United States
Among all countries, United States stands 1st in economic output. This achievement puts it ahead of the vast majority of countries. Can you guess its other standout statistics?
United States is a country in North America with a population of 338.02M and an area of 9,525,067 km². Life expectancy is 78.4 years.
At a Glance
The numbers that define this country
Land Area
9.15MTotal land area in square kilometers, excluding lakes, rivers, and territorial waters.
GDP Per Capita
$75.5KGDP per person, adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP) so costs of living are comparable across countries.
GDP Per Capita (PPP)
85.8KGDP per person, adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP) so costs of living are comparable across countries.
CO2 Per Capita
14.197How many tonnes of CO2 the average person produces per year.
Human Development Index
0.94The Human Development Index (HDI), combining life expectancy, education, and income into a single score from 0 to 1.
Where They Stand Out
Global rankings worth knowing
🤝Road Deaths
12.239The number of people killed in road accidents per 100,000 population.
🔧Airports
16.1KTotal airports from CIA World Factbook.
🔧Railway Length
293.6KTotal railway length from CIA World Factbook.
🚀Foreign Patents
329.2KHow many patent applications are filed by non-residents each year.
🍻Air Passengers
941.56MTotal passengers carried by airlines registered in that country, regardless of where flights originated or ended.
Did You Know?
Facts that catch players off guard
Ranks #1 in road deaths (lower is better)
Road Deaths: 12.239
The number of people killed in road accidents per 100,000 population.
OECD 2024Ranks #1 globally in airports
Airports: 16.1K
Total airports from CIA World Factbook.
Ranks #1 globally in foreign patents
Foreign Patents: 329.2K
How many patent applications are filed by non-residents each year.
World Bank 2023Ranks #1 globally in air passengers
Air Passengers: 941.56M
Total passengers carried by airlines registered in that country, regardless of where flights originated or ended.
World Bank 2023Ranks #1 globally in gdp (nominal)
GDP (Nominal): 28750.96B
The country's total economic output in current US dollars.
World Bank 2023Surprised? See how you stack up.
Play NowHow United States Compares
Country vs continent vs world averages
GDP per Capita
Above avgGDP per person, adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP) so costs of living are comparable across countries.
World Bank 2023Life Expectancy
Above avgHow many years a newborn can expect to live, based on current mortality rates.
World Bank 2023Human Development Index
Above avgThe Human Development Index (HDI), combining life expectancy, education, and income into a single score from 0 to 1.
Our World in Data 2023Internet Users
Above avgThe percentage of people who have used the internet in the last 3 months.
World Bank 2023Think you can guess which countries rank higher?
Test Your IntuitionAbout United States
Thirteen of Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions. Two of the most traumatic experiences in the nation's history were the Civil War (1861-65), in which a northern Union of states defeated a secessionist Confederacy of 11 southern slave states, and the Great Depression of the 1930s, an economic downturn during which about a quarter of the labor force lost its jobs. 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. Since the end of World War II, the economy has achieved relatively steady growth, low unemployment, and rapid advances in technology.
- Location
- North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
- 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
- Terrain
- vast central plain, mountains in west, hills and low mountains in east; rugged mountains and broad river valleys in Alaska; rugged, volcanic topography in Hawaii
- Natural Resources
- coal, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, rare earth elements, uranium, bauxite, gold, iron, mercury, nickel, potash, silver, tungsten, zinc, petroleum, natural gas, timber, arable land
- Natural Hazards
- tsunamis; volcanoes; earthquake activity around Pacific Basin; hurricanes along the Atlantic and Gulf of America coasts; tornadoes in the Midwest and Southeast; mud slides in California; forest fires in the west; flooding; permafrost in northern Alaska is a major impediment to development volcanism: volcanic activity in the Hawaiian Islands, Western Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, and in the Northern Mariana Islands; Mauna Loa (4,170 m) in Hawaii and Mount Rainier (4,392 m) in Washington have been deemed Decade Volcanoes by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to their explosive history and close proximity to human populations; Pavlof (2,519 m) is the most active volcano in Alaska's Aleutian Arc and poses a significant threat to intercontinental air travel; St. Helens (2,549 m), famous for the devastating 1980 eruption, remains active today; other historically active volcanoes are mostly concentrated in the Aleutian arc and Hawaii, including (in Alaska) Aniakchak, Augustine, Chiginagak, Fourpeaked, Iliamna, Katmai, Kupreanof, Martin, Novarupta, Redoubt, Spurr, Wrangell, Trident, Ugashik-Peulik, Ukinrek Maars, Veniaminof, (in Hawaii) Haleakala, Kilauea, Loihi, (in the Northern Mariana Islands) Anatahan, (in the Pacific Northwest) Mount Baker, and Mount Hood; see note 2 under "Geography - note"
- Size Comparison
- about half the size of Russia; about three-tenths the size of Africa; about half the size of South America (or slightly larger than Brazil); slightly larger than China; more than twice the size of the European Union
- Languages
- English only (official) 78.2%, Spanish 13.4%, Chinese 1.1%, other 7.3% (2017 est.)
