"United States of America", "America", "US", "USA", and "USOA" redirect here.

For the landmass

comprising North, Central and South America, see Americas. For other uses, see America
(disambiguation), US (disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), USOA (disambiguation), and United
States (disambiguation).

Coordinates: 40°N 100°W

United States of America

Flag

Great Seal

Motto:

"In God We Trust"[1][fn 1]

Other traditional mottos [show]

Anthem:
"The Star-Spangled Banner"
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March:
"The Stars and Stripes Forever"[2][3]
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 The contiguous United States plus Alaska and Hawaii

The United States including its territories

Capital Washington, D.C.

38°53′N 77°01′W

Largest city New York City

40°43′N 74°00′W

Official languages None at federal level[fn 2]

National language English[fn 3]

Ethnic groups(2016)[6] By race:

77.1% White
13.3% Black
5.6% Asian
2.6% Other/multiracial
1.2% Native
0.2% Pacific Islander
Ethnicity:
17.6% Hispanic or Latino
82.4% non-Hispanic or Latino

Religion (2016)[7] 73.7% Christian

18.2% Unaffiliated
2.1% Jewish
0.8% Muslim
 2.5% Other
2.6% Unkown

Demonym American

Government Federal presidentialrepublic

• President Donald Trump

• Vice President Mike Pence
• House Speaker Paul Ryan
• Chief Justice John Roberts

Legislature Congress

• Upper house Senate

• Lower house House of Representatives

Independence from Great Britain

• Declaration July 4, 1776

• Confederation March 1, 1781
• Treaty of Paris September 3, 1783
• Constitution June 21, 1788
• Last polity admitted March 24, 1976

Area
• Total area 3,796,742 sq mi (9,833,520 km2)[8]
(3rd/4th)
• Water (%) 6.97
• Total land area 3,531,905 sq mi (9,147,590 km2)

Population
• 2017 estimate 325,719,178[9] (3rd)
• 2010 census 308,745,538[10] (3rd)
• Density 85/sq mi (32.8/km2) (179th)

GDP (PPP) 2017 estimate

• Total $19.390 trillion[11] (2nd)
• Per capita $59,501[11] (11th)

GDP (nominal) 2017 estimate

• Total $19.390 trillion[11] (1st)
• Per capita $59,501[11] (7th)

Gini (2015) 39.0[12]

medium
 HDI (2015) 0.920[13]
very high · 10th

Currency United States dollar ($) (USD)

Time zone (UTC−4 to −12, +10, +11)

• Summer (DST) (UTC−4 to −10[fn 4])

Date format mm/dd/yyyy

Drives on the right[fn 5]

Calling code +1

ISO 3166 code US

Internet TLD .us

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is
a federal republic composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories,
and various possessions.[fn 6] At 3.8 million square miles (9.8 million km2), the United States is the
world's third- or fourth-largest country by total area[fn 7] and just fractionally smaller than the entire
continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 325 million people, the U.S.
is the third-most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by
population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district
are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the
northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering
Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelagoin the mid-Pacific Ocean. The
U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine
official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make
it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.[19]
Paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago.
[20]
European colonization began in the 16th century. The United States emerged from the thirteen
British colonies established along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the
colonies following the French and Indian War led to the American Revolution, which began in 1775,
and the subsequent Declaration of Independence in 1776. The war ended in 1783 with the United
States becoming the first country to gain independence from a European power.[21] The current
constitution was adopted in 1788, with the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of
Rights, being ratified in 1791 to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. The United States
embarked on a vigorous expansion across North America throughout the 19th century, acquiring
new territories,[22] displacing Native American tribes, and gradually admitting new states until it
spanned the continent by 1848.[22] During the second half of the 19th century, the Civil Warled to the
abolition of slavery.[23][24] By the end of the century, the United States had extended into the Pacific
Ocean,[25] and its economy, driven in large part by the Industrial Revolution, began to soar.
[26]
The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the country's status as a global military
power. The United States emerged from World War II as a global superpower, the first country to
develop nuclear weapons, the only country to use them in warfare, and a permanent member of
the United Nations Security Council. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet
Union competed in the Space Race, culminating with the 1969 moon landing. The end of the Cold
War and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the world's sole
superpower.[27] The United States is the world's oldest surviving federation. It is a representative
democracy, "in which majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by law".[28]
The United States is a founding member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary
Fund, Organization of American States (OAS), and other international organizations. The United
States is a highly developed country, with the world's largest economy by nominal GDP and second-
largest economy by PPP, accounting for approximately a quarter of global GDP.[29] The U.S.
economy is largely post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge-
based activities, although the manufacturing sector remains the second-largest in the world. [30] The
United States is the world's largest importer and the second largest exporter of goods.[31][32] Though its
population is only 4.3% of the world total,[33] the U.S. holds 33.4% of the total wealth in the world, the
largest share of global wealth concentrated in a single country.[34] The United States ranks among the
highest nations in several measures of socioeconomic performance, including average wage,
[35]
human development, per capita GDP, and productivity per person.[36] The U.S. is the
foremost military power in the world, making up a third of global military spending,[37] and is a
leading political, cultural, and scientific force internationally.[38]