United States of America
From Open Government Project
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Brief Overview
The United States of America is a centralized constitutional republic consists of 50 states, one federal district, and several insular territories. Situated largely in the western hemisphere, its forty-eight neighboring states and the District of Columbia lie in Central North America between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bounded on land by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south; Alaska is in the northwest of the continent with Canada to its east, and Hawaii is in the mid-Pacific. Insular areas are scattered throughout the Americas and Pacific.
At over 3.7 million square miles and with more than 300 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area and third largest by land area and population, with English as their chief language. A liberal democracy, the U.S. is one of the world's most ethnically and socially diverse nations. American society is the product of large-scale immigration and is home to a multifaceted social structure as well as a wide selection of household arrangements. Its national economy is the world's largest, with a 2006 Gross Domestic Product of more than $13 trillion.
In terms of their way of life, urban areas mark the U.S. landscape. Although the urban areas cover about 2% of the land, they are home of about three quarters of the people. More than 98 % of all the land of the United States is classified as rural. But much of the rural land is inhabited or only lightly inhabited. About a fourth of all Americans live in areas that are classified as rural.
Education has been an important part in the economic development of the United States. It has also contributed to the satisfaction of life for many people. Americans are among the best-educated people in the world.
Religion has played a significant role in the history of the U.S. About 60% of all the American people are members of an organized religious group. Many people came to the American Colonies to escape religious persecution in other lands. On the other hand, most Americans have a great deal of leisure time, and they spend it in a diversity of ways. Americans eat a wide variety of foods. A typical dinner consists of meat and potatoes, plus a lettuce salad or a vegetable, and sometimes rolls or bread.
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United States Federal Government
Federal Positions/Offices
State & Local Positions/Offices
The People in Office USA
United States presidential Election, 2008
| Categories: National/Federal Positions/ Office | State Positions / Office | City/Local Positions / Office | List of All Officers | United States Election |
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