Elevation extremes:   
lowest point: Death Valley -86 m 
highest point: Mount McKinley 6,194 m  

Natural resources:   
coal, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, uranium, bauxite, gold, iron, mercury, nickel,


potash, silver, tungsten, zinc, petroleum, natural gas, timber  

Natural hazards:   
tsunamis, volcanoes, and earthquake activity around Pacific Basin; hurricanes along the 


Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts; tornadoes in the midwest and southeast; mud slides in 


California; forest fires in the west; flooding; permafrost in northern Alaska, a major 


impediment to development  

Geography - note:   
world's third-largest country by size (after Russia and Canada) and by population 


(after China and India); Mt. McKinley is highest point in North America and Death Valley the


lowest point on the continent  

Population:    
295,734,134 (July 2005 est.)  

Net migration rate:   
3.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)  

Religions:   
Protestant 52%, Roman Catholic 24%, Mormon 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 1%, other 10%, none 10% (2002 est.)  

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  


Independence:   
4 July 1776 (from Great Britain)  

National holiday:   
Independence Day, 4 July (1776)  

Constitution:   
17 September 1787, effective 4 March 1789  



Legal system:   
federal court system based on English common law; each state has its own unique legal system,


of which all but one (Louisiana's) is based on English common law; judicial review of


legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations  

Suffrage:   
18 years of age; universal  


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  

Economy - overview:   
The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, with a per


capita GDP of $40,100. In this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms


make most of the decisions, and the federal and state governments buy needed goods and services


predominantly in the private marketplace. US business firms enjoy considerably greater


flexibility than their counterparts in Western Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capital


plant, to lay off surplus workers, and to develop new products. At the same time, they face


higher barriers to entry in their rivals' home markets than the barriers to entry of foreign


firms in US markets. US firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances, especially


in computers and in medical, aerospace, and military equipment; their advantage has narrowed


since the end of World War II. The onrush of technology largely explains the gradual development


of a "two-tier labor market" in which those at the bottom lack the education and the


professional/technical skills of those at the top and, more and more, fail to get comparable


pay raises, health insurance coverage, and other benefits. Since 1975, practically all the


gains in household income have gone to the top 20% of households. The response to the terrorist


attacks of 11 September 2001 showed the remarkable resilience of the economy. The war in 


March/April 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq, and the subsequent occupation of Iraq,


required major shifts in national resources to the military. The rise in GDP in 2004 was


undergirded by substantial gains in labor productivity. The economy suffered from a sharp


increase in energy prices in the second half of 2004. Long-term problems include inadequate


investment in economic infrastructure, rapidly rising medical and pension costs of an aging


population, sizable trade and budget deficits, and stagnation of family income in the lower 


economic groups.  

Unemployment rate:    
5.5% (2004 est.)  


Population below poverty line:   
12% (2004 est.)  

Agriculture - products:   
wheat, corn, other grains, fruits, vegetables, cotton; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products;


forest products; fish  

Industries:   
leading industrial power in the world, highly diversified and technologically advanced; petroleum,


steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing,


consumer goods, lumber, mining  

Exports - commodities:   
agricultural products (soybeans, fruit, corn) 9.2%, industrial supplies (organic chemicals) 26.8%,


capital goods (transistors, aircraft, motor vehicle parts, computers, telecommunications equipment)


49.0%, consumer goods (automobiles, medicines) 15.0% (2003)  

Imports - commodities:   
agricultural products 4.9%, industrial supplies 32.9% (crude oil 8.2%), capital goods 30.4%


(computers, telecommunications equipment, motor vehicle parts, office machines,


electric power machinery), consumer goods 31.8% (automobiles, clothing, medicines, furniture, toys)


(2003)  

Currency (code):   
US dollar (USD)  

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)  

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