Saint Pierre and Miquelon (2006) | United States (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territorial collectivity of France); note - there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are two communes - Saint Pierre, Miquelon at the second order | 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, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 23.5% (male 843/female 807)
15-64 years: 65.7% (male 2,342/female 2,272) 65 years and over: 10.8% (male 348/female 414) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 20.8% (male 31,122,974; female 29,713,748)
15-64 years: 66.9% (male 97,756,380; female 98,183,309) 65 years and over: 12.4% (male 15,078,204; female 21,172,956) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | vegetables; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish | wheat, corn, other grains, fruits, vegetables, cotton; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; forest products; fish |
Airports | 2 (2006) | 14,807 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 5,128
over 3,047 m: 188 2,438 to 3,047 m: 221 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1,375 914 to 1,523 m: 2,383 under 914 m: 961 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 9,729
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 160 914 to 1,523 m: 1,718 under 914 m: 7,843 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 242 sq km
land: 242 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes eight small islands in the Saint Pierre and the Miquelon groups |
total: 9,631,418 sq km
land: 9,161,923 sq km water: 469,495 sq km note: includes only the 50 states and District of Columbia |
Area - comparative | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC | 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; about two and a half times the size of Western Europe |
Background | First settled by the French in the early 17th century, the islands represent the sole remaining vestige of France's once vast North American possessions. | 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 to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions. The two most 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. |
Birth rate | 13.52 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 14.13 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $70 million
expenditures: $60 million; including capital expenditures of $24 million (1996 est.) |
revenues: $1.782 trillion
expenditures: $2.156 trillion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003) |
Capital | name: Saint-Pierre
geographic coordinates: 46 46 N, 56 11 W time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November; note - these new dates become effective in 2007 |
Washington, DC |
Climate | cold and wet, with much mist and fog; spring and autumn are windy | 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 |
Coastline | 120 km | 19,924 km |
Constitution | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) | 17 September 1787, effective 4 March 1789 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territorial Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon
conventional short form: Saint Pierre and Miquelon local long form: Departement de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon local short form: Saint-Pierre et Miquelon |
conventional long form: United States of America
conventional short form: United States abbreviation: US or USA |
Currency | - | US dollar (USD) |
Death rate | 6.83 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 8.34 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $1.4 trillion (2001 est.) |
Dependency status | self-governing territorial collectivity of France | - |
Dependent areas | - | American Samoa, Baker Island, Guam, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands, Navassa Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palmyra Atoll, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Wake Island
note: from 18 July 1947 until 1 October 1994, the US administered the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. It entered into a political relationship with all four political units: the Northern Mariana Islands is a commonwealth in political union with the US (effective 3 November 1986); Palau concluded a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 1 October 1994); the Federated States of Micronesia signed a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 3 November 1986); the Republic of the Marshall Islands signed a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 21 October 1986) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territorial collectivity of France) | - |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territorial collectivity of France) | - |
Disputes - international | none | Prolonged drought, population growth, and outmoded practices and infrastructure in the border region has strained water-sharing arrangements with Mexico; undocumented nationals from Mexico and Central America continue to enter the United States illegally; 1990 Maritime Boundary Agreement in the Bering Sea still awaits Russian Duma ratification; managed maritime boundary disputes with Canada at Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and around the disputed Machias Seal Island and North Rock; The Bahamas have not been able to agree on a maritime boundary; US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased from Cuba and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease; Haiti claims US-administered Navassa Island; US has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other state; Marshall Islands claims Wake Island |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $6.9 billion (1997) |
Economic aid - recipient | approximately $60 million in annual grants from France | - |
