North America
Page last updated: January 31, 2024
Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions. The two most traumatic experiences in the nation's history were the Civil War (1861-65), in which a northern Union of states defeated a secessionist Confederacy of 11 southern slave states, and the Great Depression of the 1930s, an economic downturn during which about a quarter of the labor force lost its jobs. Buoyed by victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the US remains the world's most powerful nation state. Since the end of World War II, the economy has achieved relatively steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology.
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
38 00 N, 97 00 W
North America
Total: 9,833,517 km²
Land: 9,147,593 km²
Water: 685,924 km²
Note: includes only the 50 states and District of Columbia, no overseas territories
About half the size of Russia; about three-tenths the size of Africa; about half the size of South America (or slightly larger than Brazil); slightly larger than China; more than twice the size of the European Union
Total: 12,002 km
Border countries (2): Canada 8,891 km (including 2,475 km with Alaska); Mexico 3,111 km
Note: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is leased by the US and is part of Cuba; the base boundary is 28.5 km
19,924 km
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Continental shelf: not specified
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
Note: many consider Denali, the highest peak in the US, to be the worldâs coldest mountain because of its combination of high elevation and its subarctic location at 63 degrees north latitude; permanent snow and ice cover over 75 percent of the mountain, and enormous glaciers, up to 45 miles long and 3,700 feet thick, spider out from its base in every direction; it is home to some of the worldâs coldest and most violent weather, where winds of over 150 miles per hour and temperatures of -93ËF have been recorded.
Vast central plain, mountains in west, hills and low mountains in east; rugged mountains and broad river valleys in Alaska; rugged, volcanic topography in Hawaii
Highest point: Denali 6,190 m (Mount McKinley) (highest point in North America)
Lowest point: Death Valley (lowest point in North America) -86 m
Mean elevation: 760 m
Note: Denali is one of the most striking features on the entire planet; at 20,310 feet, it is the crowning peak of the Alaska Range and the highest mountain on North America; it towers three and one-half vertical miles above its base, making it a mile taller from base to summit than Mt. Everest; Denali's base sits at about 2,000 feet above sea level and rises over three and one-half miles to its 20,310 foot summit; Everest begins on a 14,000-foot high plain, then summits at 29,028 feet.
Note: the peak of Mauna Kea (4,207 m above sea level) on the island of Hawaii rises about 10,200 m above the Pacific Ocean floor; by this measurement, it is the world's tallest mountain - higher than Mount Everest (8,850 m), which is recognized as the tallest mountain above sea level
Coal, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, rare earth elements, uranium, bauxite, gold, iron, mercury, nickel, potash, silver, tungsten, zinc, petroleum, natural gas, timber, arable land;
Note 1: the US has the world's largest coal reserves with 491 billion short tons accounting for 27% of the world's total
Note 2: the US is reliant on foreign imports for 100% of its needs for the following strategic resources: Arsenic, Cesium, Fluorspar, Gallium, Graphite, Indium, Manganese, Niobium, Rare Earths, Rubidium, Scandium, Tantalum, Yttrium; see Appendix H: Strategic Materials for further details
Agricultural land: 44.5% (2018 est.)
Arable land: 16.8% (2018 est.)
Permanent crops: 0.3% (2018 est.)
Permanent pasture: 27.4% (2018 est.)
Forest: 33.3% (2018 est.)
Other: 22.2% (2018 est.)
234,782 km² (2017)
Fresh water lake(s): Michigan â 57,750 km²; Superior* â 53,348 km²; Huron* â 23,597 km²; Erie* â 12,890 km²; Ontario* â 9,220 km²; Lake of the Woods â 4,350 km²; Iliamna â 2,590 km²; Okeechobee â 1,810 km²; Belcharof â 1,190 km²; Red â 1,170 km²; Saint Clair â 1,113 km²; Champlain â 1,100 km²
Note - Great Lakes* area shown as US waters
Salt water lake(s): Great Salt â 4,360 km²; Pontchartrain â 1,620 km²; Selawik â 1,400 km²; Salton Sea â 950 km²
Missouri - 3,768 km; Mississippi - 3,544 km; Yukon river mouth (shared with Canada [s]) - 3,190 km; Saint Lawrence (shared with Canada) - 3,058 km; Rio Grande river source ( mouth shared with Mexico) - 3,057 km; Colorado river source (shared with Mexico [m]) - 2,333 km; Arkansas - 2,348 km; Columbia river mouth (shared with Canada [s]) - 2,250 km; Red - 2,188 km; Ohio - 2,102 km; Snake - 1,670 km
Note â [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
Atlantic Ocean drainage: (Gulf of Mexico) Mississippi* (3,202,185 km²); Rio Grande (607,965 km²); (Gulf of Saint Lawrence) Saint Lawrence* (1,049,636 km² total, US only 505,000 km²)
Pacific Ocean drainage: Yukon* (847,620 km², US only 23,820 km²); Colorado (703,148 km²); Columbia* (657,501 km², US only 554,501 km²)
Note - watersheds shared with Canada shown with *
Northern Great Plains Aquifer, Cambrian-Ordovician Aquifer System, Californian Central Valley Aquifer System, Ogallala Aquifer (High Plains), Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains Aquifer
Large urban clusters are spread throughout the eastern half of the US (particularly the Great Lakes area, northeast, east, and southeast) and the western tier states; mountainous areas, principally the Rocky Mountains and Appalachian chain, deserts in the southwest, the dense boreal forests in the extreme north, and the central prarie states are less densely populated; Alaska's population is concentrated along its southern coast - with particular emphasis on the city of Anchorage - and Hawaii's is centered on the island of Oahu
Tsunamis; volcanoes; earthquake activity around Pacific Basin; hurricanes along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts; tornadoes in the Midwest and Southeast; mud slides in California; forest fires in the west; flooding; permafrost in northern Alaska, a major impediment to development
Volcanism: volcanic activity in the Hawaiian Islands, Western Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, and in the Northern Mariana Islands; both Mauna Loa (4,170 m) in Hawaii and Mount Rainier (4,392 m) in Washington have been deemed Decade Volcanoes by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to their explosive history and close proximity to human populations; Pavlof (2,519 m) is the most active volcano in Alaska's Aleutian Arc and poses a significant threat to air travel since the area constitutes a major flight path between North America and East Asia; St. Helens (2,549 m), famous for the devastating 1980 eruption, remains active today; numerous other historically active volcanoes exist, mostly concentrated in the Aleutian arc and Hawaii; they include: in Alaska: Aniakchak, Augustine, Chiginagak, Fourpeaked, Iliamna, Katmai, Kupreanof, Martin, Novarupta, Redoubt, Spurr, Wrangell, Trident, Ugashik-Peulik, Ukinrek Maars, Veniaminof; in Hawaii: Haleakala, Kilauea, Loihi; in the Northern Mariana Islands: Anatahan; and in the Pacific Northwest: Mount Baker, Mount Hood; see note 2 under "Geography - note"
