United States (2001) | New Caledonia (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | 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 | none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 3 provinces named Iles Loyaute, Nord, and Sud |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
21.12% (male 30,034,674; female 28,681,253) 15-64 years: 66.27% (male 91,371,753; female 92,907,199) 65 years and over: 12.61% (male 14,608,948; female 20,455,054) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 29% (male 32,030/female 30,714)
15-64 years: 64.6% (male 70,294/female 69,506) 65 years and over: 6.4% (male 6,513/female 7,437) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, other grains, corn, fruits, vegetables, cotton; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; forest products; fish | vegetables; beef, deer, other livestock products |
Airports | 14,720 (2000 est.) | 25 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
5,174 over 3,047 m: 182 2,438 to 3,047 m: 220 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1,331 914 to 1,523 m: 2,440 under 914 m: 1,001 (2000 est.) |
total: 11
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
9,546 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 164 914 to 1,523 m: 1,675 under 914 m: 7,698 (2000 est.) |
total: 14
914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 6 (2004 est.) |
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 |
total: 19,060 sq km
land: 18,575 sq km water: 485 sq km |
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 | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
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 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. | Settled by both Britain and France during the first half of the 19th century, the island was made a French possession in 1853. It served as a penal colony for four decades after 1864. Agitation for independence during the 1980s and early 1990s has dissipated. |
Birth rate | 14.2 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 18.49 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.828 trillion expenditures: $1.703 trillion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999) |
revenues: $861.3 million
expenditures: $735.3 million, including capital expenditures of $52 million (1996 est.) |
Capital | Washington, DC | Noumea |
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 | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds; hot, humid |
Coastline | 19,924 km | 2,254 km |
Constitution | 17 September 1787, effective 4 March 1789 | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form:
United States of America conventional short form: United States abbreviation: US or USA |
conventional long form: Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies
conventional short form: New Caledonia local long form: Territoire des Nouvelle-Caledonie et Dependances local short form: Nouvelle-Caledonie |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | - |
Death rate | 8.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.65 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $862 billion (1995 est.) | $79 million (1998 est.) |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of France since 1956 |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | none (overseas territory of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | - | none (overseas territory of France) |
Disputes - international | maritime boundary disputes with Canada (Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, Machias Seal Island); 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 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 nation; Marshall Islands claims Wake Island | Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by France and Vanuatu |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $6.9 billion (1997) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $880 million annual subsidy from France (1998) |
Economy - overview | The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $36,200. In this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and government buys 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, lay off surplus workers, and 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, although 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%. Long-term problems include inadequate investment in economic infrastructure, rapidly rising medical costs of an aging population, sizable trade deficits, and stagnation of family income in the lower economic groups. Growth weakened in the fourth quarter of 2000; growth for the year 2001 almost certainly will be substantially lower than the strong 5% of 2000. The outlook for 2001 is further clouded by the continued economic problems of Japan, Russia, Indonesia, Brazil, and many other countries. | New Caledonia has about 25% of the world's known nickel resources. Only a small amount of the land is suitable for cultivation, and food accounts for about 20% of imports. In addition to nickel, substantial financial support from France - equal to more than one-fourth of GDP - and tourism are keys to the health of the economy. Substantial new investment in the nickel industry, combined with the recovery of global nickel prices, brightens the economic outlook for the next several years. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.45 trillion kWh (1999) | 1.471 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 14 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 43 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 3.678 trillion kWh (1999) | 1.581 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
69.64% hydro: 8.31% nuclear: 19.8% other: 2.25% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Death Valley -86 m highest point: Mount McKinley 6,194 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Panie 1,628 m |
Environment - current issues | 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; very limited natural fresh water resources in much of the western part of the country require careful management; desertification | erosion caused by mining exploitation and forest fires |
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, Nuclear Test Ban, 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 |
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Ethnic groups | white 83.5%, black 12.4%, Asian 3.3%, Amerindian 0.8% (1992)
note: a separate listing for Hispanic is not included because the US Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean a person of Latin American descent (especially of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin) living in the US who may be of any race or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc.) |
Melanesian 42.5%, European 37.1%, Wallisian 8.4%, Polynesian 3.8%, Indonesian 3.6%, Vietnamese 1.6%, other 3% |
