{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2013}}

{{for|other uses of "US", "USA", and "United States"|US (disambiguation)|USA (disambiguation)|United States (disambiguation)}}

{{Infobox country

|conventional_long_name = United States of America

|common_name = United States

|image_flag = Flag of the United States.svg

|image_coat = Great Seal of the United States (obverse).svg

|symbol_type = Great Seal

|national_motto = <!--Please read the talk page before editing these mottos:--><div style="padding-bottom:0.2em;">"[[In God we trust]]" {{small|(official)}}<ref>{{USC|36|302}} ''National motto''</ref><ref>[[#Simonson|Simonson, 2010]]</ref><ref>[[#God|Dept. of Treasury, 2011]]</ref></div> <div style="line-height:1.15em;">{{native phrase|la|"[[E pluribus unum]]"|italics=off}} {{small|(traditional)}} <br />{{small|"Out of many, one"}}

</div>

|national_anthem = "[[The Star-Spangled Banner]]"<br /><center>[[File:Star Spangled Banner instrumental.ogg]]</center>

|image_map = USA orthographic.svg

|alt_map = Projection of North America with the United States in green

|map_width = 220px

|capital = [[Washington, D.C.]]

|latd=38 |latm=53 |latNS=N |longd=77 |longm=01 |longEW=W

|largest_city = [[New York City]]

|official_languages = {{nowrap|None at [[Federal government of the United States|federal level]]{{ref label|engoffbox|a|}}}}

|languages_type = [[National language]]

|languages = [[American English]]{{ref label|engfactobox|b|}}

|demonym = [[Americans|American]]

|government_type = [[Federalism|Federal]] [[Presidential system|presidential]] [[constitutional republic]]

|leader_title1 = [[President of the United States|President]]

|leader_name1 = {{nowrap|[[Barack Obama]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]])}}

|leader_title2 = [[Vice President (United States)|Vice President]]

|leader_name2 = {{nowrap|[[Joe Biden]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]])}}

|leader_title3 = {{nowrap|[[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|Speaker of the House]]}}

|leader_name3 = {{nowrap|[[John Boehner]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]])}}

|leader_title4 = [[Chief Justice (United States)|Chief Justice]]

|leader_name4 = [[John Roberts]]

|legislature = [[United States Congress|Congress]]

|upper_house = [[Senate (United States)|Senate]]

|lower_house = [[House of Representatives (United States)|House of Representatives]]

|sovereignty_type = [[American Revolution|Independence]]

|sovereignty_note = from [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]]

|established_event1 = [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declared]]

|established_date1 = July 4, 1776

|established_event2 = [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Recognized]]

|established_date2 = September 3, 1783

|established_event3 = {{nowrap|[[United States Constitution|Constitution]]}}

|established_date3 = June 21, 1788

|area_magnitude = 1 E12

|area_sq_mi = 3794101

|area_km2 = 9826675

|area_rank = 3rd/4th

|area_footnote = <ref name="WF"/>{{ref label|areabox|c|}}

|percent_water = 6.76

|population_estimate = {{formatnum:{{data United States | Poptoday }} }}<ref name="POP">{{cite web |url=http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |title=U.S. POPClock Projection}} (figure updated automatically).</ref>

|population_estimate_year = 2013

|population_estimate_rank = 3rd

|population_density_km2 = 34.2

|population_density_sq_mi = 88.6

|population_density_rank = 179th

|GDP_PPP_year = 2013

|GDP_PPP = {{nowrap|$16.724 trillion<ref name=IMF_GDP>{{cite web |url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2013/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2010&ey=2013&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&pr1.x=72&pr1.y=17&c=111&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CPPPSH%2CLP&grp=0&a= |publisher=International Monetary Fund |title=World Economic Outlook Database: United States |month=November |year=2013 |accessdate=November 5, 2013}}</ref><!--end nowrap:-->}}

