United States

The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in <a href="/facts/North_America/djNjCQIl">North America</a>. It is a <a href="/facts/Federal_republic/ImClIYsI">federal republic</a> of 50 <a href="/facts/U.S._state/PFwcRIYQ">states</a> and a federal capital district, <a href="/facts/Washington%2c_D.C./enXPK156">Washington, D.C.</a> The 48 <a href="/facts/Contiguous_states/yx414G7a">contiguous states</a> border <a href="/facts/Canada/D5P9yqs6">Canada</a> to the north and <a href="/facts/Mexico/IT5bwhdh">Mexico</a> to the south, with the <a href="/facts/Semi-exclave/AFKB4LW6">semi-exclave</a> of <a href="/facts/Alaska/LlDNr2uR">Alaska</a> in the northwest and the <a href="/facts/Archipelago/50BeC9tl">archipelago</a> of <a href="/facts/Hawaii/ImxFefeK">Hawaii</a> in the <a href="/facts/Pacific_Ocean/bdxgXRVM">Pacific Ocean</a>. The United States also asserts sovereignty over five <a href="/facts/Territories_of_the_United_States/NYfp1J30">major island territories</a> and <a href="/facts/United_States_Minor_Outlying_Islands/l6wulClL">various uninhabited islands</a> in <a href="/facts/Oceania/vzTEvsfV">Oceania</a> and the <a href="/facts/Caribbean/zRI9aMCh">Caribbean</a>. It is a <a href="/facts/Megadiverse_country/BE8PrlT7">megadiverse country</a>, with the world's <a href="/facts/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_area/XQWaBfYo">third-largest land area</a> and <a href="/facts/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_population/N1Fq63C2">third-largest population</a>, exceeding 340 million.
<a href="/facts/Paleo-Indians/Cy2QSqUH">Paleo-Indians</a> migrated from North Asia to North America over 12,000 years ago, and formed various civilizations. <a href="/facts/Spanish_colonization_of_the_Americas/xuhh924k">Spanish colonization</a> led to the establishment in 1513 of <a href="/facts/Spanish_Florida/DxLLoHzk">Spanish Florida</a>, the first European colony in what is now the continental United States. <a href="/facts/British_colonization_of_the_Americas/lySSfBKw">British colonization</a> followed with the first settlement of the <a href="/facts/Thirteen_Colonies/H50dauTJ">Thirteen Colonies</a> in <a href="/facts/Colony_of_Virginia/l8uHy7Rc">Virginia</a> in 1607. <a href="/facts/Middle_Passage/W47KJjQ1">Forced migration</a> of <a href="/facts/Slavery_in_the_United_States/CduIa8do">enslaved Africans</a> provided the labor force necessary to make the <a href="/facts/Plantation_economy/Gpo0pfL9">plantation economy</a> of the <a href="/facts/Southern_Colonies/4LE0FwbW">Southern Colonies</a> economically viable. Clashes with the <a href="/facts/The_Crown/ILkl7GNU">British Crown</a> over taxation and the denial of <a href="/facts/No_taxation_without_representation/MEeK13Am">parliamentary representation</a> sparked the <a href="/facts/American_Revolution/zy1F0LxK">American Revolution</a>, leading to the <a href="/facts/United_States_Declaration_of_Independence/UyTgzfpx">Declaration of Independence</a> on July 4, 1776. Victory in the 1775–1783 <a href="/facts/American_Revolutionary_War/8MxJNtcU">Revolutionary War</a> brought international recognition of U.S. sovereignty, and the country continued to <a href="/facts/Territorial_evolution_of_the_United_States/7NB9kvB5">expand westward</a>, resulting in the dispossession of <a href="/facts/Native_Americans_in_the_United_States/lr8Qmd6N">native inhabitants</a>. As more states <a href="/facts/Admission_to_the_Union/puyGUkAG">were admitted</a>, a North–South <a href="/facts/Slave_states_and_free_states/rbILY8hr">division over slavery</a> led the <a href="/facts/Confederate_States_of_America/jMSDM4q3">Confederate States of America</a> to attempt secession, battling the states loyal to <a href="/facts/Union_(American_Civil_War)/KW6wJt7J">the Union</a> in the 1861–1865 <a href="/facts/American_Civil_War/A9FT3ksD">American Civil War</a>. Following the victory and preservation of the United States, <a href="/facts/Thirteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution/rMnQXTxc">slavery was abolished nationally</a>. By 1900, the country had established itself as a <a href="/facts/Great_power/KBtjXLun">great power</a>, a status solidified after its involvement in <a href="/facts/World_War_I/vITTUanQ">World War I</a>. Following <a href="/facts/Empire_of_Japan/gMpNKg2W">Japan</a>'s <a href="/facts/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor/CLBkUVjC">attack on Pearl Harbor</a> in 1941, the