United States
Capital: Washington, D.C. · North America
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America.
Photo: Carol M, Public domain · source
Did you know?
Paleo-Indians migrated from North Asia to North America at least 15,000 years ago and formed various civilizations. Beginning in 1607, British colonization established the Thirteen Colonies. The 18th-century American Enlightenment spread values of republicanism and liberalism there, and clashes with the British Crown over taxation without parliamentary representation, among other denied rights, sparked the American Revolution. Independence from Great Britain was formally declared in the Lee Resolution of July 2, 1776, two days before the Declaration of Independence. Victory in the 1775–1783 Revolutionary War brought international recognition of U.S. sovereignty.
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Photo: Albert Bierstadt, Public domain · source
Panorama of the west facade of United States Supreme Court Building at dusk in Washington, D.C., United States of America.
Photo: Joe Ravi, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Blowing dust south of Thacker Pass along Nevada State Route 293 (Kings River Road) 3.3 miles east of the western terminus
Photo: Famartin, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Etymology
Documented use of the phrase "United States of America" dates back to January 2, 1776. On that day, Stephen Moylan, a Continental Army aide to General George Washington, wrote a letter to Joseph Reed, Washington's aide-de-camp, seeking to go "with full and ample powers from the United States of America to Spain" to seek assistance in the Revolutionary War effort. The first known public usage is an anonymous essay published in the Williamsburg newspaper The Virginia Gazette on April 6, 1776.
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times square night 2013 new york city manhattan
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The western front of the United States Capitol . The Capitol serves as the seat of government for the United States Congress , the legislative branch of the U.S. federal…
Photo: Noclip, Public domain · source
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee in 2022
Photo: Antony-22, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
History
The first inhabitants of North America migrated from Siberia at least 15,000 years ago, either across the Bering land bridge or along the now-submerged Ice Age coastline. Human footprints at White Sands National Park have been dated to about 21,000–23,000 years ago. The Clovis culture, which appeared around 11,000 BCE in North America, is believed to be the first widespread culture in the Americas. Over time, Indigenous North American cultures grew increasingly sophisticated, and some, such as the Mississippian culture, developed agriculture, architecture, and complex societies.
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Title: New York City street scenes - Easter on 5th Avenue Abstract/medium: 1 photographic print.
Photo: George Grantham Bain Collection, Public domain · source
Geography
Although the United States is often cited as the third-largest country by total area (behind Russia and Canada), Wikipedia ranks it fourth-largest (after Russia, Canada, and China) because coastal and territorial waters are excluded from each country. In 2021, the United States had 8% of the Earth's permanent meadows and pastures and 10% of its cropland.
Starting in the east, the coastal plain of the Atlantic seaboard gives way to inland forests and rolling hills in the Piedmont plateau region.
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Atlanta, Georgia shortly after the end of the American Civil War showing the city's railroad roundhouse in ruins. Albumen print.
Photo: George N, Public domain · source
Cajun seafood dish, New Orleans
Photo: Quinn Dombrowski, CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
Government and politics
The United States is a federal republic consisting of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The U.S. asserts sovereignty over five unincorporated territories and several uninhabited island possessions. It is the world's oldest surviving federation, and its presidential system of federal government has been adopted, in whole or in part, by many newly independent states worldwide following their decolonization. The Constitution of the United States serves as the country's supreme legal document.
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Chinatown in Flushing, Queens in New York City.
Photo: Chad Davis, CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
Downtown Houston from Downtown Aquarium.
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Bidwell Mansion, located at 525 Esplanade in Chico, California, was the home of General John Bidwell and Annie Bidwell. The three-story brick structure is built in an…
Photo: Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Economy
The U.S. has a highly developed mixed economy that has been the world's largest nominally since about 1890. Its 2024 gross domestic product (GDP) of more than $29 trillion constituted over 25% of nominal global economic output, or 15% at purchasing power parity (PPP). From 1983 to 2008, U.S. real compounded annual GDP growth was 3.3%, compared to a 2.3% weighted average for the rest of the G7. The country ranks first in the world by nominal GDP, second when adjusted for purchasing power parities (PPP), and ninth by PPP-adjusted GDP per capita. In August 2026, the total U.S. federal government debt passed $40 trillion, having more than doubled in the previous decade.
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Nueva York (EEUU), 24 de septiembre 2012. La sede en Nueva York en el 67º Período de Sesiones de la Asamblea General de Naciones Unidas. Foto: Fernanda LeMarie -…
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The north side of the Independence Hall, August 2019
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Alaskan moose, September 2007
Photo: Ryan Hagerty, Public domain · source
Demographics
The U.S. Census Bureau reported 331,449,281 residents on April 1, 2020, making the United States the third-most-populous country in the world, after India and China. The Census Bureau's official 2025 population estimate was 341,784,857, an increase of 3.1% since the 2020 census. According to the Bureau's U.S. Population Clock, on July 1, 2024, the U.S. population had a net gain of one person every 16 seconds, or about 5400 people per day. In 2023, 51% of Americans age 15 and over were married, 6% were widowed, 10% were divorced, and 34% had never been married.
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A single serving of Thanksgiving Dinner in the Parkway Village section of Ewing Township, Mercer County, New Jersey
Photo: Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Culture and society
The United States is home to a wide variety of ethnic groups, traditions, and customs. The country has been described as having the values of individualism and personal autonomy, as well as a strong work ethic and competitiveness. Voluntary altruism toward others also plays a major role; according to a 2016 study by the Charities Aid Foundation, Americans donated 1.44% of total GDP to charity—the highest rate in the world by a large margin.
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