|GDP_PPP_rank = 1st

|GDP_PPP_per_capita = $52,839<ref name="IMF_GDP"/>

|GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 6th

|GDP_nominal = {{nowrap|$16.724 trillion<ref name="IMF_GDP"/>}}

|GDP_nominal_rank = 1st

|GDP_nominal_year = 2013

|GDP_nominal_per_capita = $52,839<ref name="IMF_GDP"/>

|GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 9th

|Gini_year = 2011

|Gini_change = <!--increase/decrease/steady-->

|Gini = 47.7 <!--number only-->

|Gini_ref = <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/income_wealth/cb12-172.html |title=Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2011 |work=Newsroom |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |date=September 12, 2012 |accessdate=January 23, 2013}}</ref>

|Gini_rank = 39th (2009)

|HDI_year = 2013

|HDI_change = increase <!--increase/decrease/steady-->

|HDI = 0.937 <!--number only-->

|HDI_ref = <ref name="HDI">{{cite web |url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR2013_EN_Complete.pdf |title=Human Development Report 2013 |publisher=United Nations Development Programme |date= March 14, 2013 |accessdate= March 14, 2013}}</ref>

|HDI_rank = 3rd

|EF_year = 2007

|EF = {{decrease}} 8.0 gha<ref name="EF">{{cite web |url=http://www.footprintnetwork.org/images/uploads/Ecological_Footprint_Atlas_2010.pdf |title=Ecological Footprint Atlas 2010 |publisher=Global Footprint Network |accessdate=July 11, 2011}}</ref>

|EF_rank = 6th

|currency = [[{{#property:p38}}]] ($)

|currency_code = USD

|country_code = USA

|utc_offset = −5 to −10

|utc_offset_DST = −4 to −10{{ref label|UTCbox|e|}}

|calling_code = [[North American Numbering Plan|+1]]

|iso3166code = US

|drives_on = right{{ref label|driving|g|}}

|cctld = {{nowrap|[[.us]]{{nbsp|3}}[[.gov]]{{nbsp|3}}[[.mil]]{{nbsp|3}}[[.edu]]}}

|footnote_a = {{note|engoffbox}} English is the [[Official language of the United States|official language]] of at least 28 states; some sources give higher figures, based on differing definitions of "official".{{big|<ref name=ILW/>}} English and [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]] are both official languages in the state of [[Hawaii]].

|footnote_b = {{note|engfactobox}} English is the ''[[de facto]]'' language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80 percent of Americans aged five and older. [[Spanish language in the United States|Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language]].

|footnote_c = {{note|areabox}} Whether the United States or [[China]] is larger has been [[List of countries by area|disputed]]. The figure given is from the U.S. [[Central Intelligence Agency]]'s ''[[The World Factbook]]''. Other sources give smaller figures. All authoritative calculations of the country's size include only the 50 states and the District of Columbia, not the [[Territories of the United States|territories]].

|footnote_d = {{note|popbox}} The population estimate is of people whose usual residence is within the 50 states and the District of Columbia, regardless of nationality. It does not include those living in the territories (over 4&nbsp;million people, mostly in [[Puerto Rico]]).

|footnote_e = {{note|UTCbox}} See [[Time in the United States]] for details about laws governing time zones in the United States.

|footnote_f = {{note|ISO3166box}} Does not include [[insular area]]s and [[United States Minor Outlying Islands]], which have their own [[ISO 3166]] codes.

|footnote_g = {{note|driving}} Except [[United States Virgin Islands|U.S. Virgin Islands]].

}}

The '''United States''', officially the '''United States of America''', is a country in northern [[North America]]. Its [[Contiguous United States|contiguous territory]] is bordered in the north by [[Canada]], in the south by [[Mexico]], in the west by the [[Pacific Ocean]], and in the east by the [[Atlantic Ocean]]. Its non-contiguous territory extends the [[Borders of the United States|country's borders]] worldwide. At {{convert|9.83|sqkm|abbr=off|sigfig=1|disp=flip}} in size, the U.S. is the [[List of countries and dependencies by area|fourth-largest country by total area]].

