United States

• 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

• 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

• tsunamis, volcanoes, and 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

• air pollution resulting in acid rain in both the US and Canada;
• the US is the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels;
• water pollution from runoff of pesticides and fertilizers;
• limited natural fresh water resources in much of the western part of the country require careful management;
• desertification

• world's third-largest country by size (after Russia and Canada) and by population (after China and India);
• Mt. McKinley is highest point in North America and Death Valley the lowest point on the continent

0-14 years:

20.8% (male 31,122,974; female 29,713,748)

15-64 years:

66.9% (male 97,756,380; female 98,183,309)

65 years and over:

12.4% (male 15,078,204; female 21,172,956) (2004 est.)

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.71 male(s)/female

total population:

0.97 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

noun:

American(s)

adjective:

American

conventional long form:

United States of America

conventional short form:

United States

abbreviation:

US or USA

• federal court system based on English common law;
• each state has its own unique legal system, of which all but one (Louisiana's) is based on English common law;
• judicial review of legislative acts;
• accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

chief of state:

President George W. BUSH (since 20 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:

President George W. BUSH (since 20 January 2001) ; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the president with Senate approval

elections:

• president and vice president elected on the same ticket by a college of representatives who are elected directly from each state;
• president and vice president serve four-year terms;
• election last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008)

election results:

George W. BUSH reelected president; percent of popular vote - George W. BUSH (Republican Party) 50.9%, John KERRY (Democratic Party) 48.1%, other 1.0%

• Supreme Court (its nine justices are appointed for life on condition of good behavior by the president with confirmation by the Senate);
• United States Courts of Appeal;
• United States District Courts;
• State and County Courts

• Democratic Party [Terence McAULIFFE];
• Green Party [leader NA];
• Libertarian Party [Steve DASBACH];
• Republican Party [Edward GILLESPIE]

AfDB, ANZUS, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, G-5, G-7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UN Security Council, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, 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;
• known as Old Glory;
• the design and colors have been the basis for a number of other flags, including
  • Chile,
  • Liberia,
  • Malaysia,
  • and Puerto Rico

lowest 10%:

1.8%

highest 10%:

30.5% (1997)

• wheat, corn, other grains, fruits, vegetables, cotton;
• beef, pork, poultry, dairy products;
• forest products;
• fish

• leading industrial power in the world, highly diversified and technologically advanced;
• petroleum, steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber, mining

British pounds per US dollar - 0.6139 (2003), 0.6661 (2002), 0.6944 (2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), Canadian dollars per US dollar - 1.4045 (2003), 1.5693 (2002), 1.5488 (2001), 1.4851 (2000), 1.4857 (1999), Japanese yen per US dollar - 116.08 (2003), 125.39 (2002), 121.53 (2001), 107.77 (2000), 113.91 (1999), euros per US dollar - 0.8866 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.08540 (2000), 0.93863 (1999)

general assessment:

a large, technologically advanced, multipurpose communications system

domestic:

• a large system of fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and domestic satellites carries every form of telephone traffic;
• a rapidly growing cellular system carries mobile telephone traffic throughout the country

international:

• country code - 1;
• 24 ocean cable systems in use;
• 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) (2000)

total:

228,464 km

standard gauge:

228,464 km 1.435-m gauge (2003)

total:

6,406,296 km

paved:

4,148,395 km (including 74,898 km of expressways)

unpaved:

2,257,902 km (2002)

• Prolonged drought, population growth, and outmoded practices and infrastructure in the border region has strained water-sharing arrangements with Mexico;
• undocumented nationals from Mexico and Central America continue to enter the United States illegally;
• 1990 Maritime Boundary Agreement in the Bering Sea still awaits Russian Duma ratification;
• managed maritime boundary disputes with Canada at Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and around the disputed Machias Seal Island and North Rock;
• The Bahamas have not been able to agree on a maritime boundary;
• US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased from Cuba and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease;
• Haiti claims US-administered Navassa Island;
• 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 state;
• Marshall Islands claims Wake Island

• consumer of cocaine shipped from Colombia through Mexico and the Caribbean;
• consumer of heroin, marijuana, and increasingly methamphetamine from Mexico;
• consumer of high-quality Southeast Asian heroin;
• illicit producer of cannabis, marijuana, depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens, and methamphetamine;
• money-laundering center