The United States of America is a federal republic of 50 states located primarily in North America. Bordered by Canada and Mexico, it also includes Alaska, Hawaii, and several island territories. Home to 574 federally recognized tribes, the U.S. is an ecologically megadiverse country with the world's third-largest land area and a population exceeding 340 million.
In 1900, American Samoa was acquired by the United States after the Second Samoan Civil War.
In 1904, the Summer Olympics took place in St. Louis, Missouri, marking the first time the Olympic Games were held outside of Europe.
In 1913, the Armory Show in New York City, an exhibition of European modernist art, shocked the public and transformed the U.S. art scene.
From 1865 through 1917, the United States saw an unprecedented number of immigrants, including 24.4 million from Europe.
In 1917, the U.S. Virgin Islands were purchased from Denmark.
In 1920, a constitutional amendment granted nationwide women's suffrage.
In 1929, the Wall Street Crash triggered the Great Depression.
Since 1929, the Academy Awards, known as the Oscars, have been held annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The National Defense Act Amendments of 1933 created the Guard and provides for the integration of Army National Guard units and personnel into the U.S. Army.
In March 1941, the U.S. began supplying war materiel to the Allies of World War II, while remaining neutral.
In 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, which led to the U.S. entering World War II.
Since January 1944, the Golden Globe Awards have been held annually.
In August 1945, the U.S. used nuclear weapons against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which led to the end of the war.
The end of World War II in 1945 left the U.S. and the Soviet Union as superpowers.
On July 4, 1946, the Philippines was granted full independence from the U.S. following World War II.
In 1946, the Culinary Institute of America was founded by Katharine Angell and Frances Roth.
The National Defense Act Amendments of 1933 provides for the integration of Army National Guard units and personnel into the U.S. Air Force since 1947.
In 1958, the United States established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
The idea of wilderness has shaped the management of public lands since 1964, with the Wilderness Act.
In 1965, the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities was established as an agency of the U.S. federal government.
In February 1970, NPR was incorporated under the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967.
In 1969, The U.S. prevailed in the Space Race, which culminated with the first crewed Moon landing.
In February 1970, NPR was incorporated under the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967.
In 1972, NASA's Apollo program ended and the Voyager program started.
In 1973, defiance of the military draft led to the end of conscription in the U.S.
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 provides a way to protect threatened and endangered species and their habitats.
In 1975, the U.S. totally withdrew from Vietnam amid wide opposition to the intervention.
From 1983 to 2008, the U.S. real compounded annual GDP growth was 3.3%, compared to a 2.3% weighted average for the rest of the G7 countries.
By 1985, the majority of American women aged 16 and older were employed.
The fall of communism occurred from 1989 to 1991 marking the end of the Cold War.
In 1990, The Human Genome Project was formally launched.
From 1989 to 1991, the collapse of the Soviet Union marked the end of the Cold War and left the United States as the world's sole superpower.
In 1991, an American-led international coalition of states expelled an Iraqi invasion force that had occupied neighboring Kuwait during the Gulf War.
In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed, marking the end of the Cold War and leaving the U.S. as the world's sole superpower.
In 1998, Nasdaq became the first stock market in the United States to trade online.
Starting in 1998, life expectancy in the U.S. fell behind that of other wealthy industrialized countries, leading to an increasing 'health disadvantage' gap.
The United States hosted the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, and the final match was watched by 90,185 people, setting a world record for the most-attended women's sporting event at the time.
In 2001, the Destiny module was added to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of U.S. contributions.
In 2001, the September 11 attacks on the United States by al-Qaeda led to the war on terror, and subsequent military interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Since 2001, the Transportation Security Administration has provided security at most major airports in the U.S.
In 2007, The U.S. housing bubble culminated in the Great Recession, the largest economic contraction since the Great Depression.
In 2007, the Harmony module was added to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of U.S. contributions.
From 1983 to 2008, the U.S. real compounded annual GDP growth was 3.3%, compared to a 2.3% weighted average for the rest of the G7 countries.
Between 2010 and 2020, student loan debt increased by 102%.
In 2010, 1 million people spoke German at home. By 2020, the number of German speakers fell to 857,000.
In 2010, an analysis of the World Health Organization Mortality Database indicated that U.S. homicide rates were seven times higher than in other high-income countries, primarily due to a gun homicide rate that was 25 times higher.
In 2010, former President Obama passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
In 2010, the Tranquility module was added to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of U.S. contributions.
In 2011, the richest 10% of the adult population in the U.S. owned 72% of the country's household wealth, while the bottom 50% owned just 2%.
In July 2013, the market for professional sports in the United States was approximately $69 billion, which was roughly 50% larger than that of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa combined.
After its 2013 merger with US Airways, American Airlines became the global leader in total number of passengers carried.
In 2023, the U.S. had the fourth-highest median household income, an increase from sixth-highest in 2013.
According to a 2016 study by the Charities Aid Foundation, Americans donated 1.44% of total GDP to charity, which was the highest rate in the world.
In 2016, a Pew Research Center poll found that Americans were the most supportive of free expression of any polity measured and of freedom of the press and the right to use the Internet without government censorship.
In 2016, the United States accounted for just over half of the world's aerospace production.
In 2016, the top fifth of earners in the U.S. took home more than half of all income, giving the U.S. one of the widest income distributions among OECD countries.
In 2017, among the foreign-born population in the U.S., approximately 45% were naturalized citizens, 27% were lawful permanent residents, 6% were temporary lawful residents, and 23% were unauthorized immigrants.
