Country Summary
Introduction
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.
Geography
Area
total: 9,833,517 sq km
land: 9,147,593 sq km
water: 685,924 sq 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
Natural resources
coal, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, rare earth elements, uranium, bauxite, gold, iron, mercury, nickel, potash, silver, tungsten, zinc, petroleum, natural gas, timber, arable land;
People and Society
Population
337,341,954 (2022 est.)
Ethnic groups
White 61.6%, Black or African American 12.4%, Asian 6%, Amerindian and Alaska native 1.1%, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.2%, other 8.4%, two or more races 10.2% (2020 est.)
Languages
English only 78.2%, Spanish 13.4%, Chinese 1.1%, other 7.3% (2017 est.)
Religions
Protestant 46.5%, Roman Catholic 20.8%, Jewish 1.9%, Church of Jesus Christ 1.6%, other Christian 0.9%, Muslim 0.9%, Jehovah's Witness 0.8%, Buddhist 0.7%, Hindu 0.7%, other 1.8%, unaffiliated 22.8%, don't know/refused 0.6% (2014 est.)
Population growth rate
0.69% (2022 est.)
Government
Government type
constitutional federal republic
Capital
name: Washington, DC
Executive branch
chief of state: President Joseph R. BIDEN, Jr. (since 20 January 2021); Vice President Kamala D. HARRIS (since 20 January 2021); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Joseph R. BIDEN, Jr. (since 20 January 2021); Vice President Kamala D. HARRIS (since 20 January 2021)
Legislative branch
description: bicameral Congress consists of:
Senate (100 seats; 2 members directly elected in each of the 50 state constituencies by simple majority vote except in Georgia and Louisiana which require an absolute majority vote with a second round if needed; members serve 6-year terms with one-third of membership renewed every 2 years)
House of Representatives (435 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote except in Georgia which requires an absolute majority vote with a second round if needed; members serve 2-year terms)
Economy
Economic overview
high-income, diversified North American economy; NATO leader; largest importer and second-largest exporter; home to leading financial exchanges; high and growing public debt; rising socioeconomic inequalities; historically low interest rates; hit by COVID-19
Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$19,846,720,000,000 (2020 est.)
Real GDP per capita
$60,200 (2020 est.)
Agricultural products
maize, milk, soybeans, wheat, sugar cane, sugar beet, poultry, potatoes, cotton, pork
Industries
highly diversified, world leading, high-technology innovator, second-largest industrial output in the world; petroleum, steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber, mining
Exports
$2,127,250,000,000 (2020 est.)
Exports - partners
Canada 17%, Mexico 16%, China 7%, Japan 5% (2019)
Exports - commodities
refined petroleum, crude petroleum, cars and vehicle parts, integrated circuits, aircraft (2019)
Imports
$2,808,960,000,000 (2020 est.)
Imports - partners
China 18%, Mexico 15%, Canada 13%, Japan 6%, Germany 5% (2019)
Imports - commodities
cars, crude petroleum, computers, broadcasting equipment, packaged medicines (2019)
Exchange rates
British pounds per US dollar: 0.7836 (2017 est.), 0.738 (2016 est.), 0.738 (2015 est.), 0.607 (2014 est), 0.6391 (2013 est.)
Canadian dollars per US dollar: 1, 1.308 (2017 est.), 1.3256 (2016 est.), 1.3256 (2015 est.), 1.2788 (2014 est.), 1.0298 (2013 est.)
Chinese yuan per US dollar: 1, 6.7588 (2017 est.), 6.6445 (2016 est.), 6.2275 (2015 est.), 6.1434 (2014 est.), 6.1958 (2013 est.)
euros per US dollar: 0.885 (2017 est.), 0.903 (2016 est.), 0.9214(2015 est.), 0.885 (2014 est.), 0.7634 (2013 est.)
Japanese yen per US dollar: 111.10 (2017 est.), 108.76 (2016 est.), 108.76 (2015 est.), 121.02 (2014 est.), 97.44 (2013 est.)
note 1: the following countries and territories use the US dollar officially as their legal tender: British Virgin Islands, Ecuador, El Salvador, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Timor Leste, Turks and Caicos, and islands of the Caribbean Netherlands (Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba)
note 2: the following countries and territories use the US dollar as official legal tender alongside local currency: Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Costa Rica, and Panama
note 3: the following countries and territories widely accept the US dollar as a dominant currency but have yet to declare it as legal tender: Bermuda, Burma, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Somalia
Page last updated: Tuesday, July 26, 2022
