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Name:
United States of America (50 states and the District of Columbia
including the capital, Washington)
Climate:
mainly warm and cool moderate zones
Location:
North American continent between 30 and 49 degrees latitude;
Other territories: outlying territories (with varying legal status):
Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa
Area:
9,809,155 km2
Capital:
Washington, D.C.;
city: 572,059 inhabitants ( 2000),
metropolitan area: 4.67 million inhabitants (1998)
Population:
281.422 million (2000), of which:
approx. 34.4 million African-Americans,
approx. 30.2 million Americans of Latin American origin,
approx. 10.5 million Asian-Americans,
approx. 2.4 million Native Americans
Population
density:
approx. 28 inhabitants per km2,
80% of the population live in urban conurbations
Language:
English
Religion:
62% of the population belong to 238 religious communities, of
which are 27.5% Protestant (Baptists, Methodist, Lutheran,
Presbyterian), 26% Roman Catholic, 2.6% Jewish
National
Day:
4 July - Independence Day
Independence:
4 July 1776
System
of government:
Presidential republic with balanced division of powers;
Parliament: Congress with two houses:
Senate (100 seats)
House of Representatives (435 seats)
Majority
party:
Democrats in the Senate, Republicans in the House of
Representatives
(2000)
Minority
party:
Republicans in the Senate, Democrats in the House of
Representatives
(2000)
Administrative
structure:
Federal state with Federal, State, County and local administration
Principal
media:
3 established national TV networks (ABC, CBS, NBC), 2 expanding
(new) national TV networks (Fox, WB), 2 established 24-hour news
channels (CNN, CNN-Headline News),
supraregional dailies (USA Today, Wall Street Journal, New York
Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune,
Boston Globe), political weeklies (Time, Newsweek, US News and
World Report, etc.)
(2000)
GDP:
US$ 9248 billion (1999 nominal)
Per-capita
GDP:
US$ 34,000 (1999)
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