United States

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search
"America", "US", and "USA" redirect here. For the landmass comprising North, Central, South
America, and the Caribbean, see Americas. For other uses, see America (disambiguation), US
(disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), and United States (disambiguation).

Coordinates: 40°N 100°W

United States of America

Flag

Great Seal

Motto:

"In God We Trust"[1][a]

Other traditional mottos [show]

Anthem:
"The Star-Spangled Banner"

MENU

0:00

March:
"The Stars and Stripes Forever"[2][3]

MENU
 0:00

Great Seal (reverse):

The United States, including its territories

Capital  Washington, D.C.

 38°53′N 77°01′W

Largest city  New York City

 40°43′N 74°00′W

Official languages None at federal level[b]

National language English[c]

Ethnic groups By race:

(2018) [6]

 76.6% White
 13.4% Black
 5.8% Asian
 2.7% Other/multiracial
 1.3% Native American
 0.2% Pacific Islander
 Ethnicity:

 18.1% Hispanic or Latino

 81.9% non-Hispanic or Latino

Religion  73.0% Christian

(2017)[7]  21.3% Unaffiliated
 2.1% Jewish
 0.8% Muslim
 2.9% Other

Demonym(s) American

Government Federal presidentialconstitutional republic

• President Donald Trump (R)

• Vice President Mike Pence (R)
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D)
• Chief Justice John Roberts

Legislature Congress

• Upper house Senate

• Lower house House of Representatives

Independence
from Great Britain

• Declaration July 4, 1776

• Confederation March 1, 1781
• Treaty of Paris September 3, 1783
• Constitution June 21, 1788
• Last polity admitted March 24, 1976

Area
• Total area 3,796,742 sq mi (9,833,520 km2)[d][8](3rd/4th)
• Water (%) 6.97
• Total land area 3,531,905 sq mi (9,147,590 km2)

Population
• 2018 estimate 327,167,434[e][9] (3rd)
• 2010 census 308,745,538[e][10] (3rd)
• Density 85/sq mi (32.8/km2) (179th)
 GDP (PPP) 2018 estimate
• Total $20.891 trillion[11] (2nd)
• Per capita $62,518[12] (11th)

GDP (nominal) 2018 estimate

• Total $20.891 trillion[11] (1st)
• Per capita $62,518[12] (7th)

Gini (2016) 41.5[13]

medium · 56th

HDI (2017) 0.924[14]

very high · 13th

Currency United States dollar ($) (USD)

Time zone UTC−4 to −12, +10, +11

• Summer (DST) UTC−4 to −10[f]

Date format  mm/dd/yy

 yyyy-mm-dd[15]

Driving side right[g]

Calling code +1

ISO 3166 code US

Internet TLD  .us

 .gov
 .mil
 .edu (since 2001)

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US)
or America, is a country comprising 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories,
and various possessions.[h] At 3.8 million square miles (9.8 million km2), the United States is the
world's third or fourth largest country by total area[d] and is slightly smaller than the entire continent
of Europe's 3.9 million square miles (10.1 million km2). With a population of over 327 million people,
the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the most populous
city is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North
America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North
America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west.
The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered
about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The
extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's
17 megadiverse countries.[21]
Paleo-Indians migrated from Siberia to the North American m