United States of America

United States of America

General Information
Geography
Government
Economy
Population
Health
Communications and media
Chronology


GENERAL INFORMATION

National name United States of America (USA) Area 9,826,632 sq km/3,794,084 sq mi Capital Washington, DC Language English, Spanish Religion Protestant 58%; Roman Catholic 28%; atheist 10%; Jewish 2%; other 4% (1998) Time difference GMT -5/11 Major holidays 1 January, 4 July, 12 October (not all states), 11 November, 25 December; variable: Martin Luther King's birthday (January, not all states), George Washington's birthday (February), Memorial (May), Labor (first Mon in September), Columbus (October), Thanksgiving (last Thursday in November); much local variation


GEOGRAPHY

Major towns/cities New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, San Francisco, Dallas, San Diego, San Antonio, Houston, Boston, Phoenix, Indianapolis, Honolulu, San José Physical features topography and vegetation from tropical (Hawaii) to arctic (Alaska); mountain ranges parallel with east and west coasts; the Rocky Mountains separate rivers emptying into the Pacific from those flowing into the Gulf of Mexico; Great Lakes in north; rivers include Hudson, Mississippi, Missouri, Colorado, Columbia, Snake, Rio Grande, Ohio Territories the commonwealths of Puerto Rico and Northern Marianas; Guam, the US Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Wake Island, Midway Islands, Johnston Atoll, Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Kingman Reef, Navassa Island, Palmyra Island Airports over 30 international airports and about 800 domestic airports; total passengers carried: 589 million (2003 est) Railways total length: 240,000 km/149,129 mi; total passenger journeys: 456 million (2001 est) Roads total road network: 6,378,154 km/3,963,200 mi, of which 58.8% paved (2003 est); passenger cars: 801 per 1,000 people (2002 est)


GOVERNMENT

Head of state and government George W Bush from 2001 Political system liberal democracy Political executive limited presidency Administrative divisions 50 states and one district (District of Columbia) Political parties Democratic Party, liberal centre; Republican Party, right of centre; Reform Party, prodemocratic Death penalty retained and used for ordinary crimes Armed forces 1,546,400; plus 956,200 reservists (2006 est) Conscription military service is voluntary Defence spend (% GDP) 4.1 (2005 est) Education spend (% GDP) 5.7 (2002 est) Health spend (% GDP) 6.8 (2004)


ECONOMY

Currency US dollar GDP (US$) 12,455.1 billion (2005 est Real GDP growth (% change on previous year) 3.4 (2006 est) GNI (US$) 12,969.6 billion (2005 est) GNI per capita (PPP) (US$) 41,950 (2005 est) Consumer price inflation 3.6% (2006 est) Unemployment 4.8% (2006 est) Labour force 1.6% agriculture, 20.6% industry, 77.8% services (2005) Major trading partners Canada, Mexico, China, Japan, UK, Germany, EU25 Resources coal (world's largest producer), copper, iron, bauxite, mercury, silver, gold, nickel, zinc, tungsten, uranium, phosphate, petroleum, natural gas, timber Industries machinery, petroleum refining and products, food processing, motor vehicles, pig iron and steel, chemical products, electrical goods, metal products, printing and publishing, fertilizers, cement Exports machinery, motor vehicles, agricultural products and foodstuffs, aircraft, weapons, chemicals, electronics. Principal market: Canada 23.7% (2005) Imports industrial supplies, consumer goods, machinery and transport equipment, crude and partly refined petroleum, food, feeds and beverages, office machinery, textiles and clothing. Principal source: Canada 17.2% (2005) Arable land 18% (2006 est) Agricultural products hay, potatoes, maize, wheat, barley, oats, sugar beet, soybeans, citrus and other fruit, cotton, tobacco; livestock (principally cattle, pigs, and poultry)


POPULATION

Population 301,029,100 (2006 est) Population growth rate 0.9% (2005–10) Population density (per sq km) 31 (2006 est) Urban population (% of total) 81 (2005 est) Age distribution (% of total population) 0–14 21%, 15–59 62%, 60+ 17% (2005 est) Ethnic groups approximately three-quarters of the population are of European origin, including 29% who trace their descent from Britain and Ireland, 8% from Germany, 5% from Italy, and 3% each from Scandinavia and Poland; approximately 83% are white (of which over 11% are Hispanic), 13% black, 4% Asian and Pacific Islanders, and about 1% American Indians, Eskimos, and Aleuts (1998); African-Americans form about a third of the population of the states of the ‘Deep South’, namely Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina Life expectancy 75 (men); 81 (women) (2005–10) Child mortality rate (under 5, per 1,000 live births) 8 (2004) Education (compulsory years) 12 Literacy rate 99% (men); 99% (women) (2004 est)


