rest and woodland; 25% other; includes 2% irrigated

Environment: pollution control measures improving air and water quality;
acid rain; agricultural fertilizer and pesticide pollution; management of
sparse natural water resources in west; desertification; tsunamis, volcanoes,
and earthquake activity around Pacific Basin; continuous permafrost in
northern Alaska is a major impediment to development

Note: world's fourth-largest country (after USSR, Canada, and China)

- People
Population: 250,410,000 (July 1990), growth rate 0.9% (1990)

Birth rate: 15 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 2 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 10 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 73 years male, 80 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 1.9 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--American(s); adjective--American

Ethnic divisions: 85% white, 12% black, 3% other (1985)

Religion: Protestant 61% (Baptist 21%, Methodist 12%, Lutheran 8%,
Presbyterian 4%, Episcopalian 3%, other Protestant 13%), Roman Catholic 25%,
Jewish 2%, other 5%; none 7%

Language: predominantly English; sizable Spanish-speaking minority

Literacy: 99%

Labor force: 125,557,000 (includes armed forces and unemployed);
civilian labor force 123,869,000 (1989)

Organized labor: 16,960,000 members; 16.4% of labor force (1989)

- Government
Long-form name: United States of America; abbreviated US or USA

Type: federal republic; strong democratic tradition

Capital: Washington, DC

Administrative divisions: 50 states and 1 district*; Alabama, Alaska,
Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware,
District of Columbia*, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana,
Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan,
Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire,
New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma,
Oregon, Pennyslvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee,
Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

Independence: 4 July 1776 (from England)

Constitution: 17 September 1787, effective 4 June 1789

Dependent areas: American Samoa, Baker Island, Guam, Howland Island;
Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands, Navassa Island,
Palmyra Atoll, Puerto Rico,