United States

The United States is the 3rd largest country in the world, located in North America. It is bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south.

Population estimate (2019): 328,611,726

Capital City: Washington D.C.

Currency used: US Dollar

Gross National Income per capita (2013) (PPP international $): 53,960

Time zone: Time zones span from GMT – 10 in the Pacific to – 4 in New York.

Population growth rate (2019): 0.71%

Total fertility rate per woman: 1.87

Languages: The working and most widely spoken language is English, which is the main language of 82.9% of the population, followed by Spanish (12.85%) and Chinese (0.64%). Native American languages combined are the main language of 0.9% of the population, the most common one being Quechua.

Key ethnic groups: The USA is highly multi-ethnic with the vast majority having ancestry from somewhere else. Approximately 62% have European ancestry, 16.9% Hispanic, 12.6% African ancestry, 5.2% Asian and 1.6% Native American.

Religion: 73.7% identify as Christian (48.9% Protestant, 23% Catholic, 1.8% Mormon). 18.2% report being religiously unaffiliated.

Literacy: 99%

Climate: Due to the size of the country, the US has a range of different climates. In general, however, it has a continental climate with very cold winters and hot summers. Some exceptions are: On the west coast the climate is Mediterranean in the south and cooler in the northern part; on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico winters are mild and summers hot and humid; in Florida the climate is close to tropical; while in the mountainous areas are cold in winter and have cool summers as well; finally the desert regions have very hot summers and mild winters.