Exchange rates | British pounds per US dollar - 0.6764 (January 2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6106 (1997), 0.6403 (1996); Canadian dollars per US dollar - 1.5032 (January 2001), 1.4851 (2000), 1.4857 (1999), 1.4835 (1998), 1.3846 (1997), 1.3635 (1996); French francs per US dollar - 5.65 (January 1999), 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997), 5.1155 (1996), 4.9915 (1995), 5.5520 (1994); Italian lire per US dollar - 1,668.7 (January 1999), 1,763.2 (1998), 1,703.1 (1997), 1,542.9 (1996), 1,628.9 (1995), 1,612.4 (1994); Japanese yen per US dollar - 117.10 (January 2001), 107.77 (2000), 113.91 (1999), 130.91 (1998), 120.99 (1997), 108.78 (1996); German deutsche marks per US dollar - 1.69 (January 1999), 1.9692 (1998), 1.7341 (1997), 1.5048 (1996), 1.4331 (1995), 1.6228 (1994); euros per US dollar - 1.06594 (January 2001), 1.08540 (2000), 0.93863 (1999)
note: financial institutions in France, Italy, and Germany and eight other European countries started using the euro on 1 January 1999 with the euro replacing the local currency in consenting countries for all transactions in 2002 |
Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 96.04 (2004), 105.66 (2003), 126.71 (2002), 133.26 (2001), 129.43 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President George W. BUSH (since 20 January 2001) and Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (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) and Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (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 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: George W. BUSH elected president; percent of popular vote - George W. BUSH (Republican Party) 48%, Albert A. GORE, Jr. (Democratic Party) 48%, Ralph NADER (Green Party) 3%, other 1% |
chief of state: President of France Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May 1995), represented by High Commissioner Michel MATHIEU (since 15 July 2005)
head of government: President of the Government Marie-Noelle THEMEREAU (since 10 June 2004) cabinet: Consultative Committee elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; high commissioner appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the government elected by the members of the Territorial Congress; note - last election held 29 June 2004 when Marie-Noelle THEMEREAU was elected on the third vote with 8 votes for and 3 abstentions |
Exports | $776 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | capital goods, automobiles, industrial supplies and raw materials, consumer goods, agricultural products | ferronickels, nickel ore, fish |
Exports - partners | Canada 23%, Mexico 14%, Japan 8%, UK 5%, Germany 4%, France, Netherlands (2000) | Japan 22%, France 16.5%, Taiwan 12.3%, South Korea 12%, Spain 6.3%, Australia 6.1%, China 4.8%, South Africa 4.5% (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
Flag description | thirteen 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 | the flag of France is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $9.963 trillion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
2% industry: 18% services: 80% (1999) |
agriculture: 5%
industry: 30% services: 65% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $36,200 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $15,000 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 38 00 N, 97 00 W | 21 30 S, 165 30 E |
Geography - note | world's third-largest country (after Russia and Canada) | consists of the main island of New Caledonia (one of the largest in the Pacific Ocean), the archipelago of Iles Loyaute, and numerous small, sparsely populated islands and atolls |
Heliports | 131 (2000 est.) | 6 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total:
6,370,031 km paved: 5,733,028 km (including 74,091 km of expressways) unpaved: 637,003 km (1997) |
total: 5,432 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
1.8% highest 10%: 30.5% (1997) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
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 | $1.223 trillion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | crude oil and refined petroleum products, machinery, automobiles, consumer goods, industrial raw materials, food and beverages | machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Canada 19%, Japan 11%, Mexico 11%, China 8%, Germany 5%, UK, Taiwan (2000) | France 40.3%, Singapore 10.9%, Australia 9.1%, New Zealand 4.9% (2004) |
Independence | 4 July 1776 (from Great Britain) | none (overseas territory of France); note - a referendum on independence was held in 1998 but did not pass; a new referendum is scheduled for 2014 |
Industrial production growth rate | 5.6% (2000 est.) | -0.6% (1996) |
Industries | 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 | nickel mining and smelting |
Infant mortality rate | 6.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 7.72 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.42 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.4% (2000) | -0.6% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, ESCAP, FAO, G-5, G-7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MIPONUH, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SPC, UN, UN Security Council, UNCTAD, UNHCR, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTAET, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC | FZ, ICFTU, PIF (observer), UPU, WFTU, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 7,800 (2000 est.) | - |
Irrigated land | 207,000 sq km (1993 est.) | 160 sq km (1991) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (its nine justices are appointed for life by the president with confirmation by the Senate); United States Courts of Appeal; United States District Courts; State and County Courts | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; County Courts; Joint Commerce Tribunal Court; Children's Court |
Labor force | 140.9 million (includes unemployed) (2000) | 79,400 (including 15,018 unemployed) (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | managerial and professional 30.2%, technical, sales and administrative support 29.2%, services 13.5%, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and crafts 24.6%, farming, forestry, and fishing 2.5% (2000)
note: figures exclude the unemployed |
agriculture 7%, industry 23%, services 70% (1999 est.) |
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 |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
19% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 25% forests and woodland: 30% other: 26% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0.38%
permanent crops: 0.33% other: 99.29% (2001) |
Languages | English, Spanish (spoken by a sizable minority) | French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects |
