KNOWLEDGE BASE Facts About The US
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Facts About The United States
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Conventional Long Form Name: United States of America
Local Conventional Short Form Names: US, USA, The States
Internet Country Code: .us
Capital: Washington, DC
People in the US are called: Americans
Official Language(s) of the US: There is no official language at the federal level, though American English is the primary language used for legislation, regulations, executive orders, treaties, federal court rulings, and all other official pronouncements. Over 30 states have enacted legislation to make English their official state language.
Total Population: 339,665,118 (2023 est. by World Factbook)
Urban Population: 83.3%
Major Urban Areas: 18.937 million New York-Newark, 12.534 million Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, 8.937 million Chicago, 6.707 million Houston, 6.574 million Dallas-Fort Worth, 5.490 million WASHINGTON, D.C. (capital) (2023)
Currency: Dollar
Currency Symbol: $, US$, USD
Thousands Separator (comma) and Decimal Mark (dot): 1,234,567.89
Clock: 12 hour clock (am/pm)
Date format: MM/DD/(YY)YY
Time Zones for Standard Time (ST) and Daylight Savings Time (DST):
Atlantic UTC -4 (ST) / UTC -3 (DST) (No portion of the continental United States is in this time zone, but Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are)
Eastern UTC -5 (ST) / UTC -4 (DST)
Central UTC -6 (ST) / UTC -5 (DST)
Mountain UTC -7 (ST) / UTC -6 (DST) (Arizona, except for the Navajo Indian Nation, does not observe DST)
Pacific UTC -8 (ST) / UTC -7 (DST)
Alaska UTC -9 (ST) / UTC -8 (DST)
Hawaii - Aleutian UTC -10 (ST) / UTC -9 (DST) (Hawaii does not always observe DST)
Daylight Savings Time: Starts second Sunday in March; ends First Sunday in November
Phone Number Country Code: 1
Landline Phone Number Format: 10-digit, (area code) prefix-suffix; (xxx) xxx-xxxx
Cell Phone Number Format: 10-digit, (area code) prefix-suffix; (xxx) xxx-xxxx
Standard Work Week: The standard work week is 40 hours, and any covered nonexempt employee must be paid at least time and a half for any hour over 40. There is no limit to how many hours can be worked for those 16 and over, as long as overtime is paid. Overtime pay is not required for work on weekends, holidays, or regular days of rest, unless overtime is worked on those days.
Annual Leave: The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require payment for time not worked, such as vacations, sick leave or federal or other holidays. These benefits are matters of agreement between an employer and an employee (or the employee's representative). http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/workhours/vacation_leave.htm
National Holiday: One of the federal holidays, the 4th of July, or Independence Day, marks the United States’ independence
Voting Age: 18
Drinking Age: Each state can set its own minimum legal drinking age (MLDA). All 50 states have set 21 as the MLDA for purchase of alcohol. In some states the consumption of alcohol in certain private situations (at home or with family) is legal
Smoking: 18 to purchase tobacco, though in some states consuming tobacco products under the age of 18 is not illegal or is ignored. In January 2016, Hawaii raised the age to 21 for smoking, purchase, and sale of tobacco and e-cigarettes.
Location and Geography: North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico and 38 00 N, 97 00 W Geographic coordinates.
National Symbol(s): Bald eagle
National colors: Red, white, blue.
US Government and Political System: Constitutional federal republic.
Head of State: Joe Biden is the 46th and current president of the United States.
Election Tenure: Federal elections occur every two years, on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Every member of the House of Representatives and about one-third of the Senate is up for reelection in any given election year. A presidential election is held every fourth year.
The US Constition: The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States.Written in 1787, ratified in 1788, and in operation since 1789, the Constitution is composed of the Preamble, seven articles, and 27 amendments.
United States Legal System: The US legal system is the common law system based on English common law at the federal level; state legal systems based on common law, except Louisiana, where state law is based on Napoleonic civil code and judicial review of legislative acts.
US Climate: The majority of the US experiences a continental climate with hot summers and cold, often frigid, winters. Season length varies with latitude and distance from the ocean.
Temperature Extremes: The US boasts a vast temperature range, from the tropical warmth of Florida (annual average exceeding 21°C) to the frigid arctic chills of Alaska. Seasonal swings are significant, with northern regions experiencing a 50°C difference between summer and winter.
Precipitation Variations: Rainfall also varies greatly, with the Gulf Coast receiving over 127 cm annually, while arid regions like the Intermountain West and Southwest see less than 30 cm. Peak rainfall seasons differ regionally, from late spring in the Midwest to winter on the West Coast.
Weather Extremes: The US faces diverse weather extremes, including severe thunderstorms, frequent tornadoes (nearly 1,500 annually), and recurring hurricanes impacting the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. Droughts also affect roughly 20% of the country at any given time.
US 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.
The US has the world's largest coal reserves with 491 billion short tons accounting for 27% of the world's total.
The US is reliant on foreign imports for 100% of its needs for the following strategic resources: Arsenic, Cesium, Fluorspar, Gallium, Graphite, Indium, Manganese, Niobium, Rare Earths, Rubidium, Scandium, Tantalum and Yttrium.
