The United States of America (U.S.A.) (also referred to as the United States, the U.S., America, or (outside its borders) the States), is a federal republic in North America with a strong democratic tradition. The US shares land borders with Canada in the north and Mexico in the south and shares a marine border with Russia in the west. Established in 1776 as a collection of break-away British colonies, the United States has since eclipsed its mother nation and most other nations in terms of relative economic, political and military power and, arguably, cultural importance, to the point that it is being accused of economic, political, military and cultural imperialism as England was before it.
United States of America
As the world's third largest nation (land area), the United States landscape varies greatly: temperate forestland on the East coast, mangrove forests in Florida, the Great Plains in the centre of the country, the Mississippi-Missouri river system, the Rocky Mountains west of the plains, deserts and temperate coastal zones west of the Rocky Mountains. Including the arctic regions of Alaska and the volcanic islands of Hawaii only increases the diversity.
The climate varies along with the landscape from sub-tropic in Florida to tundra in Alaska. Large parts of the country have a continental climate, with warm summers and cold winters.
The economy is organized on the capitalist model and is marked by steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, a large trade deficit, and rapid advances in technology. The American economy can be regarded as the most important in the world. Several countries have coupled their currency with the dollar, or even use it as a currency, and the American stock markets are globally seen as an indicator of world economy.
The country has rich mineral resources, with extensive gold, oil, coal and uranium deposits. Agriculture brings the country among the top producers of, among others, maize, wheat, sugar and tobacco. American industry produces cars, airplanes and electronics. The biggest sector is however service industries; about three-quarters of Americans are employed in that sector.
By far, the largest trading partner of the USA is its neighboring country Canada with the next a distant second. Other partners are Mexico, the European Union and the industrialized nations in the Far East, such as Japan and South Korea. Trade with China is important.
Most of the 280 million people currently living in the United States descend from European immigrants that have arrived since the establishment of the first colonies. Major components of the European segment of the United States population are decended from immigrants from Germany, England, Scotland, Ireland and Italy with many immigrants also from Scandanavian countries and the Slavic and other populations of eastern and southern Europe and French Canada; few immigrants came directly from France. Likewise, while there were few immigrants directly from Spain. Hispanics from Mexico and South and Central America are considered the largest minority group in the country, comprising 13.4% of the population (38.6 million people) in 2002, which has also brought increasing the use of the Spanish language in the United States (see Languages in the United States). About 12% (2000 census) of the people are Blacks - preferably called African-Americans - who largely descend from the African slaves that were brought to America. A third significant minority is the Asian population (3.6%), which is especially present at the West Coast. The native population of Native Americans, such as American Indians and Inuit make up less than 1% of the population.
A majority of Americans are Christians, with relatively small but politically significant Jewish and Muslim minorities. Although most American Christians are Protestant, the Catholic church is the group with the greatest number of members; Protestants are divided into a great number of smaller and bigger churches.
The social structure of the United States, a capitalist country, is highly stratified[?] with a large proportion of the wealth of the country controlled by a small fraction of the population which exerts disproportionate cultural and political influence.
American culture has a large influence on the rest of the world, especially the Western world. American music is heard all over the world, and American movies and television shows can be seen almost anywhere.
The White House (http://www.whitehouse.gov) - Official site of the Presidential residence
Senate.gov (http://www.senate.gov) - Official site of the United States Senate
House.gov (http://www.house.gov) - Official site of the United States House of Representatives
SCOTUS (http://www.supremecourtus.gov) - Official site of the Supreme Court of the United States
Portrait of the USA (http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/factover/homepage.htm) - Published by the United States Information Agency, September 1997.
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