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Country Profile
Flag
Geography
Location
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico. The US is the world's third-largest country by size (after Russia and Canada) and by population (after China and India); Mt. McKinley is highest point in North America and Death Valley the lowest point on the continent.
Climate
Mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains.
Government Type
Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition
Capital
Washington, DC
People
Population
295,734,134 (July 2005 est.)
Life Expectancy at Birth
total population: 77.71 years
male: 74.89 years
female: 80.67 years (2005 est.)
Ethnic Groups
white 81.7%, black 12.9%, Asian 4.2%, Amerindian and Alaska native 1%, native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0.2% (2003 est.)
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
Protestant 52%, Roman Catholic 24%, Mormon 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 1%, other 10%, none 10% (2002 est.)
Languages
English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census)
Currency
US dollar (USD)
Communications
The US has a large, technologically advanced, multipurpose communications system, numerous television and radio stations, and extensive internet access.
Transportation
227,736 km in Railways, 6,393,603 km in highways, 14,857 (of which 5,128 have paved runways), and 155 heliports.