United States of America
Federal presidential republicGeography
The United States of America is the fourth largest country in the world after Russia, Canada and China. With an area of 9.53 million km², it stretches across North America from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Atlantic Ocean in the east. They border Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. This makes the country, which is divided into 50 partly sovereign states, over 39 times the size of the United Kingdom.The USA is divided into numerous geographical zones across its exceptionally large area. In addition to vast ice deserts, Alaska also boasts the two highest mountains in the country. The highest mountain peak, Denali (formerly Mount McKinley), is 6,194 meters above sea level. This is followed by the Sierra Nevada in California and the elongated Rocky Mountains, which also divide the country climatically. Between the Sierra Nevada and the Wasatch Mountains lies the Great Basin, the largest desert in North America.
Due to its location between the major oceans and the 18,617 (partly uninhabited) islands, the coastal regions also play a major role. This is where the most populous areas are located. The coastline itself is 19,924 km long. An exceptionally high proportion of 83.1% of the total 333.27 million belongs to the urban population.
The time in New York is Eastern Standard Time (EST), which is currently 5 hours behind London.
As in many countries far away from the equator, there is a daylight savings time in the summer. Related to GMT, the time difference is usually -5 hours in summer and -4 hours in winter. The next time change will be on November 03 at 1:00 am (local time). From west to east, the United States stretches across six different time zones, resulting in differences of up to five hours in the various parts of the country.
Population
Population pyramid
1 Dollar is divided into 100 Cents.
Status: 07/05/2024
1 Dollar = 0.92 Euro
Climate in the United States of America
With an area of almost 10 million km², the country has a wide variety of climates, from cold and snowy Alaska to sunny Florida. While the north has a year-round arctic climate, the interior has a largely continental to subtropical climate. In California, on the other hand, it is more Mediterranean and the southern tip of Florida already belongs to the tropics. Since there is no continuous mountain range except for the Rocky Mountains, cold air from the Arctic can move south unhindered, especially in winter, and it can affect even Texas and Florida. At over 40°C, it gets hottest in California's Death Valley.Languages
The USA does not have an official language. However, due to its prevalence, American English has the status of a national language.Mother tongue | Distribution |
---|---|
English | 82.1 % |
Spanish | 10.7 % |
Chinese | 0.9 % |
French | 0.7 % |
German | 0.6 % |
Italian | 0.6 % |
Tagalog | 0.4 % |
Polish | 0.3 % |
Korean | 0.3 % |
Vietnamese | 0.2 % |
Portuguese | 0.2 % |
Japanese | 0.2 % |
Russian | 0.2 % |
Armenian | 0.1 % |
other | 2.5 % |
Religions
Religion | Distribution |
---|---|
Buddhists | 0.8% |
Orthodoxes | 0.5% |
Mormons | 2.0% |
Roman Catholics | 21.8% |
Protestants | 45.6% |
Hinduists | 0.5% |
Muslims | 0.8% |
Jews | 1.4% |
nondenominational | 23.3% |
other | 3.3% |
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Economy
GDP: | 25,439.70 bn $ |
Exportations: | 3,018.46 bn $ |
Importations: | 3,969.64 bn $ |
› Tourism receipts: | 82.97 bn $ |
› Debt rate: | 121.38 % |
› Unemployment rate: | 3.65 % |
› Inflation rate: | 8.00 % |
› Corruption index: | 69 (moderate) |
› Energy consumption: | 3,897.9 bn kWh |
With a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.927, the United States of America counts as one of the high developed economies by UN definition. The IMF also shares this classification.
With an average annual income of 76,770 USD the United States of America is one of the high-income countries. Even considering purchasing power parity, it is still among the 20 richest countries in the world.
The United States is also called a tax haven by some institutions.
Land use
8% Urban areas: | 802,054 km² |
44% Agricultural areas: | 4,226,272 km² |
34% Forest: | 3,226,140 km² |
4% Water areas: | 377,647 km² |
13% Others: | 1,270,601 km² |
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Transport
Roadways: | 6,832,000 km |
Railways: | 293,564 km |
Waterways: | 41,009 km |
Reg. vehicles: | 305,000,000 |
› Airports: |
States of the USA
From the 16th century onwards, settlers from predominantly European countries advanced into various regions of North America. Most of them were located on the east coast of what is now the USA and Canada. With the Declaration of Independence in 1776, 13 of the former British colonies joined together to form a confederation, the entirety of which is the "United States of America". Over time, the union grew to 50 states. Each individual state has its own constitution, judiciary, legislature and executive. The federal government only takes on tasks that are assigned to it in the constitution.The biggest state capitals
City | Federal State | Population |
---|---|---|
Washington, D.C. / Capital | Washington, D.C. | 672,000 |
Phoenix | Arizona | 1,644,000 |
Austin | Texas | 974,000 |
Columbus | Ohio | 908,000 |
Indianapolis | Indiana | 881,000 |
Nashville | Tennessee | 716,000 |
Denver | Colorado | 713,000 |
Oklahoma City | Oklahoma | 695,000 |
Boston | Massachusetts | 651,000 |
Sacramento | California | 528,000 |
Atlanta | Georgia | 499,000 |
Raleigh | North Carolina | 477,000 |
Honolulu | Hawaii | 343,000 |
Saint Paul | Minnesota | 312,000 |
Lincoln | Nebraska | 293,000 |
Madison | Wisconsin | 273,000 |
Boise | Idaho | 236,000 |
Richmond | Virginia | 229,000 |
Baton Rouge | Louisiana | 221,000 |
Des Moines | Iowa | 211,000 |
Salt Lake City | Utah | 205,000 |
Little Rock | Arkansas | 203,000 |
Tallahassee | Florida | 202,000 |
Montgomery | Alabama | 197,000 |
Providence | Rhode Island | 190,000 |
Salem | Oregon | 177,000 |
Jackson | Mississippi | 146,000 |
Columbia | South Carolina | 140,000 |
Topeka | Kansas | 125,000 |
Hartford | Connecticut | 121,000 |
The difference between the urban area and the city proper alone can be considerable. New York City, for example, has an urban population of 19,426,000. However, the actual proper city is much smaller with only 8,336,000 inhabitants. The difference to metropolitan regions, i.e. conurbations with several cities, is even greater.
Political indicators
Political stability: | ◈ |
Rule of law: | ◈ |
Effectivity: | ◈ |
Regulatory quality: | ◈ |
Voice accountability: | ◈ |
Democratic values: | ◈ |
Death penalty: | Legally allowed |
Existing trade agreements
Alliances
- ADB - Asian Development Bank
- G20 - Group of Twenty
- G8 - Group of Eight
- NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization
- OAS - Organization of American States
- OECD
- OSZE
- PfP - Partnership for Peace
- UN - United Nations
- UNESCO
- WTO - World Trade Organization
Dependent territories
Guam (Micronesia)
Northern Mariana Islands (Micronesia)
Puerto Rico (Caribbean)
United States Minor Outlying Islands (Micronesia)
Virgin Islands (Caribbean)