United States Of America:

Country Guide

USA - general country guide

Contents

Map

 

Summary Data

summary data  
Total Area (km2) 9,826,630
Land (km2) 9,161,923
Water (km2) 664,707
Population 303,824,646
Population Density (/km2) 33
Capital Washington, DC
Religion (%) Protestant 51.3%
Roman Catholic 23.9%
Mormon 1.7%
Other Christian 1.6%
Jewish 1.7%
Buddhist 0.7%
Muslim 0.6%
Other 2.5%
Unaffiliated 12.1%
None 4%
Time GMT -5 to -10
Climate 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. Low winter
temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated
occasionally in January and February by warm
chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the
Rocky Mountains.
Source: CIA World Factbook

Geography

Stretching from the Pacific to the Atlantic Coast, the land inbetween contains almost every geographical and geological feature imaginable including the frozen, open space of Alaska, the tropical wetlands of Florida, the arid deserts of Nevada and Utah and the verdant Great Lakes. The With a vast central plain, mountains occupy the west with other hills and low mountains in the  east. There are rugged mountains and broad river valleys in Alaska, and rugged, volcanic topography in Hawaii.

Government

The United States is a constitution-based federal republic with a strong democratic tradition. The current president is George W. Bush who is soon to finish his time in office having been elected for the maximum of two four-year terms.

Language

English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census)

Electricity

110V 60Hz. Plugs of three pin variety and two square pin variety.

Passports/Visa

Visas

Under the Visa Waiver Programme, citizens of 27 countries including Britain are able to enter the United States without a visa if they meet the following requirements: they must hold a valid, machine readable or e-passport, must be travelling for business, pleasure or transit, and must be staying in the States for less than 90 days. There are also requirements for entry concerning the method of entry into the States. Citizens of Canada, Bermuda and Mexico do not need visas to enter the United States provided they have valid national passports.

Passport/Visa Information  

The Consular Information Unit

United States Embassy

24 Grosvenor Square

London W1A 1AE

Switchboard: [44] (0)20 7499-9000

Website: www.usembassy.org.uk/index.html

Airports and Airlines

John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)

  • Location: Southeastern New York City, 12 miles from Lower Manhattan.
  • Time: GMT -5.
  • Contacts: tel- 718-244-4444
  • Transfer between terminals:  There are 8 terminals linked by an inter-terminal airtrain.
  • Transfer to the city: There are taxi, bus and train services into the city and also linking with other airports.
  • Car rental: There is a rental counter or courtesy phone for car rental companies in the arrivals level of each terminal.
  • Facilities: There is a huge variety of food, beverage and retail facilities found in all terminals, including banking facilities, ATMs and currency exchange. There are disabled facilities available.
  • Parking: Long and short term parking services, with optional valet parking.
  • Website: http://www.panynj.gov/CommutingTravel/airports/html/kennedy.html

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

  • Location: Southwest LA, 16 miles from the city centre.
  • Time: GMT -8
  • Contacts: tel- 310.646.5252.
  • Transfer between terminals: There is a free shuttle bus between the 8 terminals.
  • Transfer to the city: There is a shuttle bus service to parts of the city, there are bus services to the city and longer distance destinations, and there are taxis available from each terminal.
  • Car rental: Approximately 40 rental companies operate from offices located off the airport site. Courtesy phones are located in arrivals so passengers can request a free shuttle service to link to the rental office site.
  • Facilities: A wide variety of eateries and shopping facilities within all terminals. ATMs, currency exchange and business facilities are available.
  • Parking: Parking available.
  • Website: www.lawa.org/lax/

Standard of Living

The United States rank highly in all standard of living and quality of life indexes and ratings. Per capita is high but there are growing discrepancies between the wealthy and the poor and inequality is rife. A report by the Worldwatch Institute in 2006 stated that the United States have the most unequal distribution of income of all high-income nations. Americans enjoy a consumer-rich lifestyle, with households owning a high number of consumer goods. Infrastructure and health are of high international standards.

Principal commercial centres and towns

Washington, DC, is the capital of the United States. There are nine cities that have a population size of over 1 million, according to the consensus taken in July 2006. New York City is the largest with a population of 8,250,567.

population by city/town 2007  
New York 8,250,567
Los Angeles 3,849,378
Chicago 2,833,321
Houston 2,144,491
Phoenix 1,512,986
Philadelphia 1,448,394
San Francisco 744,041
Boston 590,763
Seattle 582,454
Washington, DC 581,530
Miami 404,048
Source: Wikipedia
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