America's mainland was settled by [[Paleo-Indians]] around 15,000 years ago; over the course of millennia, their descendants developed [[Native Americans in the United States|complex societies and civilizations]]. Europeans colonized the continent starting in the 16th century, with the British Empire controlling vast areas of North America by the 18th century, including [[Thirteen Colonies]] in the Atlantic coast that would declare their independence in 1776 to form the United States. After achieving autonomy in 1783, the US expanded its territory under the notion of [[manifest destiny]], and pursued hegemony in the [[Western Hemisphere]] under the [[Monroe Doctrine]]. The American union was preserved following a [[American Civil War|civil war]] over the issue of slavery, and the US thereafter entered a [[Gilded Age]] of rising industrialization, immigration, and social reform. In the twentieth century, the country's leading role in [[World wars#World wars of the 20th century|two world wars]] confirmed its status as a global [[superpower]] and a [[Permanent members of the United Nations Security Council|permanent member]] of the [[United Nations Security Council]]. After the end of a long [[Cold War]] with the [[Soviet Union]] in 1991, the United States became the world's foremost economic, military, and technological power.

The United States is a [[federal republic]] divided into 50 [[U.S. state|states]], 16 [[United States territory|territories]], a [[Federal district (United States)|federal district]], and various overseas [[Territories of the United States#Extraterritorial jurisdiction|extraterritorial jurisdictions]]. Its diverse geography include the vast [[Interior Plains]], arctic [[Alaska]], tropical [[Hawaii]], the valleys of its [[Appalachian highlands]], and the arid deserts of its [[Southwestern United States|Southwest]] region. It is a [[developed country]] with a very high Human Development Index. Its national economy is the world's largest, and it is fueled by an abundance of natural resources, a well-developed infrastructure, and a large manufacturing sector.

The U.S. population, estimated at 316 million, is the [[List of countries by population|third largest]] in the world. Americans are multiethnic and multicultural, the product of over two centuries of large-scale [[Immigration to the United States|immigration]]. The main spoken language is English, and a significant number of the nation's inhabitants also speak Spanish. At the forefront of its national identity, the U.S. has traditionally upheld the ideals of freedom, democracy, and opportunity.

==Etymology==

{{See also|Names for United States citizens}}

== History ==

{{Main|History of the United States|Timeline of United States history}}

=== Prehistory ===

=== Native American and European contact ===

[[File:Treaty of Penn with Indians by Benjamin West.jpg|thumb|left|''The Treaty of Penn with the Indians'']]

{{clear}}

=== 13 Colonies & French/Indian War ===

=== Independence & Constitution ===

[[File:Emanuel Leutze - Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way (Central Section) - Capitol.png|thumb|left|Will edit this in a little bit.]]

{{clear}}

=== Expansion & Monroe Doctrine ===

=== Civil War & Reconstruction ===

[[File:Battle of Franklin, November 30, 1864.jpg|left|thumb|Largest ancestry groups by county, 2000]]

{{clear}}

=== Gilded Age & Spanish-American War ===

=== WW I, Roaring 20s, Depression ===

=== New Deal, World Wars ===

=== Cold War Era & Space Race ===

[[File:Space Shuttle Columbia launching.jpg|left|thumb|Largest ancestry groups by county, 2000]]

{{clear}}

=== Modern Era ===

==Government==

{{Main|Federal government of the United States|state governments of the United States|elections in the United States}}

[[File:Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States.jpg|right|thumb|Largest ancestry groups by county, 2000]]

[[File:Dean Franklin - 06.04.03 Mount Rushmore Monument (by-sa).jpg|left|thumb|Largest ancestry groups by county, 2000]]

{{clear}}

==States and territories==

{{Main|Political divisions of the United States|U.S. state|Territories of the United States|List of states and territories of the United States}}

{{Further|Territorial evolution of the United States|United States territorial acquisitions}}