Economy - overview | The inhabitants have traditionally earned their livelihood by fishing and by servicing fishing fleets operating off the coast of Newfoundland. The economy has been declining, however, because of disputes with Canada over fishing quotas and a steady decline in the number of ships stopping at Saint Pierre. In 1992, an arbitration panel awarded the islands an exclusive economic zone of 12,348 sq km to settle a longstanding territorial dispute with Canada, although it represents only 25% of what France had sought. The islands are heavily subsidized by France to the great betterment of living standards. The government hopes an expansion of tourism will boost economic prospects. Recent test drilling for oil may pave the way for development of the energy sector. | The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $37,800. In this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and the federal and state governments buy needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace. US business firms enjoy considerably greater flexibility than their counterparts in Western Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capital plant, to lay off surplus workers, and to develop new products. At the same time, they face higher barriers to entry in their rivals' home markets than the barriers to entry of foreign firms in US markets. US firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances, especially in computers and in medical, aerospace, and military equipment; their advantage has narrowed since the end of World War II. The onrush of technology largely explains the gradual development of a "two-tier labor market" in which those at the bottom lack the education and the professional/technical skills of those at the top and, more and more, fail to get comparable pay raises, health insurance coverage, and other benefits. Since 1975, practically all the gains in household income have gone to the top 20% of households. The years 1994-2000 witnessed solid increases in real output, low inflation rates, and a drop in unemployment to below 5%. The year 2001 saw the end of boom psychology and performance, with output increasing only 0.3% and unemployment and business failures rising substantially. The response to the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 showed the remarkable resilience of the economy. Moderate recovery took place in 2002 with the GDP growth rate rising to 2.4%. A major short-term problem in first half 2002 was a sharp decline in the stock market, fueled in part by the exposure of dubious accounting practices in some major corporations. The war in March/April 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq shifted resources to the military. In 2003, growth in output and productivity and the recovery of the stock market to above 10,000 for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were promising signs. Unemployment stayed at the 6% level, however, and began to decline only at the end of the year. Long-term problems include inadequate investment in economic infrastructure, rapidly rising medical and pension costs of an aging population, sizable trade and budget deficits, and stagnation of family income in the lower economic groups. |
Electricity - consumption | 41.06 million kWh (2003) | 3.602 trillion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 18.17 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 38.48 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 44.15 million kWh (2003) | 3.719 trillion kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Morne de la Grande Montagne 240 m |
lowest point: Death Valley -86 m
highest point: Mount McKinley 6,194 m |
Environment - current issues | recent test drilling for oil in waters around Saint Pierre and Miquelon may bring future development that would impact the environment | air pollution resulting in acid rain in both the US and Canada; the US is the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels; water pollution from runoff of pesticides and fertilizers; limited natural fresh water resources in much of the western part of the country require careful management; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Hazardous Wastes |
Ethnic groups | Basques and Bretons (French fishermen) | white 77.1%, black 12.9%, Asian 4.2%, Amerindian and Alaska native 1.5%, native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0.3%, other 4% (2000)
note: a separate listing for Hispanic is not included because the US Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean a person of Latin American descent (including persons of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin) living in the US who may be of any race or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc.) |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) | British pounds per US dollar - 0.6139 (2003), 0.6661 (2002), 0.6944 (2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), Canadian dollars per US dollar - 1.4045 (2003), 1.5693 (2002), 1.5488 (2001), 1.4851 (2000), 1.4857 (1999), Japanese yen per US dollar - 116.08 (2003), 125.39 (2002), 121.53 (2001), 107.77 (2000), 113.91 (1999), euros per US dollar - 0.8866 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.08540 (2000), 0.93863 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Yves FAUQUEUR (since 28 August 2006)
head of government: President of the General Council Marc PLANTAGENEST (since NA) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held, 21 April 2002 (first round) and 5 May 2002 (second round) (next to be held in 2007); prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the General Council is elected by the members of the council |
chief of state: President George W. BUSH (since 20 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President George W. BUSH (since 20 January 2001) ; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president with Senate approval elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by a college of representatives who are elected directly from each state; president and vice president serve four-year terms; election last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008) election results: George W. BUSH reelected president; percent of popular vote - George W. BUSH (Republican Party) 50.9%, John KERRY (Democratic Party) 48.1%, other 1.0% |
Exports | NA bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | fish and fish products, soybeans, animal feed, mollusks and crustaceans, fox and mink pelts | capital goods, automobiles, industrial supplies and raw materials, consumer goods, agricultural products |
