1998); Gibraltar issue with
Spain; Argentina claims Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas); Argentina
claims South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; Mauritius claims
island of Diego Garcia in British Indian Ocean Territory; Rockall
continental shelf dispute involving Denmark, Iceland, and Ireland
(Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall
area); territorial claim in Antarctica (British Antarctic Territory);
Seychelles claims Chagos Archipelago in British Indian Ocean Territory

Illicit drugs: gateway country for Latin American cocaine entering the
European market; producer and major consumer of synthetic drugs,
synthetic precursor chemicals; major consumer of Southwest Asian
heroin; money-laundering center

______________________________________________________________________

UNITED STATES

@United States:Introduction

Background: The United States became the world's first modern
democracy after its break with Great Britain (1776) and the adoption
of a constitution (1789). During the 19th century, many new states
were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North
American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions. The
two major traumatic experiences in the nation's history were the Civil
War (1861-65) and the Great Depression of the 1930s. Buoyed by
victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991,
the US remains the world's most powerful nation-state. The economy is
marked by steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and rapid
advances in technology.

@United States:Geography

Location: North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and
the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico

Geographic coordinates: 38 00 N, 97 00 W

Map references: North America

Area:
total: 9,629,091 sq km
land: 9,158,960 sq km
water: 470,131 sq km
note: includes only the 50 states and District of Columbia

Area - comparative: about one-half the size of Russia; about
three-tenths the size of Africa; about one-half the size of South
America (or slightly larger than Brazil); slightly larger than China;
about two and one-half times the size of Western Europe

Land boundaries:
total: 12,248 km
border countries: Canada 8,893 km (including 2,477 km with Alaska),
Cuba 29 km (US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay), Mexico 3,326 km
note: Guantanamo Naval Base is leased by the US and thus remains part
of Cuba

Coastline: 19,924 km