{{USA midsize imagemap with state names}}

{{clear}}

==Geography==

{{Main|Geography of the United States|Climate of the United States|Environment of the United States}}

{{multiple image

| align = left

| direction = vertical

| image1 = USA 10654 Bryce Canyon Luca Galuzzi 2007.jpg

| alt1 = Red cartouche

| width1 = 200

| caption1 = The [[Kennedy Space Center]] in Florida helped the U.S. [[space exploration|explore outer space]].

| image2 = Willow Flats area and Teton Range in Grand Teton National Park.jpg

| alt2 = Red cartouche

| width2 = 200

| caption2 = The [[Kennedy Space Center]] in Florida helped the U.S. [[space exploration|explore outer space]].

| image3 = Matanuska Glacier mouth.jpg

| alt3 = Red cartouche

| width3 = 200

| caption3 = The [[Kennedy Space Center]] in Florida helped the U.S. [[space exploration|explore outer space]].

}}

{{clear}}

==Biodiversity==

{{multiple image

| align = right

| direction = vertical

| image1 = Weisskopf Seeadler haliaeetus leucocephalus 2 amk.jpg

| alt1 = Yellow cartouche

| width1 = 200

| caption1 = U.S. Capitol seats the Congress: the Senate, left; the House, right

| image2 = American bison k5680-1.jpg

| alt2 = Red cartouche

| width2 = 200

| caption2 = The White House used by the U.S. President

}}

{{clear}}

==Economy==

{{Main|Economy of the United States}}

{{multiple image

| align = left

| direction = vertical

| image1 = Photos NewYork1 032.jpg

| alt1 = Red cartouche

| width1 = 200

| caption1 = The [[Kennedy Space Center]] in Florida helped the U.S. [[space exploration|explore outer space]].

| image2 = Las Vegas (Nevada, USA), The Strip -- 2012 -- 19.jpg

| alt2 = Red cartouche

| width2 = 200

| caption2 = The [[Kennedy Space Center]] in Florida helped the U.S. [[space exploration|explore outer space]].

}}

{{clear}}

==Science and technology==

{{Main|Science and technology in the United States}}

{{multiple image

| align = right

| direction = vertical

| image1 = Aerial of Texas Medical Center with Downtown Houston in the background.jpg

| alt1 = Yellow cartouche

| width1 = 200

| caption1 = The [[Texas Medical Center]] in Houston is the world's largest medical center.

| image2 = GoldenGateBridge BakerBeach MC.jpg

| alt2 = Red cartouche

| width2 = 200

| caption2 = The [[Kennedy Space Center]] in Florida helped the U.S. [[space exploration|explore outer space]].

}}

{{clear}}

==Demographics==

{{Main|Demographics of the United States|Americans|List of United States cities by population}}

[[File:Mulberry Street NYC c1900 LOC 3g04637u edit.jpg|left|thumb|Largest ancestry groups by county, 2000]]

[[File:USMC-09611.jpg|right|thumb|Largest ancestry groups by county, 2000]]

{{clear}}

==Culture==

{{Main|Culture of the United States}}

[[File:EdwardMoran-UnveilingTheStatueofLiberty1886Large.jpg|left|thumb|The [[Statue of Liberty]] in [[New York City]] is a symbol of the United States and its ideals of freedom, democracy, and opportunity.<ref>{{cite web| title = Statue of Liberty| work=World Heritage| publisher=UNESCO| url = http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/307| accessdate = October 20, 2011}}</ref>]]

{{clear}}

==See also==

{{Portal|United States}}

* [[Index of United States-related articles]]

* [[Outline of the United States]]

* [[List of United States cities by population]]

* [[List of metropolitan areas of the United States]]

* [[List of official United States national symbols]]

*{{Wikipedia books link}}

==References==

<!--Please DO ''not'' use a scroll template or form/table for the reflink, please read warning on the scroll template page [[Template:Scroll box#Warning]].-->

{{reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==

==Further reading==

{{refbegin|30em}}

{{refend}}