United States
Joined U.N. 10-24-1945
Geography
 Located in North
America
 38 00 N, 97 00 W
 9,826,675 sq km
 (3rd Largest Country)
Geography Continued
 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;
Geography Continued
 Natural Resources: coal, copper, lead
 Major Bodies of Water:
 Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean
 Mississippi River
 Environmental Issues
 1. air pollution resulting in acid rain in both the US and
Canada
 2. the US is the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide from
the burning of fossil fuels
 3. water pollution from runoff of pesticides and fertilizers
People
 Population:313,847,465
(July 2012 est.)
 Nationality: American (s)
 Birth Rate:13.68
births/1,000 population
 Life Expectancy: 78.49
years
 Literacy Rate: 99% of
population
 Religions: Protestant
51.3%,
Roman Catholic 23.9%
Government
 Constitution-based federal republic; strong
democratic tradition
 Washington D.C.
 Major Cities: New York,
Los Angeles and Chicago
Economy
 GDP: $48,100 (2011 est.)
 Currency: United States Dollar
 Exchange: British pounds per US dollar: 0.6176
Technology
 Land Lines: 151 million (2010)
 Cell phones: 279 million (2010)
 Radio: 15,000 radio stations operating (2008)
 TV: Thousands
Issues
 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
Issues
 refugees (country of origin): the US admitted 62,643
refugees during FY04/05 including; 10,586
(Somalia); 8,549 (Laos); 6,666 (Russia); 6,479
(Cuba); 3,100 (Haiti); 2,136 (Iran) (2006)
Issues
 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