Note 1: world's third-largest country by size (after Russia and Canada) and by population (after China and India); Denali (Mt. McKinley) is the highest point (6,190 m) in North America and Death Valley the lowest point (-86 m) on the continent
Note 2: the western coast of the United States and southern coast of Alaska lie along the Ring of Fire, a belt of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters bordering the Pacific Ocean; up to 90% of the world's earthquakes and some 75% of the world's volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire
Note 3: the Aleutian Islands are a chain of volcanic islands that divide the Bering Sea (north) from the main Pacific Ocean (south); they extend about 1,800 km westward from the Alaskan Peninsula; the archipelago consists of 14 larger islands, 55 smaller islands, and hundreds of islets; there are 41 active volcanoes on the islands, which together form a large northern section of the Ring of Fire
Note 4: Mammoth Cave, in west-central Kentucky, is the world's longest known cave system with more than 650 km (405 miles) of surveyed passageways, which is nearly twice as long as the second-longest cave system, the Sac Actun underwater cave in Mexico - the world's longest underwater cave system (see "Geography - note" under Mexico);
Note 5: Kazumura Cave on the island of Hawaii is the world's longest and deepest lava tube cave; it has been surveyed at 66 km (41 mi) long and 1,102 m (3,614 ft) deep
Note 6: Bracken Cave outside of San Antonio, Texas is the world's largest bat cave; it is the summer home to the largest colony of bats in the world; an estimated 20 million Mexican free-tailed bats roost in the cave from March to October making it the world's largest known concentration of mammals
Note 7: the US is reliant on foreign imports for 100% of its needs for the following strategic resources - Arsenic, Cesium, Fluorspar, Gallium, Graphite, Indium, Manganese, Niobium, Rare Earths, Rubidium, Scandium, Tantalum, Yttrium; see Appendix H: Strategic Materials for further details
Note 8: three food crops are generally acknowledged to be native to areas of what is now the United States: cranberries, pecans, and sunflowers
339,665,118 (2023 est.)
Note: the US Census Bureau's 2020 census results show the US population as 331,449,281 as of 1 April 2020
Noun: American(s)
Adjective: American
White 61.6%, Black or African American 12.4%, Asian 6%, Amerindian and Alaska native 1.1%, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.2%, other 8.4%, two or more races 10.2% (2020 est.)
Note: a separate listing for Hispanic is not included because the US Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean persons of Spanish/Hispanic/Latino origin including those of Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican Republic, Spanish, and Central or South American origin living in the US who may be of any race or ethnic group (White, Black, Asian, etc.); an estimated 18.7% of the total US population is Hispanic as of 2020
English only 78.2%, Spanish 13.4%, Chinese 1.1%, other 7.3% (2017 est.)
Note: data represent the language spoken at home; the US has no official national language, but English has acquired official status in 32 of the 50 states; Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii, and 20 indigenous languages are official in Alaska
Protestant 46.5%, Roman Catholic 20.8%, Jewish 1.9%, Church of Jesus Christ 1.6%, other Christian 0.9%, Muslim 0.9%, Jehovah's Witness 0.8%, Buddhist 0.7%, Hindu 0.7%, other 1.8%, unaffiliated 22.8%, don't know/refused 0.6% (2014 est.)
0-14 years: 18.15% (male 31,509,186/female 30,154,408)
15-64 years: 63.72% (male 108,346,275/female 108,100,830)
65 years and over: 18.12% (2023 est.) (male 27,589,149/female 33,965,270)
2023 population pyramid:
Total dependency ratio: 53.7
Youth dependency ratio: 28
Elderly dependency ratio: 25.6
Potential support ratio: 3.9 (2021 est.)
Total: 38.5 years (2020)
Male: 37.2 years
Female: 39.8 years
0.68% (2023 est.)
12.2 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
8.4 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Large urban clusters are spread throughout the eastern half of the US (particularly the Great Lakes area, northeast, east, and southeast) and the western tier states; mountainous areas, principally the Rocky Mountains and Appalachian chain, deserts in the southwest, the dense boreal forests in the extreme north, and the central prarie states are less densely populated; Alaska's population is concentrated along its southern coast - with particular emphasis on the city of Anchorage - and Hawaii's is centered on the island of Oahu
Urban population: 83.3% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 0.96% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030
18.937 million New York-Newark, 12.534 million Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, 8.937 million Chicago, 6.707 million Houston, 6.574 million Dallas-Fort Worth, 5.490 million WASHINGTON, D.C. (capital) (2023)
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female NA
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
27 years (2019 est.)
21 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Total: 5.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Male: 5.5 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 4.7 deaths/1,000 live births
Total population: 80.8 years (2023 est.)
Male: 78.5 years
Female: 82.9 years
1.84 children born/woman (2023 est.)
0.9 (2023 est.)
73.9% (2017/19)
Improved: urban: 99.9% of population
Rural: 99.7% of population
Total: 99.9% of population
Unimproved: urban: 0.1% of population
Rural: 0.3% of population
Total: 0.1% of population (2020 est.)
18.8% of GDP (2020)
2.61 physicians/1,000 population (2018)
2.9 beds/1,000 population (2017)
Improved: urban: 99.8% of population
Rural: 98.9% of population
Total: 99.7% of population
Unimproved: urban: 0.2% of population
Rural: 11.1% of population
Total: 0.3% of population (2020 est.)
36.2% (2016)
Total: 8.93 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Beer: 3.97 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Wine: 1.67 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Spirits: 3.29 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Total: 23% (2020 est.)
Male: 28.4% (2020 est.)
Female: 17.5% (2020 est.)
0.4% (2017/18)
51.9% (2023 est.)
6.1% of GDP (2020 est.)