Exports - partners | Spain 33.6%, Belgium 21.8%, India 18.3%, France 9.4%, US 7.5% (2005) | Canada 23.4%, Mexico 13.5%, Japan 7.2%, UK 4.7%, Germany 4% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
Flag description | a yellow sailing ship facing the hoist side rides on a dark blue background with yellow wavy lines under the ship; on the hoist side, a vertical band is divided into three parts: the top part (called ikkurina) is red with a green diagonal cross extending to the corners overlaid by a white cross dividing the rectangle into four sections; the middle part has a white background with an ermine pattern; the third part has a red background with two stylized yellow lions outlined in black, one above the other; these three heraldic arms represent settlement by colonists from the Basque Country (top), Brittany, and Normandy; the flag of France is used for official occasions | 13 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars; the 50 stars represent the 50 states, the 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies; known as Old Glory; the design and colors have been the basis for a number of other flags, including Chile, Liberia, Malaysia, and Puerto Rico |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $10.99 trillion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 1.4%
industry: 26.2% services: 72.5% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $37,800 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 3.1% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 46 50 N, 56 20 W | 38 00 N, 97 00 W |
Geography - note | vegetation scanty | world's third-largest country by size (after Russia and Canada) and by population (after China and India); Mt. McKinley is highest point in North America and Death Valley the lowest point on the continent |
Heliports | - | 155 (2003 est.) |
Highways | - | total: 6,406,296 km
paved: 4,148,395 km (including 74,898 km of expressways) unpaved: 2,257,902 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1.8%
highest 10%: 30.5% (1997) |
Illicit drugs | - | consumer of cocaine shipped from Colombia through Mexico and the Caribbean; consumer of heroin, marijuana, and increasingly methamphetamine from Mexico; consumer of high-quality Southeast Asian heroin; illicit producer of cannabis, marijuana, depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens, and methamphetamine; money-laundering center |
Imports | NA bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | meat, clothing, fuel, electrical equipment, machinery, building materials | crude oil and refined petroleum products, machinery, automobiles, consumer goods, industrial raw materials, food and beverages |
Imports - partners | France 51.3%, Canada 31.8%, Belgium 4.1% (2005) | Canada 17.4%, China 12.5%, Mexico 10.7%, Japan 9.3%, Germany 5.3% (2003) |
Independence | none (territorial collectivity of France; has been under French control since 1763) | 4 July 1776 (from Great Britain) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 0.3% (2003 est.) |
Industries | fish processing and supply base for fishing fleets; tourism | leading industrial power in the world, highly diversified and technologically advanced; petroleum, steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber, mining |
Infant mortality rate | total: 7.38 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.46 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 6.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.31 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.1% (1991-96 average) | 2.3% (2003) |
International organization participation | UPU, WFTU | AfDB, ANZUS, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, G-5, G-7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UN Security Council, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
Irrigated land | NA | 214,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Superior Tribunal of Appeals or Tribunal Superieur d'Appel | Supreme Court (its nine justices are appointed for life on condition of good behavior by the president with confirmation by the Senate); United States Courts of Appeal; United States District Courts; State and County Courts |
Labor force | 3,261 (1999) | 147.4 million (includes unemployed) (2003) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 18%
industry: 41% services: 41% (1996 est.) |
managerial, professional, and technical 34.9%, sales and office 25.5%, manufacturing, extraction, transportation, and crafts 22.7%, other services 16.3%, farming, forestry, and fishing 0.7%
note: figures exclude the unemployed (2004) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 12,034 km
border countries: Canada 8,893 km (including 2,477 km with Alaska), Mexico 3,141 km note: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is leased by the US and is part of Cuba; the base boundary is 29 km |
Land use | arable land: 12.5%
permanent crops: 0% other: 87.5% (2005) |
arable land: 19.13%
permanent crops: 0.22% other: 80.65% (2001) |
Languages | French (official) | English, Spanish (spoken by a sizable minority) |
Legal system | French law with special adaptations for local conditions, such as housing and taxation | federal court system based on English common law; each state has its own unique legal system, of which all but one (Louisiana's) is based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
Legislative branch | unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats - 15 from Saint Pierre and 4 from Miquelon; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: elections last held 19 and 26 March 2000 (next to be held in April 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PS 12, PRG 2, UDF-RPR 5 note: Saint Pierre and Miquelon elect 1 seat to the French Senate; elections last held 26 September 2004 (next to be held in September 2013); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 1; Saint Pierre and Miquelon also elects 1 seat to the French National Assembly; elections last held, first round - 9 June 2002, second round - 16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UDF 1 |
