Adjacent Words

United States definitions

	Tweet

Flags of the World

Flag of the United States

CIA World Factbook, 2008

Background
Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions. The two most traumatic experiences in the nation's history were the Civil War (1861-65) and the Great Depression of the 1930s. Buoyed by victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the US remains the world's most powerful nation state. The economy is marked by steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology.

Location
total: 9,826,630 sq km land: 9,161,923 sq km water: 664,707 sq km note: includes only the 50 states and District of Columbia

Area - comparative
total: 12,034 km border countries: Canada 8,893 km (including 2,477 km with Alaska), Mexico 3,141 km note: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is leased by the US and is part of Cuba; the base boundary is 28 km

Coastline
territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: not specified

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

Natural resources
arable land: 18.01% permanent crops: 0.21% other: 81.78% (2005)

Irrigated land
Total: 477 cu km/yr (13%/46%/41%) Per capita: 1,600 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Hazardous Wastes

Geography - note
0-14 years: 20.2% (male 31,152,050/female 29,777,438) 15-64 years: 67.2% (male 100,995,752/female 101,365,035) 65 years and over: 12.6% (male 15,858,477/female 21,991,195) (2007 est.)

Median age
total: 36.6 years male: 35.3 years female: 37.9 years (2007 est.)

Population growth rate
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.046 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.996 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.721 male(s)/female total population: 0.967 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

Infant mortality rate
total: 6.37 deaths/1,000 live births male: 7.02 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.68 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
total population: 78 years male: 75.15 years female: 80.97 years (2007 est.)

Total fertility rate
noun: American(s) adjective: American

Ethnic groups
note: a separate listing for Hispanic is not included because the US Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean a person of Latin American descent (including persons of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin) living in the US who may be of any race or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc.)

Religions
note: Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii

Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.)

Country name
conventional long form: United States of America conventional short form: United States abbreviation: US or USA

Government type
name: Washington, DC geographic coordinates: 38 53 N, 77 02 W time difference: UTC-5 (during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November note: the US is divided into six time zones

Administrative divisions
note: from 18 July 1947 until 1 October 1994, the US administered the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; it entered into a political relationship with all four political units: the Northern Mariana Islands is a commonwealth in political union with the US (effective 3 November 1986); the Republic of the Marshall Islands signed a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 21 October 1986); the Federated States of Micronesia signed a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 3 November 1986); Palau concluded a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 1 October 1994)

Independence
chief of state: President George W. BUSH (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President George W. BUSH (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president with Senate approval elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by a college of representatives who are elected directly from each state; president and vice president serve four-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held on 4 November 2008) election results: George W. BUSH reelected president; percent of popular vote - George W. BUSH 50.9%, John KERRY 48.1%, other 1.0%

Legislative branch
elections: Senate - last held 7 November 2006 (next to be held November 2008); House of Representatives - last held 7 November 2006 (next to be held November 2008) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Democratic Party 49, Republican Party 49, independent 2; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Democratic Party 233, Republican Party 202

Judicial branch
agriculture: 0.9% industry: 20.6% services: 78.5% (2007 est.)

Labor force
note: figures exclude the unemployed (2007)

Unemployment rate
lowest 10%: 2% highest 10%: 30% (2007 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index
revenues: $2.568 trillion expenditures: $2.731 trillion (2007 est.)

Public debt
British pounds per US dollar -: 0.4993 (2007), 0.5418 (2006), 0.5500 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003) Canadian dollars per US dollar -: 1.0724 (2007), 1.1334 (2006), 1.2118 (2005), 1.3010 (2004), 1.4011 (2003) Japanese yen per US dollar -: 117.99 (2007), 116.18 (2006) 110.22 (2005), 108.19 (2004), 115.93 (2003) euros per US dollar -: 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.8860 (2003) Chinese yuan per US dollar -: 7.61 (2007), 7.97 (2006), 8.1943 (2005), 8.2768 (2004), 8.2770 (2003)

