United States

constitutional federal republic

name: Washington, D.C. geographic coordinates: 38 53 N, 77 02 W time difference: UTC-5 (during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November; note - no DST for Hawaii and most of Arizona time zone note: the 50 United States cover six time zones etymology: named after George WASHINGTON (1732-1799), the first president of the United States

chief of state: President Donald J. TRUMP (since 20 January 2025) head of government: President Donald J. TRUMP (since 20 January 2025) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president, approved by the Senate election/appointment process: president and vice president indirectly elected on the same ballot by the Electoral College of electors chosen from each state; president and vice president serve a 4-year term (eligible for a second term) most recent election date: 5 November 2024 election results: 2024: Donald J. TRUMP elected president; electoral vote - Donald J. TRUMP (Republican Party) 312, Kamala HARRIS (Democratic Party) 226; percent of direct popular vote - Donald J. TRUMP 49.8%, Kamala HARRIS 48.3%, other 1.9% 2020: Joseph R. BIDEN, Jr. elected president; electoral vote - Joseph R. BIDEN, Jr. (Democratic Party) 306, Donald J. TRUMP (Republican Party) 232; percent of direct popular vote - Joseph R. BIDEN Jr. 51.3%, Donald J. TRUMP 46.9%, other 1.8% expected date of next election: 7 November 2028 note: the president is both chief of state and head of government

legislature name: Congress legislative structure: bicameral note: in addition to the regular members of the House of Representatives there are 6 non-voting delegates elected from the District of Columbia and the US territories of American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands; these are single seat constituencies directly elected by simple majority vote to serve a 2-year term (except for the resident commissioner of Puerto Rico who serves a 4-year term); the delegate can vote when serving on a committee and when the House meets as the Committee of the Whole House, but not when legislation is submitted for a full floor House vote; election of delegates last held on 8 November 2022 (next to be held on 3 November 2024)

highest court(s): US Supreme Court (consists of 9 justices -- the chief justice and 8 associate justices) judge selection and term of office: president nominates and, with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoints Supreme Court justices; justices serve for life subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal (includes the US Court of Appeal for the Federal District and 12 regional appeals courts); 94 federal district courts in 50 states and territories note: the US court system consists of the federal court system and the state court systems; each court system is responsible for hearing certain types of cases, but neither is completely independent of the other, and the systems often interact

history: previous 1781 (Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union); latest drafted July - September 1787, submitted to the Congress of the Confederation 20 September 1787, submitted for states' ratification 28 September 1787, ratification completed by nine of the 13 states 21 June 1788, effective 4 March 1789 amendment process: proposed as a "joint resolution" by Congress, which requires a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate or by a constitutional convention called for by at least two thirds of the state legislatures; passage requires ratification by three fourths of the state legislatures or passage in state-held constitutional conventions as specified by Congress; the US president has no role in the constitutional amendment process

ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), ANZUS, APEC, Arctic Council, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS (observer), CD, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CICA (observer), CP, EAPC, EAS, EBRD, EITI (implementing country), FAO, FATF, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, G-20, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUSCO, NAFTA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), Quad, SAARC (observer), SELEC (observer), SICA (observer), SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNITAR, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOOSA, UN Security Council (permanent), UNTSO, UPU, USMCA, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

3.2% of GDP (2025 est.) 3.2% of GDP (2024 est.) 3.1% of GDP (2023 est.) 3.2% of GDP (2022 est.) 3.5% of GDP (2021 est.)

United States Armed Forces (aka US Military): US Army (USA), US Navy (USN; includes US Marine Corps or USMC), US Air Force (USAF), US Space Force (USSF); US Coast Guard (USCG); National Guard (Army National Guard and Air National Guard) (2025) note 1: the US Coast Guard is administered in peacetime by the Department of Homeland Security, but in wartime reports to the Navy note 2: the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard are reserve components of their services and operate in part under state authority; the US military also maintains reserve forces for each branch note 3: US law enforcement personnel include those of federal agencies, such as the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice, the 50 states, special jurisdictions, local sheriff s offices, and municipal, county, regional, and tribal police departments note 4: some US states have "state defense forces" (SDFs), which are military units that operate under the sole authority of state governments; SDFs are authorized by state and federal law and are under the command of the governor of each state; most are organized as ground units, but air and naval units also exist