bicameral Congress consists of the Senate (100 seats, one-third are renewed every two years; two members are elected from each state by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives (435 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2006); House of Representatives - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 55, Democratic Party 44, independent 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 231, Democratic Party 200, undecided 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.61 years
male: 76.27 years female: 81.06 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 77.43 years
male: 74.63 years female: 80.36 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (1982 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 97% (1999 est.) |
Location | Northern North America, islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Newfoundland (Canada) | North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico |
Map references | North America | North America |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: not specified |
Merchant marine | - | total: 466 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 12,436,658 GRT/14,630,116 DWT
by type: barge carrier 8, bulk 69, cargo 75, chemical tanker 12, combination bulk 2, combination ore/oil 1, container 100, multi-functional large load carrier 3, passenger 12, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 81, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 83, short-sea/passenger 3, vehicle carrier 12 foreign-owned: Australia 2, Canada 7, Denmark 17, Malaysia 1, Netherlands 1, Norway 6, Singapore 3, United Kingdom 5 registered in other countries: 670 (2004 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy and Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard (Coast Guard administered in peacetime by the Department of Homeland Security, but in wartime reports to the Department of the Navy) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $370.7 billion (FY04 est.) (March 2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 3.3% (FY03 est.) (February 2004) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 73,597,731 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | NA (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 2,124,164 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Independence Day, 4 July (1776) |
Nationality | noun: Frenchman(men), Frenchwoman(women)
adjective: French |
noun: American(s)
adjective: American |
Natural hazards | persistent fog throughout the year can be a maritime hazard | tsunamis, volcanoes, and earthquake activity around Pacific Basin; hurricanes along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts; tornadoes in the midwest and southeast; mud slides in California; forest fires in the west; flooding; permafrost in northern Alaska, a major impediment to development |
Natural resources | fish, deepwater ports | coal, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, uranium, bauxite, gold, iron, mercury, nickel, potash, silver, tungsten, zinc, petroleum, natural gas, timber |
Net migration rate | -4.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 3.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | - | petroleum products 244,620 km; natural gas 548,665 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | Left Radical Party or PRG; Rassemblement pour la Republique or RPR (now UMP); Socialist Party or PS; Union pour la Democratie Francaise or UDF | Democratic Party [Terence McAULIFFE]; Green Party [leader NA]; Libertarian Party [Steve DASBACH]; Republican Party [Edward GILLESPIE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 7,026 (July 2006 est.) | 293,027,571 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 12% (2003 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.17% (2006 est.) | 0.92% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Anchorage, Baltimore, Boston, Charleston, Chicago, Duluth, Hampton Roads, Honolulu, Houston, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Port Canaveral, Portland (Oregon), Prudhoe Bay, San Francisco, Savannah, Seattle, Tampa, Toledo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 4,762, FM 5,542, shortwave 18 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 228,464 km
standard gauge: 228,464 km 1.435-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 99% | Protestant 52%, Roman Catholic 24%, Mormon 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 1%, other 10%, none 10% (2002 est.) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate
domestic: NA international: country code - 508; radiotelephone communication with most countries in the world; 1 earth station in French domestic satellite system |
general assessment: a large, technologically advanced, multipurpose communications system
domestic: a large system of fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and domestic satellites carries every form of telephone traffic; a rapidly growing cellular system carries mobile telephone traffic throughout the country international: country code - 1; 24 ocean cable systems in use; satellite earth stations - 61 Intelsat (45 Atlantic Ocean and 16 Pacific Ocean), 5 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 4 Inmarsat (Pacific and Atlantic Ocean regions) (2000) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 4,800 (2002) | 181,599,900 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 158.722 million (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (there are, however, two repeaters which rebroadcast programs from France, Canada, and the US) (1997) | more than 1,500 (including nearly 1,000 stations affiliated with the five major networks - NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, and PBS; in addition, there are about 9,000 cable TV systems) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly barren rock | 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 |
Total fertility rate | 2.01 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 2.07 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10.3% (1999) | 6% (2003) |
Waterways | - | 41,009 km (19,312 km used for commerce)
note: Saint Lawrence Seaway of 3,769 km, including the Saint Lawrence River of 3,058 km, shared with Canada (2004) |