Total population: NA
Male: NA
Female: NA
Total: 16 years
Male: 16 years
Female: 17 years (2020)
Air pollution; large emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels; water pollution from runoff of pesticides and fertilizers; declining natural freshwater resources in much of the western part of the country require careful management; deforestation; mining; desertification; species conservation; invasive species (the Hawaiian Islands are particularly vulnerable)
Party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling
Signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping-London Protocol
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
Note: many consider Denali, the highest peak in the US, to be the worldâs coldest mountain because of its combination of high elevation and its subarctic location at 63 degrees north latitude; permanent snow and ice cover over 75 percent of the mountain, and enormous glaciers, up to 45 miles long and 3,700 feet thick, spider out from its base in every direction; it is home to some of the worldâs coldest and most violent weather, where winds of over 150 miles per hour and temperatures of -93ËF have been recorded.
Agricultural land: 44.5% (2018 est.)
Arable land: 16.8% (2018 est.)
Permanent crops: 0.3% (2018 est.)
Permanent pasture: 27.4% (2018 est.)
Forest: 33.3% (2018 est.)
Other: 22.2% (2018 est.)
Urban population: 83.3% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 0.96% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030
0.04% of GDP (2018 est.)
0.2% of GDP (2018 est.)
Particulate matter emissions: 7.18 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 5,006.3 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 685.74 megatons (2020 est.)
Municipal solid waste generated annually: 258 million tons (2015 est.)
Municipal solid waste recycled annually: 89.268 million tons (2014 est.)
Percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 34.6% (2014 est.)
Fresh water lake(s): Michigan â 57,750 km²; Superior* â 53,348 km²; Huron* â 23,597 km²; Erie* â 12,890 km²; Ontario* â 9,220 km²; Lake of the Woods â 4,350 km²; Iliamna â 2,590 km²; Okeechobee â 1,810 km²; Belcharof â 1,190 km²; Red â 1,170 km²; Saint Clair â 1,113 km²; Champlain â 1,100 km²
Note - Great Lakes* area shown as US waters
Salt water lake(s): Great Salt â 4,360 km²; Pontchartrain â 1,620 km²; Selawik â 1,400 km²; Salton Sea â 950 km²
Missouri - 3,768 km; Mississippi - 3,544 km; Yukon river mouth (shared with Canada [s]) - 3,190 km; Saint Lawrence (shared with Canada) - 3,058 km; Rio Grande river source ( mouth shared with Mexico) - 3,057 km; Colorado river source (shared with Mexico [m]) - 2,333 km; Arkansas - 2,348 km; Columbia river mouth (shared with Canada [s]) - 2,250 km; Red - 2,188 km; Ohio - 2,102 km; Snake - 1,670 km
Note â [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
Atlantic Ocean drainage: (Gulf of Mexico) Mississippi* (3,202,185 km²); Rio Grande (607,965 km²); (Gulf of Saint Lawrence) Saint Lawrence* (1,049,636 km² total, US only 505,000 km²)
Pacific Ocean drainage: Yukon* (847,620 km², US only 23,820 km²); Colorado (703,148 km²); Columbia* (657,501 km², US only 554,501 km²)
Note - watersheds shared with Canada shown with *
Northern Great Plains Aquifer, Cambrian-Ordovician Aquifer System, Californian Central Valley Aquifer System, Ogallala Aquifer (High Plains), Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains Aquifer
Municipal: 58.39 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Industrial: 209.7 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Agricultural: 176.2 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
3.07 trillion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Conventional long form: United States of America
Conventional short form: United States
Abbreviation: US or USA
Etymology: the name America is derived from that of Amerigo VESPUCCI (1454-1512) - Italian explorer, navigator, and cartographer - using the Latin form of his name, Americus, feminized to America
Constitutional federal republic
Name: Washington, DC
Geographic coordinates: 38 53 N, 77 02 W
Time difference: UTC-5 (during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November
Time zone note: the 50 United States cover six time zones
Etymology: named after George WASHINGTON (1732-1799), the first president of the United States
50 states and 1 district*; Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia*, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
American Samoa, Baker Island, Guam, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands, Navassa Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palmyra Atoll, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Wake Island (14)
Note: from 18 July 1947 until 1 October 1994, the US administered the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; it entered into a political relationship with all four political entities: the Northern Mariana Islands is a commonwealth in political union with the US (effective 3 November 1986); the Republic of the Marshall Islands signed a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 21 October 1986); the Federated States of Micronesia signed a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 3 November 1986); Palau concluded a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 1 October 1994)
4 July 1776 (declared independence from Great Britain); 3 September 1783 (recognized by Great Britain)
Independence Day, 4 July (1776)
History: previous 1781 (Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union); latest drafted July - September 1787, submitted to the Congress of the Confederation 20 September 1787, submitted for states' ratification 28 September 1787, ratification completed by nine of the 13 states 21 June 1788, effective 4 March 1789
Amendments: proposed as a "joint resolution" by Congress, which requires a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate or by a constitutional convention called for by at least two thirds of the state legislatures; passage requires ratification by three fourths of the state legislatures or passage in state-held constitutional conventions as specified by Congress; the US president has no role in the constitutional amendment process; amended many times, last in 1992
Common law system based on English common law at the federal level; state legal systems based on common law, except Louisiana, where state law is based on Napoleonic civil code; judicial review of legislative acts
Withdrew acceptance of compulsory ICJ jurisdiction in 2005; withdrew acceptance of ICCt jurisdiction in 2002
Citizenship by birth: yes
Citizenship by descent only: yes
Dual citizenship recognized: no, but the US government acknowledges such situtations exist; US citizens are not encouraged to seek dual citizenship since it limits protection by the US
Residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years
18 years of age; universal
Chief of state: President Joseph R. BIDEN, Jr. (since 20 January 2021); Vice President Kamala D. HARRIS (since 20 January 2021); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
Head of government: President Joseph R. BIDEN, Jr. (since 20 January 2021); Vice President Kamala D. HARRIS (since 20 January 2021)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president, approved by the Senate
Elections/appointments: president and vice president indirectly elected on the same ballot by the Electoral College of 'electors' chosen from each state; president and vice president serve a 4-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 3 November 2020 (next to be held on 5 November 2024)