U.S. <a href="/facts/American_entry_into_World_War_II/7AhQ89VK">entered World War II</a>. <a href="/facts/Aftermath_of_World_War_II/htgyL1tJ">Its aftermath</a> left the U.S. and the <a href="/facts/Soviet_Union/m7wWsPto">Soviet Union</a> as the world's <a href="/facts/Superpowers/JNNkrRLt">superpowers</a> and led to the <a href="/facts/Cold_War/spJdJQ3q">Cold War</a>, during which both countries struggled for <a href="/facts/Ideological_dominance/9qPKPpVk">ideological dominance</a> and <a href="/facts/Sphere_of_influence/vxSwzH8K">international influence</a>. The <a href="/facts/Dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Union/Fyn5jw3n">Soviet Union's collapse</a> and the <a href="/facts/Cold_War_(1985%25E2%2580%25931991)/EJPKguyx">end of the Cold War</a> in 1991 left the U.S. as the world's sole superpower.
The <a href="/facts/Federal_government_of_the_United_States/VJCxUaf7">U.S. national government</a> is a <a href="/facts/Presidential_system/lFFCrzpv">presidential</a> <a href="/facts/Constitution_of_the_United_States/AJlEWNR3">constitutional</a> federal republic and <a href="/facts/Representative_democracy/svAbpym5">representative democracy</a> with <a href="/facts/Separation_of_powers_under_the_United_States_Constitution/4BG2oWWr">three separate branches</a>: <a href="/facts/United_States_Congress/mJlU46K7">legislative</a>, <a href="/facts/United_States_federal_executive_departments/qMKY8RGz">executive</a>, and <a href="/facts/Federal_judiciary_of_the_United_States/RfX1mMs6">judicial</a>. It has a <a href="/facts/Bicameralism/qdbjFfpm">bicameral</a> national legislature composed of the <a href="/facts/United_States_House_of_Representatives/cdBPb9pY">House of Representatives</a> (a <a href="/facts/Lower_house/kxk4o5B7">lower house</a> based on population) and the <a href="/facts/United_States_Senate/VyzXHE01">Senate</a> (an <a href="/facts/Upper_house/c1en2HMa">upper house</a> based on equal representation for each state). <a href="/facts/Federalism_in_the_United_States/QwuJfJQq">Federalism grants substantial autonomy</a> to the 50 states. In addition, 574 Native American tribes have <a href="/facts/Tribal_sovereignty_in_the_United_States/EMzCGstk">sovereignty rights</a>, and there are 326 <a href="/facts/Native_American_reservations/Y52l5YFG">Native American reservations</a>. Since the 1850s, the <a href="/facts/Democratic_Party_(United_States)/MNe3nDrL">Democratic</a> and <a href="/facts/Republican_Party_(United_States)/XXM1EVPr">Republican</a> parties have dominated <a href="/facts/American_politics/huMQkzQD">American politics</a>, while <a href="/facts/Americanism_(ideology)/RT0nkH4l">American values</a> are based on a democratic tradition inspired by the <a href="/facts/Age_of_Enlightenment/Uj2Fa8Mk">Enlightenment</a> movement.
A <a href="/facts/Developed_country/sqwTSDHm">developed country</a>, the <a href="/facts/International_rankings_of_the_United_States/bIe6d5Wq">U.S. ranks</a> high in <a href="/facts/Global_Competitiveness_Report/BgQl7FrD">economic competitiveness</a>, innovation, and <a href="/facts/Higher_education_in_the_United_States/X8LdW6KC">higher education</a>. Accounting for <a href="/facts/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)/k3Lf3RIL">over a quarter</a> of nominal global economic output, <a href="/facts/Economy_of_the_United_States/t6gWtMWv">its economy</a> has been the world's largest <a href="/facts/List_of_countries_by_largest_historical_GDP/EWKqnBQ0">since about 1890</a>. It is the <a href="/facts/List_of_countries_by_total_wealth/AEwfr59D">wealthiest country</a>, with the <a href="/facts/Disposable_household_and_per_capita_income/1AKezCVS">highest disposable household income per capita</a> among <a href="/facts/OECD/CI9W2zGv">OECD</a> members, though <a href="/facts/Wealth_inequality_in_the_United_States/RoolDyIL">its wealth inequality</a> is one of the most pronounced in those countries. Shaped by centuries of immigration, the <a href="/facts/Culture_of_the_United_States/q6xq3kHG">culture of the U.S.</a> is <a href="/facts/Multiculturalism_in_the_United_States/jDbm9eo5">diverse</a> and <a href="/facts/Americanization/fANrKh8r">globally influential</a>. The U.S. is a member of <a href="/facts/International_organization_membership_of_the_United_States/hcvFJFvS">numerous international organizations</a> and plays a major role in global political, cultural, economic, and military affairs.

United States open-in-new

United States