Religion in the US: The U.S. has the largest Christian and Protestant population in the world. According to Gallup, 75% of Americans report praying often or sometimes and religion plays a very or fairly important role in their lives. Judaism is the second-largest religion in the U.S., practiced by 2% of the population, followed by Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam, each with 1% of the population.
Statistics in the US
US Unemployment Rate: The national rate of unemployment is 3.7% (Dec, 2023)
US Employment Rate: The employment rate in the US is 60.20% (Jan, 2024)
Labor Force of the United States: The labor force participation rate of the US is 62.5 percent (Jan, 2024)
US GDP: $27.36 trillion (Dec, 2023)
GDP Per Capita: 83,060.00 USD (2024)
US Inflation Rate: 3.4 %
Ease of Doing Business Ranking: 6th of 190 (May, 2019)
Major US Industries:The US is highly diversified, world leading, high-technology innovator, with the second-largest industrial output in the world; petroleum, steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumbering and mining.
Internet Penetration Rate: The United States’s internet penetration rate stood at 91.8 percent of the total population at the start of 2023.
US Minimum Wage: The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.The minimum wage for employees who receive tips is $2.13 per hour. The amount of tips plus the $2.13 must reach at least $7.25 per hour. If not, your employer must pay to make up the difference.
Corruption Perception Index:The US ranks 24/180 and scores 69/100 in the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).
Labor Union Presence and Activity in the US: The union membership rate in the US in 2023 was 10%. 16.2 million wage and salary workers were represented by a union. Workers represented by a union include both union members (14.4 million) and workers who report no union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union contract (1.8 million).7.0 million employees in the public sector belong to unions, compared with 7.4 million workers in the private sector.
Age Structure in the US: In 2022, about 17.96 percent of the U.S. population fell into the 0-14 year category, 64.91 percent into the 15-64 age group and 17.13 percent of the population were over 65 years of age.
United States Birth rate: 12.2 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
United States Death rate: 8.4 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
United States Sex Ratio: 0.97 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
Life Expectancy in the US: Both sexes: 76.4 years , Males: 73.5 years and Females: 79.3 years.
Alcohol Consumption in the US: According to the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 221.3 million people ages 12 and older (78.5% in this age group) reported that they drank alcohol at some point in their lifetime.Overall, 62% of U.S. adults say they ever drink alcohol, while 38% abstain completely.Beer still most popular alcoholic drink; liquor battling wine for second place.
US Export Partners: The top five purchasers of U.S. goods exports in 2022 were: Canada ($356.5 billion), Mexico ($324.3 billion), China ($150.4 billion), Japan ($80.2 billion), and the United Kingdom ($76.2 billion).U.S. goods exports to the European Union 27 were $350.8 billion.
The top five purchasers of U.S. services exports in 2022 were: Ireland ($83.1 billion), the United Kingdom ($80.9 billion), Canada ($69.5 billion), Switzerland ($52.4 billion), and China ($42.2 billion). U.S. services exports to the European Union 27 were $238.6 billion.
Top 5 US Export Commodities: In November 2023, the top exports of United States were Aircraft Parts ($10.8B), Crude Petroleum ($9.87B), Refined Petroleum ($9.62B), Petroleum Gas ($5.8B), and Commodities not elsewhere specified ($5.49B).
US Import partners: The top five suppliers of U.S. goods imports in 2022 were: China ($536.3 billion), Mexico ($454.8 billion), Canada ($436.6 billion), Japan ($148.1 billion), and Germany ($146.6 billion). U.S. goods imports from the European Union 27 were $553.3 billion.
The top five suppliers of U.S. services imports in 2022 were: the United Kingdom ($70.8 billion), Germany ($42.0 billion), Canada ($40.6 billion), Japan ($38.5 billion), and Mexico ($37.3 billion). U.S. services imports from the European Union 27 were $166.7 billion.
Top 5 US Import Commodities: In November 2023 the top imports of United States were Cars ($18.6B), Crude Petroleum ($15.5B), Telephones ($11.4B), Commodities not elsewhere specified ($10.5B), and Computers ($9.84B).
Electricity Access in the US: Total population: 100% (2021)
No of Airports in the US: There are 5,193 public airports and 14,776 private airports in the United States.
Railway in the US: Length of the railway networks in the United States is over 250,000km.
Heliports in the US: There are 6,104 heliports on record in the U.S
Major Seaports in the US: Atlantic Ocean: Charleston, Hampton Roads, New York/New Jersey, Savannah
Gulf of Mexico: Houston.
Gulf of Mexico: Houston.
Pacific Ocean: Long Beach, Los Angeles, Oakland, Seattle/Tacoma
Gulf of Mexico: Houston.
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
United States Department of Labor - Overtime Pay
United Nations Country Profile: USA
Digital Nation Data Explorer: National Telecommunications & Information Administration
US Visas from the US Department Of State
Climate Change Knowledge Portal
The United States Constitution
CPI and Inflation Report January 2023
The world’s 10 longest railway networks
Office of the United States Trade Representative: Countries and Regions
Gallup: More Than Six in 10 Americans Drink Alcohol
Alcohol Use in the United States: Age Groups and Demographic Characteristics
IMF: GDP per capita, current prices
National Center for Health Statistics:Life Expectancy
Bureau of Labor Statistics: Union Members Summary, January 2024.
KNOWLEDGE BASE Facts About The US