Election results:
2020: Joseph R. BIDEN, Jr. elected president; electoral vote - Joseph R. BIDEN, Jr. (Democratic Party) 306, Donald J. TRUMP (Republican Party) 232; percent of direct popular vote - Joseph R. BIDEN Jr. 51.3%, Donald J. TRUMP 46.9%, other 1.8%
2016: Donald J. TRUMP elected president; electoral vote - Donald J. TRUMP (Republican Party) 304, Hillary D. CLINTON (Democratic Party) 227, other 7; percent of direct popular vote - Hillary D. CLINTON 48.2%, Donald J. TRUMP 46.1%, other 5.7%
Description: bicameral Congress consists of:
Senate (100 seats; 2 members directly elected in each of the 50 state constituencies by simple majority vote except in Georgia and Louisiana which require an absolute majority vote with a second round if needed; members serve 6-year terms with one-third of membership renewed every 2 years)
House of Representatives (435 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote except in Georgia which requires an absolute majority vote with a second round if needed; members serve 2-year terms)
Elections:
Senate - last held on 8 November 2022 (next to be held on 5 November 2024)
House of Representatives - last held on 8 November 2022 (next to be held on 5 November 2024)
Election results:
Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Democratic Party 51, Republican Party 49; composition - men 75, women 25, percent of women 25%
House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Republican Party 222, Democratic Party 213; composition - men 307, women 128, percent of women 29.4%; note - total US Congress percent of women 28.6%
Note: in addition to the regular members of the House of Representatives there are 6 non-voting delegates elected from the District of Columbia and the US territories of American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands; these are single seat constituencies directly elected by simple majority vote to serve a 2-year term (except for the resident commissioner of Puerto Rico who serves a 4-year term); the delegate can vote when serving on a committee and when the House meets as the Committee of the Whole House, but not when legislation is submitted for a âfull floorâ House vote; election of delegates last held on 8 November 2022 (next to be held on 3 November 2024)
Highest court(s): US Supreme Court (consists of 9 justices - the chief justice and 8 associate justices)
Judge selection and term of office: president nominates and, with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoints Supreme Court justices; justices serve for life
Subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal (includes the US Court of Appeal for the Federal District and 12 regional appeals courts); 94 federal district courts in 50 states and territories
Note: the US court system consists of the federal court system and the state court systems; although each court system is responsible for hearing certain types of cases, neither is completely independent of the other, and the systems often interact
Democratic Party [Jaime HARRISON]
Green Party [collective leadership]
Libertarian Party [Angela McARDLE]
Republican Party [Ronna Romney MCDANIEL]
ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), ANZUS, APEC, Arctic Council, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS (observer), CD, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CICA (observer), CP, EAPC, EAS, EBRD, EITI (implementing country), FAO, FATF, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, G-20, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUSCO, NAFTA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), Quad, SAARC (observer), SELEC (observer), SICA (observer), SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNHRC, UNITAR, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOOSA, UNRWA, UN Security Council (permanent), UNTSO, UPU, USMCA, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
13 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars; the 50 stars represent the 50 states, the 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies; blue stands for loyalty, devotion, truth, justice, and friendship, red symbolizes courage, zeal, and fervency, while white denotes purity and rectitude of conduct; commonly referred to by its nickname of Old Glory
Note: the design and colors have been the basis for a number of other flags, including Chile, Liberia, Malaysia, and Puerto Rico
Bald eagle; national colors: red, white, blue
Name: "The Star-Spangled Banner"
Lyrics/music: Francis Scott KEY/John Stafford SMITH
Note: adopted 1931; during the War of 1812, after witnessing the successful American defense of Fort McHenry in Baltimore following British naval bombardment, Francis Scott KEY wrote the lyrics to what would become the national anthem; the lyrics were set to the tune of "The Anacreontic Song"; only the first verse is sung
Total World Heritage Sites: 25 (12 cultural, 12 natural, 1 mixed); note - includes one site in Puerto Rico
Selected World Heritage Site locales: Yellowstone National Park (n); Grand Canyon National Park (n); Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site (c); Independence Hall (c); Statue of Liberty (c); Yosemite National Park (n); PapahÄnaumokuÄkea (m); Monumental Earthworks of Poverty Point (c); The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright (c); Mesa Verde National Park (c); Mammoth Cave National Park (n); Monticello (c); Olympic National Park (n)
High-income, diversified North American economy; NATO leader; largest importer and second-largest exporter; home to leading financial exchanges; high and growing public debt; rising socioeconomic inequalities; historically low interest rates; hit by COVID-19
$21.132 trillion (2021 est.)
$19.946 trillion (2020 est.)
$20.513 trillion (2019 est.)
Note: data are in 2017 dollars
5.95% (2021 est.)
-2.77% (2020 est.)
2.29% (2019 est.)
$63,700 (2021 est.)
$60,200 (2020 est.)
$62,500 (2019 est.)
Note: data are in 2017 dollars
$21,433,228,000,000 (2019 est.)
4.7% (2021 est.)
1.23% (2020 est.)
1.81% (2019 est.)
Fitch rating: AAA (1994)
Moody's rating: Aaa (1949)
Standard & Poors rating: AA+ (2011)
Note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.
Agriculture: 0.9% (2017 est.)
Industry: 19.1% (2017 est.)
Services: 80% (2017 est.)
Comparison rankings: services 32; industry 158; agriculture 202
Household consumption: 68.4% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 17.3% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 17.2% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 0.1% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 12.1% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -15% (2017 est.)
Maize, milk, soybeans, wheat, sugar cane, sugar beet, poultry, potatoes, cotton, pork
Highly diversified, world leading, high-technology innovator, second-largest industrial output in the world; petroleum, steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber, mining
3.25% (2021 est.)
164.797 million (2021 est.)
Note: includes unemployed
5.46% (2021 est.)
8.05% (2020 est.)
3.67% (2019 est.)
Total: 9.6% (2021 est.)
Male: 10.5%
Female: 8.6%
15.1% (2010 est.)
41.5 (2019 est.)
On food: 6.4% of household expenditures (2018 est.)
On alcohol and tobacco: 1.7% of household expenditures (2018 est.)
Lowest 10%: 2%
Highest 10%: 30% (2007 est.)
Revenues: $6.429 trillion (2019 est.)
Expenditures: $7.647 trillion (2019 est.)
-3.4% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
126.39% of GDP (2020 est.)
100.9% of GDP (2019 est.)
99.15% of GDP (2018 est.)