Fiscal year
general assessment: a large, technologically advanced, multipurpose communications system domestic: a large system of fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and domestic satellites carries every form of telephone traffic; a rapidly growing cellular system carries mobile telephone traffic throughout the country international: country code - 1; 24 ocean cable systems in use; satellite earth stations - 61 Intelsat (45 Atlantic Ocean and 16 Pacific Ocean), 5 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 4 Inmarsat (Pacific and Atlantic Ocean regions) (2000)

Radio broadcast stations
total: 5,143 over 3,047 m: 191 2,438 to 3,047 m: 224 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1,452 914 to 1,523 m: 2,323 under 914 m: 953 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways
total: 9,804 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 153 914 to 1,523 m: 1,732 under 914 m: 7,912 (2007)

Heliports
total: 226,612 km standard gauge: 226,612 km 1.435-m gauge (2005)

Roadways
total: 6,430,366 km paved: 4,165,110 km (includes 75,009 km of expressways) unpaved: 2,265,256 km (2005)

Waterways
note: Saint Lawrence Seaway of 3,769 km, including the Saint Lawrence River of 3,058 km, shared with Canada (2007)

Merchant marine
total: 446 ships (1000 GRT or over) 10,308,428 GRT/12,616,742 DWT by type: barge carrier 6, bulk carrier 64, cargo 82, carrier 2, chemical tanker 20, container 82, passenger 20, passenger/cargo 60, petroleum tanker 59, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 26, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 20 foreign-owned: 67 (Australia 2, Canada 4, Denmark 29, Germany 6, Malaysia 4, Netherlands 1, Norway 4, Singapore 11, Sweden 5, UK 1) registered in other countries: 785 (Antigua and Barbuda 8, Australia 5, Bahamas 162, Belize 3, Bermuda 23, Cambodia 6, Canada 3, Cayman Islands 41, Comoros 2, Cyprus 8, Ecuador 1, Greece 10, Honduras 1, Hong Kong 22, Ireland 2, Isle of Man 4, Italy 16, Liberia 103, South Korea 7, Luxembourg 3, Malta 11, Marshall Islands 129, Netherlands 13, Netherlands Antilles 1, Norway 18, Panama 115, Peru 1, Portugal 1, Puerto Rico 3, Russia 1, Singapore 17, Spain 9, St Vincent and The Grenadines 21, Sweden 1, Trinidad and Tobago 1, Tuvalu 1, UK 11, Vanuatu 1, unknown 4) (2007)

Ports and terminals
males age 18-49: 67,742,879 females age 18-49: 67,070,144 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service
males age 18-49: 54,609,050 females age 18-49: 54,696,706 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually
males age 18-49: 2,143,873 females age 18-49: 2,036,201 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP
refugees (country of origin): the US admitted 62,643 refugees during FY04/05 including, 10,586 (Somalia), 8,549 (Laos), 6,666 (Russia), 6,479 (Cuba), 3,100 (Haiti), 2,136 (Iran) (2006)

Illicit drugs
world's largest consumer of cocaine, shipped from Colombia through Mexico and the Caribbean; consumer of ecstasy and of Mexican heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine; minor consumer of high-quality Southeast Asian heroin; illicit producer of cannabis, marijuana, depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens, and methamphetamine; money-laundering center

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean; achieved independence in 1776 [syn: United States, United States of America, America, the States, US, U.S., USA, U.S.A.]
2: the executive and legislative and judicial branches of the federal government of the United States [syn: United States government, United States, U.S. government, US Government, U.S.]

Merriam Webster's

noun plural but singular or plural in construction Date: 1617 a federation of states especially when forming a nation in a usually specified territory <advocating a United States of Europe>

U.S. Military Dictionary

Includes the land area, internal waters, territorial sea, and airspace of the United States, including the following: a. US territories, possessions, and commonwealths; and b. Other areas over which the US Government has complete jurisdiction and control or has exclusive authority or defense responsibility.

Moby Thesaurus

America, Columbia, Dixie, Dixieland, Down East, East, East Coast, Land of Liberty, Middle Atlantic, Middle West, New England, North, North Central region, Northeast, Northwest, Pacific Northwest, South, Southeast, Southwest, Sunbelt, US, USA, Uncle Sugar, West, West Coast, Yankeeland, eastland, northland, stateside, the Coast, the States, the melting pot, westland, wild West