In 2019, the U.S. had the world's highest rate of children living in single-parent households at 23%.
In 2019, the United States ranked second in the Global Competitiveness Report, following Singapore.
In 2019, the leading countries of origin for immigrants in the U.S. were Mexico (24%), India (6%), China (5%), the Philippines (4.5%), and El Salvador (3%).
Income inequality in the U.S. reached a record high in 2019.
On April 1, 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau reported 331,449,281 residents.
According to the American Community Survey in 2020, approximately 245.4 million people in the U.S. age five and older spoke only English at home, while 41.2 million spoke Spanish. Other languages spoken at home by over a million people included Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Arabic, French, Korean, and Russian.
Between 2010 and 2020, student loan debt increased by 102%.
In 2020, The Commonwealth Fund reported that the U.S. had the highest suicide rate among high-income countries. Approximately one-third of the U.S. adult population was obese, and another third was overweight.
In 2020, the U.S. spent an average of $18,614 per year per public elementary and secondary school student.
In 2020, the United States restaurant industry was projected at $899 billion in sales.
In January 2021, a mob of insurrectionists entered the U.S. Capitol and sought to prevent the peaceful transfer of power in an attempted self-coup d'état.
In 2020-2021, the U.S. spent an average of $18,614 per year per public elementary and secondary school student.
In 2021, approximately 83% of Americans over age 12 listened to broadcast radio, while about 40% listened to podcasts.
In 2021, the James Webb Space Telescope was launched.
In 2021, the U.S. manufacturing sector was the second-largest globally, following China.
In 2021, the U.S. ranked second after China in the number of patent applications.
In 2021, the United States had 8% of global permanent meadows and pastures and 10% of cropland.
According to the CDC, in 2022, the average American life expectancy at birth was 77.5 years.
In 2022, a study found that 76% of U.S. commuters drive alone, 14% ride a bicycle (including bike owners and bike-sharing users), and about 11% use some form of public transportation.
In 2022, approximately 6.4 million children in the U.S. experienced food insecurity, and about 37.9 million people, or 11.5% of the U.S. population, were living in poverty.
In 2022, approximately 82% of Americans lived in urban areas, including suburbs. There were 333 incorporated municipalities with populations over 100,000. Nine cities had more than one million residents, and four cities—New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston—had populations exceeding two million.
In 2022, most of the 19,969 U.S. airports were owned and operated by local government authorities, with some private airports also existing.
In 2022, student loan debt exceeded $1.7 trillion.
In 2022, the U.S. was among the top ten countries for highest vehicle ownership per capita, with 850 vehicles per 1000 people.
In 2022, the United States had 87.7 million immigrants and U.S.-born children of immigrants, making up nearly 27% of the U.S. population.
In 2022, the United States had the second-highest number of published scientific papers after China.
In 2022, the United States has the world's largest music market, with a total retail value of $15.9 billion.
In 2022, the United States, with about 4% of the world's population, consumed around 16% of the world's energy.
In 2022, the median age of the United States population was 38.9 years.
In 2022, the video game market of the United States was the world's largest by revenue.
According to the CDC, in 2023, the average American life expectancy at birth was 78.4 years (75.8 for men and 81.1 for women), a gain of 0.9 year from 2022, mainly driven by decreases in mortality due to COVID-19, heart disease, unintentional injuries, cancer, and diabetes.
In 2023, 136 of the world's 500 largest companies by revenue were headquartered in the U.S., the highest number of any country.
In 2023, 51% of Americans age 15 and over were married, and the total fertility rate for the U.S. stood at 1.6 children per woman.
In 2023, approximately 84% of the energy in the United States came from fossil fuels, with petroleum being the largest source at 38%, followed by natural gas at 36%. Renewable sources, coal, and nuclear power each contributed 9%.
In 2023, the U.S. personal consumption expenditures exceeded $18.5 trillion, making it the world's largest consumer market. The U.S. also ranked first in the number of dollar billionaires and millionaires, with 735 billionaires and nearly 22 million millionaires.
In 2023, the United States ranked third in the Global Innovation Index, following Switzerland and Sweden.
In 2023, the United States spent $916 billion on its military, which is by far the largest amount of any country.
In February 2024, the total U.S. federal government debt reached $34.4 trillion.
According to the Bureau's U.S. Population Clock, on July 1, 2024, the U.S. population had a net gain of one person every 16 seconds, or about 5400 people per day.
As of 2024, the United States has the world's second-largest diplomatic corps.
By 2024, the U.S. had some of the highest wealth and income inequality among OECD countries, and there were approximately 771,480 homeless persons.
From 2024, the U.S. plans to triple its nuclear power capacity by 2050.
In 2024, the American prison system, which is highly heterogenous and operates at various levels, held over 1.9 million people across different types of facilities, including state prisons, federal prisons, local jails, juvenile correctional facilities, immigration detention centers, and others.
In 2024, the U.S. accounted for over a quarter of nominal global economic output.
In 2024, the U.S. ranked 35th among 180 countries in the Environmental Performance Index.
In 2024, the United States ranked third in the Global Innovation Index, following Switzerland and Sweden.
In fiscal year 2024, the United States resettled 100,034 refugees, solidifying its position as the top global resettlement destination.
In 2025, English was designated the official language of the United States through Executive Order 14224.
Los Angeles is scheduled to host the Summer Olympics in 2028, marking the ninth time the Olympic Games will be held in the U.S.
From 2024, the U.S. plans to triple its nuclear power capacity by 2050.
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