HEALTH

Physicians (per 10,000 people) 54.9 (2004 est) Hospital beds (per 1,000 people) 3.4 (2003 est) HIV infection (% of population aged 15–49) 0.6 (2005 est) AIDS deaths 16,000 (2005 est) Access to drinking-water source (% of total population) 100 (urban); 100 (rural) (2002)


COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA

Landline telephones (per 100 people) 60.6 (2005 est) Mobile phone subscribers (per 100 people) 67.6 (2005 est) Radios (per 1,000 people) 2,146 (1997) TV sets (per 1,000 people) 1,180 (2004 est) Personal computer users (per 100 people) 76.2 (2005 est) Internet users (per 100 people) 63 (2005 est)


CHRONOLOGY

c.15,000 BC First evidence of human occupation in North America. 1513 Ponce de Léon of Spain explored Florida in search of the Fountain of Youth; Francisco Coronado explored southwest region of North America 1540–42. 1565 Spanish founded St Augustine (Florida), the first permanent European settlement in North America. 1585 Sir Walter Raleigh tried to establish an English colony on Roanoke Island in what he called Virginia. 1607 English colonists founded Jamestown, Virginia, and began growing tobacco. 1620 The Pilgrim Fathers founded Plymouth Colony (near Cape Cod); other English Puritans followed them to New England. 1624 Dutch formed colony of New Netherlands; Swedes formed New Sweden in 1638; both taken by England in 1664. 17th–18th centuries Millions of Africans were sold into slavery on American cotton and tobacco plantations. 1733 Georgia became thirteenth British colony on east coast. 1763 British victory over France in Seven Years' War secured territory as far west as Mississippi River. 1765 British first attempted to levy tax in American colonies with Stamp Act; protest forced repeal in 1767. 1773 ‘Boston Tea Party’: colonists boarded ships and threw cargoes of tea into sea in protest at import duty. 1774 British closed Boston harbour and billeted troops in Massachusetts; colonists formed First Continental Congress. 1775 American Revolution: colonies raised Continental Army led by George Washington to fight against British rule. 1776 American colonies declared independence; France and Spain supported them in a war with Britain. 1781 Americans defeated British at Battle of Yorktown; rebel states formed loose confederation, codified in Articles of Confederation. 1783 Treaty of Paris: Britain accepted loss of colonies. 1787 ‘Founding Fathers’ devised new constitution for United States of America. 1789 Washington elected first president of USA. 1791 Bill of Rights guaranteed individual freedom. 1803 Louisiana Purchase: France sold former Spanish lands between Mississippi River and Rocky Mountains to USA. 1812–14 War with Britain arose from dispute over blockade rights during Napoleonic Wars. 1819 USA bought Florida from Spain. 19th century Mass immigration from Europe; settlers moved westwards, crushing Indian resistance and claiming ‘manifest destiny’ of USA to control North America. By end of century, the number of states in the Union had increased from 17 to 45. 1846–48 Mexican War: Mexico ceded vast territory to USA. 1854 Kansas–Nebraska Act heightened controversy over slavery in southern states; abolitionists formed Republican Party. 1860 Abraham Lincoln (Republican) elected president. 1861 Civil war broke out after 11 southern states, wishing to retain slavery, seceded from USA and formed the Confederate States of America under Jefferson Davis. 1865 USA defeated Confederacy; slavery abolished; President Lincoln assassinated. 1867 Alaska bought from Russia. 1869 Railway linked east and west coasts; rapid growth of industry and agriculture 1870–1920 made USA very rich. 1876 Sioux Indians defeated US troops at Little Big Horn; Indians finally defeated at Wounded Knee in 1890. 1898 Spanish–American War: USA gained Puerto Rico and Guam; also Philippines (until 1946) and Cuba (until 1901); USA annexed Hawaii. 1917–18 USA intervened in World War I; President Woodrow Wilson took leading part in peace negotiations in 1919, but USA rejected membership of League of Nations. 1920 Women received right to vote; sale of alcohol prohibited, until 1933. 1924 American Indians made citizens of USA by Congress. 1929 ‘Wall Street Crash’: stock market collapse led to Great Depression with 13 million unemployed by 1933. 1933 President Franklin Roosevelt launched the ‘New Deal’ with public works to rescue the economy. 1941 Japanese attacked US fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; USA declared war on Japan; Germany declared war on USA, which henceforth played a leading part in World War II. 1945 USA ended war in Pacific by dropping two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. 