- Religions
- Protestant 46.5%, Roman Catholic 20.8%, Jewish 1.9%, Church of Jesus Christ 1.6%, other Christian 0.9%, Muslim 0.9%, Jehovah's Witness 0.8%, Buddhist 0.7%, Hindu 0.7%, other 1.8%, unaffiliated 22.8%, don't know/refused 0.6% (2014 est.)
- Ethnic Groups
- White 61.6%, Black or African American 12.4%, Asian 6%, Indigenous and Alaska native 1.1%, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.2%, other 8.4%, two or more races 10.2% (2020 est.)
- Major Cities
- 18.937 million New York-Newark, 12.534 million Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, 8.937 million Chicago, 6.707 million Houston, 6.574 million Dallas-Fort Worth, 5.490 million WASHINGTON, D.C. (capital) (2023)
- Government Type
- constitutional federal republic
- Capital
- Washington, D.C.
- Capital Coordinates
- 38 53 N, 77 02 W
- Capital Timezone
- UTC-5 (during Standard Time)
- Official Name
- United States of America
- Name Origin
- the name America was first used in 1507 and is derived from the first name of Amerigo VESPUCCI (1454-1512), an Italian explorer, navigator, and cartographer; the name United States first appeared in a document subtitle during the discussions that led to the Declaration of Independence in 1776
- Independence
- 4 July 1776 (declared independence from Great Britain); 3 September 1783 (recognized by Great Britain)
- National Symbols
- bald eagle
- National Anthem
- "The Star-Spangled Banner"
- UNESCO Heritage
- 26 (13 cultural, 12 natural, 1 mixed); note - includes one site in Puerto Rico
- Overview
- world’s largest economy by nominal GDP; largest importer and second-largest exporter; home to leading financial exchanges and global reserve currency; high and growing public debt; inflation moderating but remains above pre-pandemic levels
- Industries
- highly diversified, world leading, high-technology innovator, second-largest industrial output in the world; petroleum, steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber, mining
- Agricultural Products
- maize, soybeans, milk, wheat, sugar beets, sugarcane, potatoes, chicken, pork, tomatoes (2023)
- Export Partners
- Canada 14%, Mexico 13%, China 8%, Germany 5%, Japan 4% (2023)
- Export Commodities
- crude petroleum, refined petroleum, natural gas, gas turbines, cars (2023)
- Import Partners
- Mexico 15%, China 15%, Canada 14%, Germany 5%, Japan 5% (2023)
- Import Commodities
- cars, crude petroleum, broadcasting equipment, computers, garments (2023)
- Military Forces
- United States Armed Forces (aka US Military): US Army (USA), US Navy (USN; includes US Marine Corps or USMC), US Air Force (USAF), US Space Force (USSF); US Coast Guard (USCG); National Guard (Army National Guard and Air National Guard) (2025)
- Military Service
- 17 years of age (under 18 with parental consent) for voluntary service for men and women; maximum enlistment age varies by service; 8-year initial service obligation, including 2-5 years active duty depending on the particular military service (2025)
- Energy Mix
- fossil fuels: 58.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); nuclear: 18.2% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); solar: 5.6% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); wind: 9.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); hydroelectricity: 5.6% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); geothermal: 0.4% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); biomass and waste: 1.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
- Broadcast Media
- 4 major terrestrial TV networks with affiliate stations, plus cable and satellite networks, independent stations, and a limited public broadcasting sector; thousands of TV stations broadcasting; multiple national radio networks with many affiliate stations; over 15,000 radio stations, most commercial; National Public Radio (NPR) has a network of about 900 member stations; satellite radio available (2018)
- Space Program
- has a large, comprehensive space program and is one of the world's top space powers; builds, launches, and operates space launch vehicles (SLVs)/rockets and the full spectrum of spacecraft, including interplanetary probes, manned craft, reusable rockets, satellites, space stations, and space planes/shuttles; has an astronaut program and a corps of astronauts; researching and developing a broad range of other space-related technologies, including advanced telecommunications and optics, navigational aids, propulsion, and robotics; has launched orbital or lander probes to the Sun and all the planets in the solar system, as well as to asteroids and beyond the solar system; has dozens of international missions and projects, including with Canada, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the ESA; as of January 2026, 60 countries had signed onto the US-led Artemis Accords to enhance the governance of civil exploration and use of outer space; the US commercial space industry is one of the world's largest and is active across the spectrum of US government space programs; US commercial companies conduct the majority of NASA and US military space launches (2026)
Deep Dive
78 of 143 metricsEvery stat we track, organized by category
Related Countries
Canada
MexicoCountries with Similar GDP
Netherlands
Cayman Islands
Iceland
Faroe Islands
Brunei
Anguilla
Antigua and Barbuda
Aruba
Bahamas
Barbados
BelizeShare a Fact
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The total number of people living in the country.
Frequently Asked Questions about United States
United States has a population of 338.02M, ranking #3 globally by population.
United States is located in North America. It has an area of 9,525,067 km².
Life expectancy in United States is 78.4 years, ranking #61 globally.
United States's GDP per capita (PPP) is 85.8K, ranking #11 globally.
United States ranks particularly high in Population (#3), Land Area (#3), GDP Per Capita (#11).
United States has an HDI of 0.938, ranking #19 globally. The HDI combines life expectancy, education, and income indicators.
United States has a population density of 36.8 people per km², ranking #165 globally.
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