Note: data cover only what the United States Treasury denotes as "Debt Held by the Public," which includes all debt instruments issued by the Treasury that are owned by non-US Government entities; the data include Treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data exclude debt issued by individual US states, as well as intragovernmental debt; intragovernmental debt consists of Treasury borrowings from surpluses in the trusts for Federal Social Security, Federal Employees, Hospital and Supplemental Medical Insurance (Medicare), Disability and Unemployment, and several other smaller trusts; if data for intragovernment debt were added, "gross debt" would increase by about one-third of GDP
9.86% (of GDP) (2020 est.)
Note: excludes contributions for social security and other programs; if social contributions were added, taxes and other revenues would amount to approximately 22% of GDP
1 October - 30 September
-$846.354 billion (2021 est.)
-$619.702 billion (2020 est.)
-$445.955 billion (2019 est.)
$2.557 trillion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$2.159 trillion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$2.546 trillion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
Canada 16%, Mexico 15%, China 9%, Japan 4%, South Korea 4% (2021)
Refined petroleum, natural gas, crude petroleum, cars and vehicle parts, integrated circuits, aircraft, vaccines and cultures (2021)
$3.402 trillion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$2.813 trillion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$3.106 trillion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
China 19%, Mexico 13%, Canada 13%, Germany 5%, Japan 5% (2021)
Cars, crude petroleum, computers, broadcasting equipment, packaged medicines (2021)
$716.152 billion (31 December 2021 est.)
$628.37 billion (31 December 2020 est.)
$516.701 billion (31 December 2019 est.)
$20,275,951,000,000 (2019 est.)
$19,452,478,000,000 (2018 est.)
Note: approximately 4/5ths of US external debt is denominated in US dollars; foreign lenders have been willing to hold US dollar denominated debt instruments because they view the dollar as the world's reserve currency
British pounds per US dollar: 0.7836 (2017 est.), 0.738 (2016 est.), 0.738 (2015 est.), 0.607 (2014 est), 0.6391 (2013 est.)
Canadian dollars per US dollar: 1, 1.308 (2017 est.), 1.3256 (2016 est.), 1.3256 (2015 est.), 1.2788 (2014 est.), 1.0298 (2013 est.)
Chinese yuan per US dollar: 1, 6.7588 (2017 est.), 6.6445 (2016 est.), 6.2275 (2015 est.), 6.1434 (2014 est.), 6.1958 (2013 est.)
Euros per US dollar: 0.885 (2017 est.), 0.903 (2016 est.), 0.9214(2015 est.), 0.885 (2014 est.), 0.7634 (2013 est.)
Japanese yen per US dollar: 111.10 (2017 est.), 108.76 (2016 est.), 108.76 (2015 est.), 121.02 (2014 est.), 97.44 (2013 est.)
Note 1: the following countries and territories use the US dollar officially as their legal tender: British Virgin Islands, Ecuador, El Salvador, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Timor Leste, Turks and Caicos, and islands of the Caribbean Netherlands (Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba)
Note 2: the following countries and territories use the US dollar as official legal tender alongside local currency: Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Costa Rica, and Panama
Note 3: the following countries and territories widely accept the US dollar as a dominant currency but have yet to declare it as legal tender: Bermuda, Burma, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Somalia
Exchange rates:
1 (2021 est.)
1 (2020 est.)
1 (2019 est.)
1 (2018 est.)
1 (2017 est.)
Electrification - total population: 100% (2021)
Installed generating capacity: 1,143,266,000 kW (2020 est.)
Consumption: 3,897,886,551,000 kWh (2020 est.)
Exports: 14,134,679,000 kWh (2020 est.)
Imports: 61,448,863,000 kWh (2020 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 198,085,480,000 kWh (2020 est.)
Comparison rankings: transmission/distribution losses 3; imports 1; exports 15; consumption 2; installed generating capacity 2
Fossil fuels: 59.9% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Nuclear: 19.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Solar: 3.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Wind: 8.3% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Hydroelectricity: 7% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Geothermal: 0.4% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Biomass and waste: 1.7% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Number of operational nuclear reactors: 93 (2023)
Number of nuclear reactors under construction: 1
Net capacity of operational nuclear reactors: 95.83GW (2021)
Percent of total electricity production: 20% (2021)
Percent of total energy produced: 8.2% (2021)
Number of nuclear reactors permanently shut down: 20
Note: The US has the World's largest nuclear energy program with 26% of the World's net capacity of nuclear reactors
Production: 495.13 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Consumption: 441.968 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Exports: 63.276 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Imports: 4.808 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 228.662 billion metric tons (2019 est.)
Total petroleum production: 17,924,200 bbl/day (2021 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 20,542,900 bbl/day (2019 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate exports: 2,048,100 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate imports: 7,768,500 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 47.107 billion barrels (2020 est.)
20.3 million bbl/day (2017 est.)
5.218 million bbl/day (2017 est.)
2.175 million bbl/day (2017 est.)
Production: 967,144,362,000 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Consumption: 857,542,658,000 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Exports: 188,401,779,000 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Imports: 79,512,470,000 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Proven reserves: 13,178,780,000,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)
5,144,361,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 1,077,520,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 2,382,833,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 1,684,008,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
304.414 million Btu/person (2019 est.)
Total subscriptions: 91.623 million (2022 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 29 (2021 est.)
Total subscriptions: 360 million (2021 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 110 (2021 est.)
