The United States consists of 50 States and the District of Columbia. The capital is Washington, District of Columbia; the largest city by population is New York, New York.
The United States has a total area of 3,809,525 square miles, encompassing 3,532,316 square miles of land and 277,209 square miles of water, placing it among the five largest nations in terms of area. Forty-eight states and the District of Columbia are contiguous; these along with Alaska, are located in North America. Hawaii is an archipelago located in the central Pacific Ocean. The United States shares land borders with Canada and Mexico.
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United States map showing the United States – including Alaska and Hawaii – within northern North America. Most major US cities are indicated.
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Learn more about America's infrastructure, geography and population statistics here -
Introduction
Background
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.
Geography
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Area
total: 9,833,517 sq. km
land: 9,147,593 sq. km
water: 685,924 sq. km
Climate
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
Natural resources
coal, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, rare earth elements, uranium, bauxite, gold, iron, mercury, nickel, potash, silver, tungsten, zinc, petroleum, natural gas, timber, arable land;
People and Society
Population
339,665,118 (2023 est.)
Ethnic groups
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.)
Languages
English only 78.2%, Spanish 13.4%, Chinese 1.1%, other 7.3% (2017 est.)
Religions
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.)
Population growth rate
0.68% (2023 est.)
Government
Government type
constitutional federal republic
Capital
Washington, DC
Executive branch
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)
Legislative branch
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
Economy
Economic overview
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
Agricultural products
maize, milk, soybeans, wheat, sugar cane, sugar beet, poultry, potatoes, cotton, pork
Industries
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
Exports - commodities
refined petroleum, natural gas, crude petroleum, cars and vehicle parts, integrated circuits, aircraft, vaccines and cultures (2021)
Imports - commodities
cars, crude petroleum, computers, broadcasting equipment, packaged medicines (2021)
Real Estate in America
Recomm​ended Sources for Data on American Real Estate:
The Economists' Outlook blog(link is external) provides insight into NAR Research's reports and analyzes how various economic indicators affect the real estate market.
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NAR's State-by-State Economic Impact of Real Estate Activity examines real estate markets in each state and analyzes their contribution to the economy.
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The Research & Statistics section of nar.realtor includes links to recent surveys and reports available from NAR.
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U.S. Housing Market Conditions(link is external) is published quarterly by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development, providing numerous housing market statistics from the federal government and other organizations.
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The State of the Nation's Housing(link is external), from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, is an annual review of housing markets in the U.S., including data on demographic trends and economic conditions.
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Source: 2023 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers (National Association of REALTORS®)