| United States of America |
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Motto:
Other traditional mottos [show]
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| 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[fn 1] |
| National language | English[fn 2] |
| Ethnic groups | By race:[8] 77.1% White 13.3% Black 2.6% Other/multiracial 5.6% Asian 1.2% Native 0.2% Pacific Islander Ethnicity: 17.6% Hispanic or Latino 82.4% non-Hispanic or Latino |
| Religion | 70.6% Christian 1.9% Jewish 0.9% Muslim 0.7% Buddhist 0.7% Hindu 1.8% Other faiths 22.8% Irreligious[9] |
| Demonym | American |
| Government | Federal presidentialconstitutional republic |
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| Donald Trump |
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| Mike Pence |
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| Paul Ryan |
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| John Roberts |
| Legislature | Congress |
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| Senate |
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| House of Representatives |
| Independence from Great Britain |
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| July 4, 1776 |
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| March 1, 1781 |
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| September 3, 1783 |
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| June 21, 1788 |
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| March 24, 1976 |
| Area |
• Total area
| 3,796,742 sq mi (9,833,520 km2)[10][fn 3](3rd/4th) |
• Water (%)
| 6.97 |
• Total land area
| 3,531,905 sq mi (9,147,590 km2) |
| Population |
• 2017 estimate
| 325,145,963[12] (3rd) |
• 2010 census
| 309,349,689[13] (3rd) |
• Density
| 90.6/sq mi (35.0/km2) (180th) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2016 estimate |
• Total
| $18.558 trillion[14] (2nd) |
• Per capita
| $57,220[14] (14th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2016 estimate |
• Total
| $18.558 trillion[14] (1st) |
• Per capita
| $57,220[14] (6th) |
| Gini (2013) | 40.8[15][16][17] medium |
| HDI (2015) | 0.920[18] very high · 10th |
| Currency | United States dollar ($) (USD) |
| Time zone | (UTC−4 to −12, +10, +11) |
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| (UTC−4 to −10[fn 4]) |
| Date format | mm/dd/yyyy (AD) |
| Drives on the | right[fn 5] |
| Calling code | +1 |
| ISO 3166 code | US |
| Internet TLD | .us .gov .mil .edu |
At 3.8 million square miles (9.8 million km
2)
[11] and with over 324 million people, the United States is the world's
third- or fourth-largest country by total area,
[fn 7] third-largest by land area, and the
third-most populous. It is one of the world's most
ethnically diverse and
multicultural nations, and is home to the
world's largest immigrant population.
[28] The capital is
Washington, D.C., and the largest city is
New York City; nine other major
metropolitan areas—each with at least 4.5 million inhabitants—are
Los Angeles,
Chicago,
Dallas,
Houston,
Philadelphia,
Miami,
Atlanta,
Boston, and
San Francisco.
Paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago.
[29] European colonization began in the 16th century. The United States emerged from
13 British colonies along the
East Coast. Numerous disputes between
Great Britain and the colonies following the
Seven Years' War led to the
American Revolution, which began in 1775. On July 4, 1776, during the course of the
American Revolutionary War, the
colonies unanimously adopted the
Declaration of Independence. The war ended in 1783 with
recognition of the independence of the United States by
Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a
European power.
[30] The
current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the
Articles of Confederation, adopted in 1781, were felt to have provided inadequate federal powers. The first ten amendments, collectively named the
Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many
fundamental civil liberties.
The United States embarked on a vigorous expansion across North America throughout the 19th century,
[31] displacing Native American tribes,
acquiring new territories, and gradually
admitting new states until it spanned the continent by 1848.
[31] During the second half of the 19th century, the
American Civil War led to the end of legal
slavery in the country.
[32][33] By the end of that century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean,
[34] and its economy, driven in large part by the
Industrial Revolution, began to soar.
[35] 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, the
first country to develop nuclear weapons, the only country to
use them in warfare, and a
permanent member of the
United Nations Security Council. The end of the
Cold War and the
dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the world's
sole superpower.
[36] The U.S. is a founding member of the
United Nations,
World Bank,
International Monetary Fund,
Organization of American States (OAS), and other international organizations.
The United States is a highly
developed country, with the world's
largest economy by nominal GDP and
second-largest economy by PPP. Though its population is only 4.3% of the world total,
[37] Americans hold nearly 40% of the total wealth in the world.
[38]The United States
ranks among the highest in several measures of socioeconomic performance, including
average wage,
[39]human development,
per capita GDP, and productivity per person.
[40] While the
U.S. economy is considered
post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of
services and
knowledge economy, the manufacturing sector remains the second-largest in the world.
[41] Accounting for approximately a quarter of global GDP
[42] and a third of
global military spending,
[43] the United States is the world's foremost economic and
military power. The United States is a prominent political and
cultural force internationally, and a leader in
scientific research and technological innovations.
[44]