Colombia through Mexico and the Caribbean; consumer of heroin, marijuana, and increasingly methamphetamine from Mexico; consumer of high-quality Southeast Asian heroin; illicit producer of cannabis, marijuana, depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens, and methamphetamine; money-laundering center |
| This page was last updated on 16 December, 2004 |
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