The United States of America is a federal republic in North America. It consists of 50 states, the federal district of Washington, D.C., five major self-governing territories, and other possessions. The country borders Canada to the north and Mexico to the south, with coastlines on the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Arctic Ocean through Alaska.
The United States is one of the world's largest countries by both land area and population. It has a highly developed economy, a large military, a major cultural export sector, and a political system built around a written constitution, federalism, separated powers, and regular elections.
Name and Identity
The formal name is the United States of America. Common short forms include the United States, the U.S., the US, and America. The name "America" is older than the country itself and is usually linked to Amerigo Vespucci, whose name was applied by European mapmakers to the continents of the New World.
The national identity is strongly shaped by the country's founding as a union of former British colonies, later expansion across North America, immigration from many parts of the world, and continuing debate over liberty, citizenship, race, federal power, and the role of the state.
Geography
The contiguous United States stretches from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast. Alaska lies in the north-west of North America, and Hawaii is an island state in the central Pacific. The country includes mountains, plains, deserts, forests, wetlands, major river systems, and several climate zones.
Major physical regions include the Appalachian Mountains, the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, the Great Lakes, the Mississippi River basin, the deserts of the south-west, the Pacific coast, Alaska's Arctic and subarctic landscapes, and Hawaii's volcanic islands.
Population
The Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 estimates reported that the U.S. population grew by 0.5% between 1 July 2024 and 1 July 2025. The United States remains the third most populous country in the world after India and China.
The population is highly urbanised but spread across many different regional economies. New York City is the largest city by population, while Washington, D.C. is the federal capital.
Government
The United States is governed under the Constitution of the United States, which came into effect in 1789. The federal government is divided into three branches:
- Legislative, made up of Congress, with the Senate and the House of Representatives.
- Executive, headed by the President.
- Judicial, headed by the Supreme Court and the federal court system.
Power is divided between the federal government and the states. States have their own constitutions, governors, legislatures, courts, and areas of authority. This federal structure means that law, public services, elections, policing, education, and taxation can vary considerably between states.
History
Indigenous peoples lived across North America for thousands of years before European colonisation. From the sixteenth century onwards, European empires established settlements and claims. The thirteen British colonies on the Atlantic coast declared independence in 1776, leading to the American Revolutionary War. Independence was recognised by Britain in 1783.
During the nineteenth century, the United States expanded westward through purchase, settlement, treaty, war, and displacement of Indigenous peoples. Slavery and sectional conflict led to the American Civil War from 1861 to 1865. The Union victory ended secession and led to the abolition of slavery, but racial inequality and political conflict continued long after Reconstruction.
The United States industrialised rapidly in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It became a major world power after the First World War and one of the two leading global powers after the Second World War. The Cold War, civil rights movement, Vietnam War, technological growth, immigration, and political polarisation all shaped the modern country.
Economy
The United States has one of the world's largest economies, with major sectors in finance, technology, manufacturing, energy, healthcare, agriculture, entertainment, education, and defence. The U.S. dollar is widely used in global trade and finance.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that real gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 1.6% in the first quarter of 2026, according to its second estimate. Economic conditions vary widely between states and regions.
Culture
American culture is internationally influential through film, television, music, sport, literature, technology, food, fashion, and social media. The country has strong regional identities, from New England and the South to the Midwest, Texas, California, Alaska, and Hawaii.
The United States has no single cultural tradition. Its public life reflects Indigenous history, European colonisation, African American experience, immigration, religious diversity, regional politics, and a long-running tension between individualism and collective public life.
References
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