United States of America
Flag Great Seal
Motto:  "In God we trust" (official)[1][2][3] "E pluribus unum" (Latin) (traditional) "Out of many, one"
Anthem: "The Star-Spangled Banner"
Capital	Washington, D.C.
Largest city	New York City
Official languages	None at federal level[a]
National language	American English[b]
Demonym(s)	American
Government	Federal presidential constitutional republic
• President	Barack Obama (D)
• Vice President	Joe Biden (D)
• Speaker of the House	John Boehner (R)
• Chief Justice	John Roberts
Legislature	Congress
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	House of Representatives
Independence  from Great Britain
• Declared	July 4, 1776
• Recognized	September 3, 1783
• Constitution	June 21, 1788
Area
• Total	9,826,675 km2 (3,794,100 sq mi)[4][c] (3rd/4th)
• Water (%)	6.76
Population
• 2013 estimate	336,565,000[5] (3rd)
• Density	34.2/km2 (88.6/sq mi) (179th)
GDP (PPP)	2013 estimate
• Total	$16.724 trillion[6] (1st)
• Per capita	$52,839[6] (6th)
GDP (nominal)	2013 estimate
• Total	$16.724 trillion[6] (1st)
• Per capita	$52,839[6] (9th)
Gini (2011)	47.7[7] high (39th (2009))
HDI (2013)	0.937[8] very high (3rd)
Currency	[[]] ($) (USD)
Time zone	UTC−5 to −10
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 to −10[e]
Driving side	right[g]
Calling code	+1
ISO 3166 code	US
Internet TLD	.us   .gov   .mil   .edu
^ English is the official language of at least 28 states; some sources give higher figures, based on differing definitions of "official".[9] English and Hawaiian are both official languages in the state of Hawaii. ^ 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 is the second most commonly spoken language. ^ Whether the United States or China is larger has been 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. ^ 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 million people, mostly in Puerto Rico). ^ See Time in the United States for details about laws governing time zones in the United States. ^ Does not include insular areas and United States Minor Outlying Islands, which have their own ISO 3166 codes. ^ Except U.S. Virgin Islands.

The United States, officially the United States of America, is a country in northern North America. Its 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 country's borders worldwide. At 4 square miles (9.83 square kilometres) in size, the U.S. is the 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 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 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 two world wars confirmed its status as a global superpower and a 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 states, 16 territories, a federal district, and various overseas 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 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 third largest in the world. Americans are multiethnic and multicultural, the product of over two centuries of large-scale 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

History

Prehistory

Native American and European contact

13 Colonies & French/Indian War

Independence & Constitution

Expansion & Monroe Doctrine

Civil War & Reconstruction

Gilded Age & Spanish-American War

WW I, Roaring 20s, Depression

New Deal, World Wars

Cold War Era & Space Race

Modern Era

Government

States and territories

Geography

The Kennedy Space Center in Florida helped the U.S. explore outer space.

The Kennedy Space Center in Florida helped the U.S. explore outer space.

The Kennedy Space Center in Florida helped the U.S. explore outer space.

Biodiversity

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

The White House used by the U.S. President

Economy

The Kennedy Space Center in Florida helped the U.S. explore outer space.

The Kennedy Space Center in Florida helped the U.S. explore outer space.

Science and technology

The Kennedy Space Center in Florida helped the U.S. explore outer space.

Demographics

Culture

See also

• 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
• Template:Wikipedia books link

References

Bibliography

Further reading