United States
Country primarily located in North America / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The United States of America (USA or U.S.A.), commonly known as the United States (US or U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America, between Canada and Mexico. It is a federation of 50 states, a federal capital district (Washington, D.C.), and 326 Indian reservations. Outside the union of states, it asserts sovereignty over five major unincorporated island territories and various uninhabited islands.[lower-alpha 10] The country has the world's third-largest land area,[lower-alpha 4] largest maritime exclusive economic zone, and the third-largest population, exceeding 334 million.[lower-alpha 11]
United States of America | |
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Motto: "In God We Trust"[1] Other traditional mottos:[2]
| |
Anthem: "The Star-Spangled Banner"[3] | |
Capital | Washington, D.C. 38°53′N 77°1′W |
Largest city | New York City 40°43′N 74°0′W |
Official languages | None at the federal level[lower-alpha 1] |
National language | English[lower-alpha 2] |
Ethnic groups | By race:
By origin:
|
Religion (2022)[7] |
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Demonym(s) | American[lower-alpha 3][8] |
Government | Federal presidential republic |
Joe Biden | |
Kamala Harris | |
Mike Johnson | |
John Roberts | |
Legislature | Congress |
Senate | |
House of Representatives | |
Independence from Great Britain | |
July 4, 1776 (1776-07-04) | |
March 1, 1781 (1781-03-01) | |
September 3, 1783 (1783-09-03) | |
June 21, 1788 (1788-06-21) | |
May 5, 1992 (1992-05-05) | |
Area | |
• Total area | 3,796,742 sq mi (9,833,520 km2)[9] (3rd[lower-alpha 4]) |
• Water (%) | 7.0[10] (2010) |
• Land area | 3,531,905 sq mi (9,147,590 km2) (3rd) |
Population | |
• 2023 estimate | 334,914,895[11] |
• 2020 census | 331,449,281[lower-alpha 5][12] (3rd) |
• Density | 87/sq mi (33.6/km2) (185th) |
GDP (PPP) | 2023 estimate |
• Total | $26.950 trillion[13] (2nd) |
• Per capita | $80,412[13] (9th) |
GDP (nominal) | 2023 estimate |
• Total | $26.950 trillion[13] (1st) |
• Per capita | $80,412[13] (7th) |
Gini (2020) | 39.4[lower-alpha 6][14] medium |
HDI (2022) | 0.927[15] very high (20th) |
Currency | U.S. dollar ($) (USD) |
Time zone | UTC−4 to −12, +10, +11 |
UTC−4 to −10[lower-alpha 7] | |
Date format | mm/dd/yyyy[lower-alpha 8] |
Driving side | right[lower-alpha 9] |
Calling code | +1 |
ISO 3166 code | US |
Internet TLD | .us[16] |
Paleo-Indians migrated across the Bering land bridge more than 12,000 years ago. British colonization led to the first settlement of the Thirteen Colonies in Virginia in 1607. Clashes with the British Crown over taxation and political representation sparked the American Revolution, with the Second Continental Congress formally declaring independence on July 4, 1776. Following its victory in the Revolutionary War (1775–1783), the country continued to expand across North America. As more states were admitted, sectional division over slavery led to the secession of the Confederate States of America, which fought the remaining states of the Union during the 1861–1865 American Civil War. With the Union's victory and preservation, slavery was abolished nationally. By 1900, the United States had established itself as a great power, becoming the world's largest economy. After Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the U.S. entered World War II. The aftermath of the war left the U.S. and the Soviet Union as the world's two superpowers and led to the Cold War, during which both countries engaged in a struggle for ideological dominance and international influence. Following the Soviet Union's collapse and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the U.S. emerged as the world's sole superpower.
The U.S. national government is a presidential constitutional republic and liberal democracy with three separate branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. It has a bicameral national legislature composed of the House of Representatives, a lower house based on population; and the Senate, an upper house based on equal representation for each state. Substantial autonomy is given to states and several territories, with a political culture that emphasizes liberty, equality under the law, individualism, and limited government.
One of the most developed countries, the United States has the largest economy in the world, accounting for over a quarter of global GDP. It possesses by far the largest amount of wealth of any country and the highest median income per capita of any non-microstate. The U.S. ranks among the world's highest in income, wealth, economic competitiveness, productivity, innovation, human rights, and higher education. It is a founding member of the World Bank, IMF, Organization of American States, NATO, Quad, World Health Organization, and a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
The first documentary evidence of the phrase "United States of America" dates back to a letter from January 2, 1776, written by Stephen Moylan, a Continental Army aide to General George Washington, to Joseph Reed, Washington's aide-de-camp. Moylan expressed his desire to go "with full and ample powers from the United States of America to Spain" to seek assistance in the Revolutionary War effort.[20][21] The first known publication of the phrase "United States of America" was in an anonymous essay in The Virginia Gazette newspaper in Williamsburg, on April 6, 1776.[22]
By June 1776, the name "United States of America" appeared in drafts of the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, authored by John Dickinson, a Founding Father from the Province of Pennsylvania,[23][24] and in the Declaration of Independence, written primarily by Thomas Jefferson and adopted by the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, on July 4, 1776.[23][25]