The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S.

 or US)
or America, is a country mostly located in central North America, between Canada and Mexico. It
consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions.
[h]
 At 3.8 million square miles (9.8 million km2), it is the world's third- or fourth-largest country by total
area.[d] With an estimated population of over 328 million, the U.S. is the third most populous
country in the world. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the most populous city is New York City.
Paleo-Indians migrated from Siberia to the North American mainland at least 12,000 years ago,
[19]
 and European colonization began in the 16th century. The United States emerged from
the thirteen British colonies established along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great
Britain and the colonies led to the American Revolutionary War lasting between 1775 and 1783,
leading to independence.[20] The United States embarked on a vigorous expansion across North
America throughout the 19th century—gradually acquiring new territories,[21] displacing Native
Americans, and admitting new states—until 1848 when it spanned the continent.[21] During the
second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the abolition of slavery in the United
States.[22][23] The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the country's status as a global
military power.
The United States emerged from World War II as a global superpower. It was the first country to
develop nuclear weapons and is the only country to have used them in warfare. During the Cold
War, the United States and the Soviet Union competed in the Space Race, culminating with the
1969 Apollo 11 mission, the spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. The end of the Cold
War and collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the world's sole superpower.
[24]

The United States is a federal republic and a representative democracy. It is a founding member of

the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American
States (OAS), NATO, and other international organizations. It is a permanent member of the United
Nations Security Council.
A highly developed country, the United States is the world's largest economy by nominal GDP,
the second-largest by purchasing power parity, and accounts for approximately a quarter of global
GDP.[25] The United States is the world's largest importer and the second-largest exporter of goods,
by value.[26][27] Although its population is only 4.3% of the world total,[28] it holds 29.4% of the total
wealth in the world, the largest share of global wealth concentrated in a single country.
[29]
 Despite income and wealth disparities, the United States continues to rank very high in measures
of socioeconomic performance, including average wage, median income, median wealth, human
development, per capita GDP, and worker productivity.[30][31] It is the foremost military power in the
world, making up more than a third of global military spending,[32] and is a leading political, cultural,
and scientific force internationally.[33]