General assessment: the US telecom sector adapted well to the particular demands of the pandemic, which has led to strong growth in the number of mobile, mobile broadband, and fixed broadband subscribers since 2020; the level of growth is expected to taper off from late 2022 as the demand for working and schooling from home subsides; the pandemic also encouraged the Federal government to increase its investment in broadband infrastructure; of particular note was the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of November 2021, which provided $65 billion to a range of programs aimed at delivering broadband to unserved areas, providing fiber-based broadband to upgrade existing service areas, and subsidizing the cost of services to low income households; alongside these fiscal efforts have been the several spectrum auctions undertaken during the last two years, which have greatly assisted the main licensees to improve the reach and quality of their offers based on LTE and 5G; some of this spectrum, auctioned during 2021, was only made available to licensees from February 2022; the widening availability of 5G from the main providers has resulted in a dramatic increase in mobile data traffic; in tandem with the focus on 5G, operators have closed down their GSM and CDMA networks, and have either closed down 3G networks (as AT&T did in January 2022), or plan to in coming months; given the size of the US broadband market, and the growing demand for data on both fixed and mobile networks, there is continuous pressure for operators to invest in fiber networks, and to push connectivity closer to consumers; in recent years the US has seen increased activity from regional players as well as the major telcos and cablecos; although there has been considerable investment in DOCSIS4.0, some of the cablecos are looking to ditch HFC in preference for fiber broadband; the process of migrating from copper (HFC and DSL) to fiber is ongoing, but given the scale of the work involved it will take some years; some operators have investment strategies in place through to 2025, which will see the vast majority of their fixed networks being entirely on fiber; service offerings of up to 2Gb/s are becoming more widely available as the process continues (2022)
Domestic: fixed-line just over 29 per 100 and mobile-cellular is 110 per 100 (2021)
International: country code - 1; landing points for the Quintillion Subsea Cable Network, TERRA SW, AU-Aleutian, KKFL, AKORN, Alaska United -West, & -East & -Southeast, North Star, Lynn Canal Fiber, KetchCar 1, PC-1, SCCN, Tat TGN-Pacific & -Atlantic, Jupiter, Hawaiki, NCP, FASTER, HKA, JUS, AAG, BtoBE, Currie, Southern Cross NEXT, SxS, PLCN, Utility EAC-Pacific, SEA-US, Paniolo Cable Network, HICS, HIFN, ASH, Telstra Endeavor, Honotua, AURORA, ARCOS, AMX-1, Americas -I & -II, Columbus IIb & -III, Maya-1, MAC, GTMO-1, BICS, CFX-1, GlobeNet, Monet, SAm-1, Bahamas 2, PCCS, BRUSA, Dunant, MAREA, SAE x1, TAT 14, Apollo, Gemini Bermuda, Havfrue/AEC-2, Seabras-1, WALL-LI, NYNJ-1, FLAG Atalantic-1, Yellow, Atlantic Crossing-1, AE Connect -1, sea2shore, Challenger Bermuda-1, and GTT Atlantic submarine cable systems providing international connectivity to Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Pacific, & Atlantic, and Indian Ocean Islands, Central and South America, Caribbean, Canada and US; satellite earth stations - 61 Intelsat (45 Atlantic Ocean and 16 Pacific Ocean), 5 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 4 Inmarsat (Pacific and Atlantic Ocean regions) (2020)
4 major terrestrial TV networks with affiliate stations throughout the country, plus cable and satellite networks, independent stations, and a limited public broadcasting sector that is largely supported by private grants; overall, thousands of TV stations broadcasting; multiple national radio networks with many affiliate stations; while most stations are commercial, National Public Radio (NPR) has a network of some 900 member stations; satellite radio available; in total, over 15,000 radio stations operating (2018)
.us
Total: 312.8 million (2021 est.)
Percent of population: 92% (2021 est.)
Total: 121.176 million (2020 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 37 (2020 est.)
Note 1: The Library of Congress, Washington DC, USA, claims to be the largest library in the world with more than 167 million items (as of 2018); its collections are universal, not limited by subject, format, or national boundary, and include materials from all parts of the world and in over 450 languages; collections include: books, newspapers, magazines, sheet music, sound and video recordings, photographic images, artwork, architectural drawings, and copyright data
Note 2: Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA, hosts one of four dedicated ground antennas that assist in the operation of the Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation system (the others are on Ascension (Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tistan da Cunha), Diego Garcia (British Indian Ocean Territory), and at Kwajalein (Marshall Islands)
Number of registered air carriers: 99 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 7,249
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 889.022 million (2018)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 42,985,300,000 (2018) mt-km
N
13,513 (2022)
Note \- 24.5% of airports are public
5,054
Civil airports: 1,606
Military airports: 162
Joint use (civil-military) airports: 31
Other airports: 3,255
Note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the âtypicalâ length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
8,459
Note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control
6,092 (2022)
1,984,321 km natural gas, 240,711 km petroleum products (2013)
Total: 293,564.2 km (2014)
Standard gauge: 293,564.2 km (2014) 1.435-m gauge
Total: 6,586,610 km (2012)
Paved: 4,304,715 km (2012) (includes 76,334 km of expressways)
Unpaved: 2,281,895 km (2012)
41,009 km (2012) (19,312 km used for commerce; Saint Lawrence Seaway of 3,769 km, including the Saint Lawrence River of 3,058 km, is shared with Canada)
Total: 178 (2022)
By type: bulk carrier 4, container ship 61, general cargo 19, oil tanker 65, other (roll on/roll off 29)
Note - oceangoing self-propelled, cargo-carrying vessels of 1,000 gross tons and above
Major seaport(s):
Atlantic Ocean: Charleston, Hampton Roads, New York/New Jersey, Savannah
Pacific Ocean: Long Beach, Los Angeles, Oakland, Seattle/Tacoma
Gulf of Mexico: Houston
Oil terminal(s): LOOP terminal, Haymark terminal
Container port(s) (TEUs): Charleston (2,751,442), Hampton Roads (3,522,834), Houston (3,453,220), Long Beach (9,384,368), Los Angeles (10,677,610), New York/New Jersey (8,985,929), Oakland (2,448,243), Savannah (5,613,163), Seattle/Tacoma (3,736,206) (2021)
LNG terminal(s) (export): Calcasieu Pass (LA), Cameron (LA), Corpus Christi (TX), Cove Point (MD), Elba Island (GA), Freeport (TX), Sabine Pass (LA)
Note - two additional export facilities are under construction and expected to begin commercial operations in 2023-2024
LNG terminal(s) (import): Cove Point (MD), Elba Island (GA), Everett (MA), Freeport (TX), Golden Pass (TX), Hackberry (LA), Lake Charles (LA), Neptune (offshore), Northeast Gateway (offshore), Pascagoula (MS), Sabine Pass (TX)
River port(s): Baton Rouge, Plaquemines, New Orleans (Mississippi River)
Cargo ports: Baton Rouge, Corpus Christi, Hampton Roads, Houston, Long Beach, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Plaquemines (LA), Tampa, Texas City
Cruise departure ports (passengers): Miami, Port Everglades, Port Canaveral, Seattle, Long Beach
Night view the port of Savannah, Georgia. Photo courtesy of the US Coast Guard.:
View of the port of Charleston, South Carolina. Photo courtesy of the US Coast Guard.:
View of the port of Los Angeles, California. Photo courtesy of US Coast Guard.:
View of the port of Long Beach, California. Photo courtesy of the US Coast Guard.:
An aerial view of the Golden Pass LNG export terminal at Port Arthur, Texas. Photo courtesy of US Coast Guard.:
A view of a liquified natural gas (LNG) carrier docking at the Cove Point, Maryland LNG terminal. Photo courtesy of the US Coast Guard.:
The Marvel Crane, the first liquid natural gas carrier to transport natural gas from the Cameron LNG facility in Louisiana. Photo courtesy of the US Coast Guard.:
The US operates one PC 1 or 2 class heavy icebreaker, two PC 3 or 4 class medium icebreakers, and two PC 5 or 6 class light icebreakers; the heavy and medium icebreakers carry out various polar missions including opening passage for the annual resupply of McMurdo Station in Antarctica
Note - PC indicates a Polar Class vessel: PC 1 - year-round operation in all polar waters (ice thickness >3 m); PC 2 - year-round operation in moderate multi-year ice conditions (ice thickness up to 3 m); PC 3 - year-round operation in second-year ice which may include multi-year ice inclusions (ice thickness up to 2.5 m); PC 4 - year-round operation in thick first-year ice which may include old ice inclusions (ice thickness up to 120 cm); PC 5 - year-round operation in medium first-year ice which may include old ice inclusions (ice thickness up to 70-120 cm); PC 6 - summer/autumn operation in medium first-year ice which may include old ice inclusions (ice thickness up to 30-70 cm)
The US Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star enroute to the McMurdo Station, Antarctica, 15 January 2017.:
US Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star (WAGB 10) sits hove-to ice on the frozen Ross Sea, Antarctica, on 6 January 2022.:
US Coast Guard Cutter Healy, St. John's Bay, Newfoundland 4 June 2000:
US Coast Guard Cutter Healy (WAGB-20) approaches the pier at Base Seattle on Saturday 20 November 2021.:
US Coast Guard Cutter Healy (right) meets up with Canadian Coast Guard Ship Louis S. St. Laurent in the Arctic Ocean on 25 September 2008.:
United States Armed Forces (aka US Military): US Army (USA), US Navy (USN; includes US Marine Corps or USMC), US Air Force (USAF), US Space Force (USSF); US Coast Guard (USCG); National Guard (Army National Guard and Air National Guard) (2024)
Note 1: the US Coast Guard is administered in peacetime by the Department of Homeland Security, but in wartime reports to the Department of the Navy
Note 2: the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard are reserve components of their services and operate in part under state authority; the US military also maintains reserve forces for each branch
Note 3: US law enforcement personnel include those of federal agencies, such as the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice, the 50 states, special jurisdictions, local sheriffâs offices, and municipal, county, regional, and tribal police departments
Note 4: the US has state defense forces (SDFs), which are military units that operate under the sole authority of state governments; SDFs are authorized by state and federal law and are under the command of the governor of each state; as of 2023, more than 20 states and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico had SDFs, which typically have emergency management and homeland security missions; most are organized as ground units, but air and naval units also exist
3.5% of GDP (2023 est.)
3.5% of GDP (2022 est.)
3.5% of GDP (2021)
3.6% of GDP (2020)
3.5% of GDP (2019)
Approximately 1.39 million active-duty personnel (475,000 Army; 345,000 Navy; 335,000 Air Force (includes about 8,000 Space Force); 180,000 Marine Corps; 40,000 Coast Guard); 335,000 Army National Guard; 105,000 Air National Guard (2023)
The US military's inventory is comprised almost entirely of domestically produced weapons systems (some assembled with foreign components) along with a smaller mix of imported equipment from a variety of Western countries such as Germany and the UK; the US defense industry is capable of designing, developing, maintaining, and producing the full spectrum of weapons systems; the US is the world's leading arms exporter (2024)
18 years of age (17 years of age with parental consent) for voluntary service for men and women; no conscription (currently inactive, but males aged 18-25 must register with Selective Service in case conscription is reinstated in the future); maximum enlistment age 34 (Army), 42 (Air Force/Space Force), 39 (Navy), 28 (Marines), 31 (Coast Guard); 8-year service obligation, including 2-5 years active duty (Army), 2 years active duty (Navy), 4 years active duty (Air Force, Coast Guard, Marines, Space Force) (2023)
Note 1: the US military has been all-volunteer since 1973, but an act of Congress can reinstate the draft in case of a national emergency
Note 2: all military occupations and positions open to women; in 2021, women comprised over 17% of the total US active duty military personnel; a small number of American women were involved in combat during the Revolutionary (1775-1783), Mexican (1846-1848), and Civil (1861-1865) Wars, but they had to disguise themselves as men and enlist under aliases; the first official US military organization for women was the US Army Nurse Corps, established in 1901; during World War I, the US Navy and Marine Corps allowed women to enlist; nearly 350,000 women served in the US military during World War II; the 1991 Gulf War was the first war where women served with men in integrated units within a war zone; in 2015, women were allowed to serve in direct combat roles
Note 3: non-citizens living permanently and legally in the US may join as enlisted personnel; must have permission to work in the US, a high school diploma, and speak, read, and write English fluently; minimum age of 17 with parental consent or 18 without; maximum age 29-39, depending on the service; under the US Nationality Act, honorable service in the military may qualify individuals to obtain expedited citizenship; under the Compact of Free Association, citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands may volunteer; under the Jay Treaty, signed in 1794 between Great Britain and the US, and corresponding legislation, Native Americans/First Nations born in Canada are entitled to freely enter the US and join the US military
5,000 Africa; 1,700 Australia; 250 Diego Garcia; 150 Canada; 650 Cuba (Guantanamo Bay); 290 Egypt (MFO); approximately 85-100,000 Europe; 150 Greenland; 6,200 Guam; 370 Honduras; 55,000 Japan; approximately 15,000 Middle East; 125 Philippines; 28,000 South Korea; 200 Singapore; 100 Thailand (2023)
Note: US military rotational policies affect deployment sizes, and the numbers given may fluctuate; the US deploys ground and air units to select countries for 6-12 month rotational assignments on a continuous basis; in South Korea, for example, the US regularly rotates combat brigades (approximately 3,000 personnel) for 9 months at a time; contingencies also affect US troop deployments; in 2019-2020, the US deployed more than 15,000 additional military personnel to the Middle East for an extended period of time and has sent more than 30,000 reinforcements to Europe in response to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022; in addition, some overseas US naval bases, such as the headquarters of US Naval Forces Central Command (USNAVCENT) in Manama, Bahrain, are frequented by the crews of US ships on 6-9 month deployments; a US carrier strike group with an air wing and supporting ships typically includes over 6,000 personnel
The US is a member of NATO and was one of the original 12 countries to sign the North Atlantic Treaty (also known as the Washington Treaty) in 1949
