United States

United StatesJoined U.N. 10-24-1945

Located in North America38 00 N, 97 00 W9,826,675 sq km (3rd Largest Country)

Geography

Geography ContinuedClimate: 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 ContinuedNatural Resources: coal, copper, lead

Major Bodies of Water: Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean Mississippi River

Environmental Issues1. 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

PeoplePopulation:313,847,465 (July 2012 est.)Nationality: American (s)Birth Rate:13.68 births/1,000 population Life Expectancy: 78.49 yearsLiteracy Rate: 99% of populationReligions: Protestant 51.3%, Roman Catholic 23.9%

GovernmentConstitution-based federal republic; strong democratic traditionWashington D.C.Major Cities: New York, Los Angeles and Chicago

EconomyGDP: $48,100 (2011 est.)Currency: United States DollarExchange: British pounds per US dollar: 0.6176 TechnologyLand Lines: 151 million (2010)

Cell phones: 279 million (2010)

Radio: 15,000 radio stations operating (2008)

TV: Thousands

Issuesthe 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 bordersIssuesrefugees (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)Issuesworld'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