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America’s gross domestic product accounts for close to a quarter of the world total, and its military budget is reckoned to be almost as much as the rest of the world’s defence spending put together. The country is also a major source of entertainment: American TV, Hollywood films, jazz, blues, rock and rap music are primary ingredients in global popular culture.

The United States originated in a revolution which separated it from the British Crown. The constitution, drafted in 1787, established a federal system with a division of powers which has remained unchanged in form since its inception. The US contains a highly diverse population, the product of numerous and sustained waves of immigration. Ethnic and racial diversity – the “melting pot” – is celebrated as a core element of the American ideology. The 1964 Civil Rights Act outlawed racial and other discrimination, but race continues to be a live issue. The election of Barack Obama as the country’s first African-American president in November 2008 marked a defining moment in the country’s chequered history of race relations.

* Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16761057

Capital: Washington D.C.

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Population: 308,745,538 (est. 2010)

Currency: US Dollars ($)

Official Language: The US has no official national language, but English has acquired official status in 28 of the 50 states; Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii.

Ethnicity/ race: 79.96% – white; 12.85% – black; 4.43% – Asian; 0.97% – Amerindian and Alaska native; 0.18% –  native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander, 1.61% – mixed (est. 2007)

Religion: Protestant 51.3%, Roman Catholic 23.9%, Mormon 1.7%, other Christian 1.6%, Jewish 1.7%, Buddhist 0.7%, Muslim 0.6%, other or unspecified 2.5%, unaffiliated 12.1%, none 4% (est. 2007)

 * Source: CIA Factbook

3 Interesting Facts:

1. The United States is divided into 50 states. The smallest state is Rhode Island and the largest state by area is Alaska.
2. Bristlecone pine trees, believed to be some of the world’s oldest living things, are found in the western United States in California, Utah, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. The oldest of these trees is in California. The oldest living tree itself is found in Sweden.
3. The lowest temperature ever recorded in the US was at Prospect Creek, Alaska on January 23, 1971: -80°F (-62°C). The hottest temperature recorded was in Death Valley, California on July 10, 1913: 134°F (56°C)

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