The US military's primary missions are to deter potential enemies, provide for the defense of provide for the defense of the US, the Territories, Commonwealths and possessions, and any areas occupied by the US, and to protect US national interests; it has worldwide responsibilities; the separate services operate jointly under 11 regional- or functionally based joint service "combatant" commands: Africa Command; Central Command, Cyber Command, European Command, Indo-Pacific Command, Northern Command, Southern Command, Space Command, Special Operations Command, Strategic Command, and Transportation Command
Congress officially created the US military in September 1789; the US Army was established in June 1775 as the Continental Army; after the declaration of independence in July 1776, the Continental Army and the militia in the service of Congress became known collectively as the Army of the United States; when Congress ordered the Continental Army to disband in 1784, it retained a small number of personnel that would form the nucleus of the 1st American Regiment for national service formed later that year; both the US Navy and the US Marines were also established in 1775, but the Navy fell into disuse after the Revolutionary War, and was reestablished by Congress in 1794; the first US military unit devoted exclusively to aviation began operations in 1913 as part of the US Army; the Army Air Corps (AAC) was the US military service dedicated to aerial warfare between 1926 and 1941; the AAC became the US Army Air Forces in 1941 and remained as a combat arm of the Army until the establishment of the US Air Force in 1947 (2024)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA; established 1958); National Reconnaissance Office (NRO; established in 1961 and responsible for designing, building, launching, and maintaining intelligence satellites); US Space Command (USSPACECOM; originally created in 1985 but was deactivated in 2002 and its duties were transferred to US Strategic Command; re-established 2019 and responsible for military operations in outer space, specifically all operations over 100 kilometers or 62 miles above mean sea level); USSPACECOM has two field commands: Combined Force Space Component Command and the Joint Task Force Space Defense; the US Space Force (established 2019) is a military branch with subordinate commands as well as the Space Development Agency (SDA; established 2019 to help integrate emerging technologies into US military space programs) (2023)
Has nearly 20 commercial, government, and private space ports hosting Federal Aviation Administration-licensed activity spread across 10 states (Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia) (2023)
Has a large and comprehensive space program and is one of the worldâs top space powers; builds, launches, and operates space launch vehicles (SLVs)/rockets and the full spectrum of spacecraft, including interplanetary probes, manned craft, reusable rockets, satellites, space stations, and space planes; has an astronaut program and a large corps of astronauts; researching and developing a broad range of other space-related capabilities and technologies, such as advanced telecommunications and optics, navigational aids, propulsion, robotics, solar sails, space-based manufacturing, and robotic satellite repair/refueling; has launched orbital or lander probes to the Sun and all planets in the solar system, as well as to asteroids and beyond the solar system; has international missions and projects with dozens of countries and organizations, including such major partners as Canada, Japan, Russia, and South Korea, as well as the European Space Agency (ESA), the EU, and their individual member states; most recently, over 30 countries have signed onto the US Artemis Accords (as of late 2023), whose purpose is to establish principles, guidelines, and best practices to enhance the governance of the civil exploration and use of outer space with the intention of advancing the Artemis Program, an international effort to establish a sustainable and robust presence on the Moon and an onward human mission to Mars; the US commercial space industry is one of the worldâs largest and most capable and is active across the entire spectrum of US government space programs; the majority of both NASA and US military space launches are conducted by US commercial companies; the US space economy was valued at over $200 billion in 2021 (2023)
Note: further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the countryâs space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in Appendix S
Terrorist group(s): Hizballah; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)/Qods Force; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); al-Qa'ida; Lashkar-e Tayyiba (LeT)
Note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in Appendix-T
US-Antarctica: the US has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other states
US-Bahamas: the Bahamas and US have not been able to agree on a maritime boundary; the two countries have met several times to define their maritime boundary
US-Canada: Canada and the United States dispute how to divide the Beaufort Sea and the status of the Northwest Passage but continue to work cooperatively to survey the Arctic continental shelf; because of the dispute over Machias Seal Island and adjoining North Rock, the terminus of the land boundary beyond Canada's Grand Manon Island and the US state of Maine is not defined
US-Canada-Mexico: the US has intensified domestic security measures and is collaborating closely with its neighbors, Canada and Mexico, to monitor and control legal and illegal personnel, transport, and commodities across the international borders
US-Cuba: the US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased from Cuba and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease
US-Haiti: Haiti claims US-administered Navassa Island; the dispute dates to 1857, when the US claimed the Navassa Island under the 1856 Guano Act; Haiti claims it has had ownership over Navassa Island continuously since its 1801 constitution laid claim to âadjacent landsâ
US-Marshall Islands: in May 2016, the Marshall Islands filed a declaration of authority with the UN over Wake Island, which is currently a US territory, reaffirming that it considers Wake Island part of its territory; control over Wake Island would drastically increase the Marshall Islandsâ exclusive economic zone; the US State Department is assembling a group of experts from both countries to discuss the maritime boundary
US-Russia: 1990 Maritime Boundary Agreement in the Bering Sea still awaits Russian Duma ratification
US-Tokelau: Tokelau included American Samoa's Swains Island among the islands listed in its 2006 draft constitution; Swains Island has been administered by American Samoa since 1925; the 1980 Treaty of Tokehega delineates the maritime boundary between American Samoa and Tokelau; while not specifically mentioning Swains Island, the treaty notes in its preamble that New Zealand does not claim as part of Tokelau any island administered as part of American Samoa
Refugees (country of origin): the US admitted 25,465 refugees during FY2022, including: 7,810 (Democratic Republic of the Congo), 4,556 (Syria), 2,156 (Burma), 1,669 (Sudan), 1,618 (Afghanistan), 1,610 (Ukraine)
Stateless persons: 47 (2022)
World's largest consumer of cocaine (shipped from Colombia through Mexico and the Caribbean), Colombian heroin, and Mexican heroin and marijuana; major consumer of ecstasy and Mexican methamphetamine; minor consumer of high-quality Southeast Asian heroin; illicit producer of cannabis, marijuana, depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens, and methamphetamine; money-laundering center