Legal system | based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | the 1988 Matignon Accords grant substantial autonomy to the islands; formerly under French law |
Legislative branch | bicameral Congress consists of 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 House of Representatives (435 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held 4 November 2002); House of Representatives - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held 4 November 2002) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 50, Democratic Party 50; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 221, Democratic Party 211, independent 2, vacant 1 |
unicameral Territorial Congress or Congres Territorial (54 seats; members belong to the three Provincial Assemblies or Assemblees Provinciales elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 9 May 2004 (next to be held NA 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPCR-UMP 16, AE 16, UNI-FLNKS 8, UC 7, FN 4, others 3 note: New Caledonia currently holds 1 seat in the French Senate; elections last held 24 September 2001 (next to be held not later than September 2007; between now and 2010 New Caledonia will gain a second seat in the French Senate); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; New Caledonia also elects 2 seats to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 and 16 June 2002 (next to be held by June 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
77.26 years male: 74.37 years female: 80.05 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 74.04 years
male: 71.07 years female: 77.16 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97% male: 97% female: 97% (1979 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91% male: 92% female: 90% (1976 est.) |
Location | North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico | Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia |
Map references | North America | Oceania |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: not specified exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
376 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 10,814,622 GRT/14,416,517 DWT ships by type: barge carrier 9, bulk 68, cargo 29, chemical tanker 13, combination bulk 3, container 80, liquefied gas 1, multi-functional large-load carrier 3, passenger 9, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 98, roll on/roll off 49, short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 9 (2000 est.) |
total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,261 GRT/1,600 DWT
by type: cargo 1, passenger/cargo 1 (2005) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Department of the Army, Department of the Navy (includes Marine Corps), Department of the Air Force
note: the Coast Guard is normally subordinate to the Department of Transportation, but in wartime reports to the Department of the Navy |
no regular indigenous military forces; French Armed Forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie); Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $276.7 billion (FY99 est.) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.2% (FY99 est.) | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
70,819,436 (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service | NA | - |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
2,039,414 (2001 est.) |
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National holiday | Independence Day, 4 July (1776) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun:
American(s) adjective: American |
noun: New Caledonian(s)
adjective: New Caledonian |
Natural hazards | 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 | cyclones, most frequent from November to March |
Natural resources | coal, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, uranium, bauxite, gold, iron, mercury, nickel, potash, silver, tungsten, zinc, petroleum, natural gas, timber | nickel, chrome, iron, cobalt, manganese, silver, gold, lead, copper |
Net migration rate | 3.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | petroleum products 276,000 km; natural gas 331,000 km (1991) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party [Terence McAULIFFE, national committee chairman]; Republican Party [James S. GILMORE III, national committee chairman]; several other groups or parties of minor political significance | Alliance pour la Caledonie or APLC [Didier LE ROUX]; Caleonian Union or UC [leader NA]; Federation des Comites de Coordination des Independantistes or FCCI [Francois BURCK]; Front National or FN [Guy GEORGE]; Front Uni de Liberation Kanak or FULK [Ernest UNE]; Kanak Socialist Front for National Liberation or FLNKS [leader NA] (includes PALIKA, UNI, UC, and UPM); Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA [Paul NEAOUTYINE and Elie POIGOUNE]; Rally for Caledonia in the Republic (anti independent) or RPCR-UMP [Jacques LAFLEUR]; The Future Together or AE [Harold MARTIN]; Union Nationale pour l'Independance or UNI [Paul NEAOUTYINE]; note - may no longer exist, but Paul NEAOUTYINE has since become a president of Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA; Union Progressiste Melanesienne or UPM [Victor TUTUGORO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 278,058,881 (July 2001 est.) | 216,494 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 12.7% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.9% (2001 est.) | 1.28% (2005 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 | Noumea |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 4,762, FM 5,542, shortwave 18 (1998) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 575 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
225,750 km mainline routes standard gauge: 225,750 km 1.435-m gauge (1999) |
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Religions | Protestant 56%, Roman Catholic 28%, Jewish 2%, other 4%, none 10% (1989) | Roman Catholic 60%, Protestant 30%, other 10% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
a very 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: 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) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: country code - 687; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 194 million (1997) | 52,000 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 69.209 million (1998) | 80,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 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) | 6 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1997) |
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 | coastal plains with interior mountains |
Total fertility rate | 2.06 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.31 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4% (2000) | 19% (1996) |
Waterways | 41,009 km
note: navigable inland channels, exclusive of the Great Lakes |
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