United States of America

Federal presidential republic

Region:

North America

Surface area:

9,525,067 km²

Capital:

Washington, D.C.

the United States of America on the world map

Geography

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 333.29 million belongs to the urban population.

On further pages:

Current time in New York:

00:00

April 2024

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.

Time zones and clock changes Public Holidays in the US Sunrise + Sunset

Population

Population:333,288,000

Population per km²:34.99

Life expectancy males:Ø 73.5 years

Life expectancy females:

Ø 79.3 years

Birth rate:

11.0 ‰

Death rate:

10.4 ‰

Males/Females:

49.5% : 50.5%

Population pyramid

The currency in the United States of America is the US dollar (USD).
1 Dollar is divided into 100 Cents.
Status: 04/26/2024

1 Euro = 1.07 Dollars
1 Dollar = 0.93 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.

Average daytime and nighttime temperatures

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 %
Korean	0.3 %
Polish	0.3 %
Japanese	0.2 %
Portuguese	0.2 %
Russian	0.2 %
Vietnamese	0.2 %
other	2.6 %

Religions

Religion	Distribution
Buddhists	0.8%
Orthodoxes	0.5%
Roman Catholics	21.8%
Protestants	45.6%
Mormons	1.3%
Hinduists	0.5%
Muslims	0.8%
Jews	1.4%
nondenominational	23.3%
other	4.0%

more...

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:	3.61 %
› 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 10 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

more...

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

Population refers to the city proper, not metropolitan areas.

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

(Based on the "Worldwide Governance Indicators" project of the World Bank)

Political stability:	◈
Rule of law:	◈
Effectivity:	◈
Regulatory quality:	◈
Voice accountability:	◈
Democratic values:	◈
Death penalty:	Legally allowed

Existing trade agreements

APEC - Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

Alliances

Dependent territories

American Samoa (Polynesia)
Guam (Micronesia)
Northern Mariana Islands (Micronesia)
Puerto Rico (Caribbean)
United States Minor Outlying Islands (Micronesia)
Virgin Islands (Caribbean)

Country comparison: India / United StatesThe United States of America and India compared: demography, Economy, energy, languages and further dimensions.

Canada: country data and statisticsCanada in numbers: demographics, economy, energy, climate and more data and comparisons with other countries.

List of the world's most notorious tax havensTax havens magically attract money and hide it from the tax authorities. Even in the middle of Europe and the USA.