United States of America

Geography

Location: North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico. Area: 9,629,091 sq. km. Principal cities: New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, and Las Vegas. Tourist attractions: Black Hills National Forest, Central Park, Death Valley National Park, Mt Rushmore National Monument, Niagara Falls, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and Statue of Liberty. Time zone: GMT -5 hours.

People

Population: 301,139,947 (July 2007 est.). Population growth rate: 0.894% (2007 est.). Sex ratio: 0.967 male(s)/female (2007 est.). Religions: Protestant, Roman Catholic, Jewish, others, none. Languages: English, Spanish (spoken by a sizable minority). Literacy rate: 97% (1979 est.). In­fant mortality rate: 6.37 deaths/ 1,000 live births (2007 est.). Life expectancy: Total 78 years, Male 75.15 years, Female 80.97 years (2007 est.).

Government

Capital: Washington DC. National anthem: The Star Spangled Banner. Government type: Constitution-based federal republic. Independence: 4 July 1776 (from Great Britain). Legal system: Based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts. Executive branch: Chief of state: President George W. Bush (since 20 January 2001) and Vice- President Richard B. Cheney (since 20 January 2001). Both re-elected in November 2004. The President is both the chief of state and head of government. Elections and election results: President and vice-president are 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. Last elections were held on 2 November 2004. Legislative branch: USA has a bicameral Congress. It consists of the Senate that has 100 seats, one-third of which are renewed every two years. Two members are elected from each state by popular vote to serve six-year terms. The other chamber is the House of Representatives that has 435 seats. Members are directly elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms, Elections and Election Results: Elections to the Senate were last held in November 2006. Elections to the House of Representatives were last held in November 2006. Judicial branch: Supreme Court. The president appoints its nine justices 'for life' with confirmation by the Senate. In addition, there are the United States Courts of Appeal, United States District Courts, State and County Courts.

Economy

Currency: US Dollar. Currency con­version: US dollar per Indian rupee— 0.0248 (June 2007 est.). GDP: Purchasing power parity—$13.1 3 trillion (2006 est.). GDP—real growth rate: 3.2% (2006 est.). GDP—per capita: Purchasing power parity—$44,000 (2006 est.). Inflation rate: 2.5% (2006). Population below poverty line: 12% (2004 est.). Unemployment rate: 4.8% (2006 est.). Exports: $1,024 trillion f.o.b. (2006 est.). Imports: $1,869 trillion f.o.b. (2006 est.). External debt: 10.04 trillion (2006 est.).

Transport and Communications

Railways: 226,605 km. Roads: 6,430,366 km. Airports: John F. Kennedy International Airport and La Guardia Airport. Telephones: 268 million (2005). Mobile cellular: 219.4 million (2005). Internet users: 205.327 million (2005). Internet country code: .us. ISD code: 1.