1947 ‘Truman Doctrine’ pledged US aid for nations threatened by communism; start of Cold War between USA and USSR. 1950–53 US forces engaged in Korean War. 1954 Racial segregation in schools deemed unconstitutional; start of campaign to secure civil rights for black Americans. 1962 Cuban missile crisis: USA forced USSR to withdraw nuclear weapons from Cuba. 1963 President Kennedy assassinated. 1964–68 President Lyndon Johnson introduced the ‘Great Society’ programme of civil-rights and welfare measures. 1961–75 USA involved in Vietnam War. 1969 US astronaut Neil Armstrong was first person on the Moon. 1974 ‘Watergate’ scandal: evidence of domestic political espionage compelled President Richard Nixon to resign. 1979–80 Iran held US diplomats hostage, humiliating President Jimmy Carter. 1981–89 Tax-cutting policies of President Ronald Reagan led to large federal budget deficit. 1986 ‘Irangate’ scandal: secret US arms sales to Iran illegally funded Contra guerrillas in Nicaragua. 1990 President George Bush declared an end to the Cold War. 1991 USA played leading part in expelling Iraqi forces from Kuwait in the Gulf War. 1992 Democrat Bill Clinton won presidential elections, beginning his term of office in 1993. 1996 US launched missile attacks on Iraq in response to Hussein's incursions into Kurdish safe havens. 1998 House of Representatives voted to impeach Clinton on the grounds of perjury and obstruction of justice, due to his misleading the public about his relationship with a White House intern; he was acquitted in 1999. In response to bombings of US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya by an Islamic group, the USA bombed suspected sites in Afghanistan and Sudan. The USA also led air strikes against Iraq following the expulsion of United Nations (UN) weapons inspectors by Saddam Hussein. 1999 US forces led NATO air strikes against Yugoslavia in protest against Serb violence against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. Three million people fled inland in largest evacuation in US history as Hurricane Floyd hit the east coast in September. 2000 Worst wildfires in 30 years consumed 4.4 million acres/6,875 sq mi of land in the west. The presidential elections in November were closest ever, the result being decided by a few hundred votes in Florida. 2001 Republican George W Bush, son of former president George Bush, inaugurated as president. California experienced electricity crisis, leading to mandatory blackouts in January. 2001 World's worst terrorist atrocity occurred on 11 September, when Islamic extremists hijacked civil airliners and flew them into US landmarks. Two planes were flown into the World Trade Center in New York, and another hit the Pentagon in Washington, DC, killing a total of around 6,000 people. USA declared attacks an ‘act of war’ and pledged military retaliation against terrorists and any government sponsoring them. US forces deployed to Afghanistan, where Osama bin Laden, the chief suspect, was thought to be hiding. World economy suffered setback as result of the terrorist acts. 2002 Financial collapse of US corporations Enron and WorldCom sparked turmoil in world stock markets. Government adopted increasingly threatening stance towards Iraqi president Saddam Hussein over his regime's alleged development of weapons of mass destruction and its continuing exclusion of UN weapons inspectors. Threat of war prompted international concern, and an estimated 100,000 people attended an antiwar demonstration in Washington, DC – largest demonstration in USA since Vietnam War. 2003 USA and UK launched military action to disarm Iraq, despite widespread international opposition. World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled that US tariffs on imported steel imposed in 2002 were illegal; they were subsequently lifted. 2004 George W Bush defeated Democrat challenger John Kerry in closely run and often acrimonious presidential election. 2005 Hurricane Katrina swept through gulf coast states, killing hundreds of people; much of New Orleans submerged by flood waters. 2006 Millions protested against plans to criminalize illegal immigrants. Self-confessed al-Qaeda conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui (only person to be charged over the 9/11 attacks) given life sentence. In November midterm elections, Democratic Party gained control of both Houses of Congress. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld resigned. 2007 President Bush announced new strategy for war in Iraq. Known as the military ‘surge’, the plan to increase security in Baghdad involved the dispatch of tens of thousands more US troops. After President Bush vetoed bill containing timetable for withdrawal, Congress approved more funding for Iraq war. Under increasing pressure from war-weary US public, Bush announced that about 30,000 troops might return home by summer 2008.


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