17 years of age (under 18 with parental consent) for voluntary service for men and women; maximum enlistment age varies by service; 8-year initial service obligation, including 2-5 years active duty depending on the particular military service (2025) note 1: the US military has been all-volunteer since 1973, but an act of Congress can reinstate the draft in case of a national emergency; males aged 18-25 must register with Selective Service note 2: all military occupations and positions open to women; women comprised 17.7% of the total US regular military personnel as of 2023 note 3: non-citizens living permanently and legally in the US may join as enlisted personnel; they must have permission to work in the US, a high school diploma, and speak, read, and write English fluently; under the Compact of Free Association, citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands may volunteer

the US military's primary missions are to deter potential enemies, provide for the defense of the US, its Territories, Commonwealths and possessions, and any areas occupied by the US, and to protect US national interests; its responsibilities are worldwide and include providing humanitarian assistance, participating in international military exercises and operations, conducting military diplomacy, and fulfilling the US's alliance and treaty commitments; the US has been a leading member of NATO since the Alliance's formation in 1949 the US military has a global presence; the separate services operate jointly under 11 regional or functionally based joint service "combatant" commands: Africa Command; Central Command, Cyber Command, European Command, Indo-Pacific Command, Northern Command, Southern Command, Space Command, Special Operations Command, Strategic Command, and Transportation Command Congress officially created the US military in September 1789; the US Army was established in June 1775 as the Continental Army; after the declaration of independence in July 1776, the Continental Army and the militia in the service of Congress became known collectively as the Army of the United States; when Congress ordered the Continental Army to disband in 1784, it retained a small number of personnel that would form the nucleus of the 1 st American Regiment for national service formed later that year; both the US Navy and the US Marines were also established in 1775, but the Navy fell into disuse after the Revolutionary War, and was reestablished by Congress in 1794; the first US military unit devoted exclusively to aviation began operations in 1913 as part of the US Army; the Army Air Corps (AAC) was the US military service dedicated to aerial warfare between 1926 and 1941; the AAC became the US Army Air Forces in 1941 and remained as a combat arm of the Army until the establishment of the US Air Force in 1947 (2025)

the US has approximately 200,000 military personnel deployed overseas on a permanent or a long-term rotational (typically 3-9 months) basis (2025)

$25.676 trillion (2024 est.) $24.977 trillion (2023 est.) $24.276 trillion (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

$75,500 (2024 est.) $74,200 (2023 est.) $72,700 (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

2.8% (2024 est.) 2.9% (2023 est.) 2.5% (2022 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

2.9% (2024 est.) 4.1% (2023 est.) 8% (2022 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices

114.8% of GDP (2023 est.) note: central government debt as a % of GDP

$3.191 trillion (2024 est.) $3.072 trillion (2023 est.) $3.039 trillion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars

$4.108 trillion (2024 est.) $3.857 trillion (2023 est.) $3.984 trillion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars

4.2% (2024 est.) 3.7% (2023 est.) 3.7% (2022 est.) note: % of labor force seeking employment

revenues: $4.877 trillion (2023 est.) expenditures: $6.857 trillion (2023 est.) note: central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenditures converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated

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

maize, soybeans, milk, wheat, sugar beets, sugarcane, potatoes, chicken, pork, tomatoes (2023) note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage

total: 338,016,259 (2025 est.) male: 167,543,554 female: 170,472,705

0.45% (2025 est.)

0-14 years: 18.1% (male 31,618,532/female 30,254,223) 15-64 years: 63.4% (male 108,553,822/female 108,182,491) 65 years and over: 18.5% (2024 est.) (male 28,426,426/female 34,927,914)

10.75 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

8.76 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

2.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

total population: 80.9 years (2024 est.) male: 78.7 years female: 83.1 years

urban population: 83.3% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: 0.96% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

White 61.6%, Black or African American 12.4%, Asian 6%, Indigenous and Alaska native 1.1%, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.2%, other 8.4%, two or more races 10.2% (2020 est.) note: a separate listing for Hispanic is not included because the US Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean persons of Spanish/Hispanic/Latino origin including those of Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican Republic, Spanish, and Central or South American origin living in the US who may be of any race or ethnic group (White, Black, Asian, etc.); an estimated 18.7% of the total US population is Hispanic as of 2020

English only (official) 78.2%, Spanish 13.4%, Chinese 1.1%, other 7.3% (2017 est.) note: data represent the language spoken at home; English is the official national language as of March 2025, but English previously had official status in 32 of the 50 states; Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii, and 20 indigenous languages are official in Alaska

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.)

coal, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, rare earth elements, uranium, bauxite, gold, iron, mercury, nickel, potash, silver, tungsten, zinc, petroleum, natural gas, timber, arable land note: the US has the world's largest coal reserves with 491 billion short tons accounting for 27% of the world's total

al-Qa'ida; Hizballah; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)/Qods Force; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); La Mara Salvatruche (MS-13); Lashkar-e Tayyiba (LeT); Tren de Aragua (TdA) note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide

refugees: 3,619,495 (2024 est.) IDPs: 21,737 (2024 est.)

16,116 (2025)

total: 293,564.2 km (2014) standard gauge: 293,564.2 km (2014) 1.435-m gauge

total: 3,533 (2023) by type: bulk carrier 4, container ship 60, general cargo 96, oil tanker 68, other 3,305 note - oceangoing self-propelled, cargo-carrying vessels of 1,000 gross tons and above

total subscriptions: 391 million (2024 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 113 (2024 est.)

percent of population: 93% (2023 est.)