[bean.C]

Area - comparative:
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; almost two and a half times the size of the European Union


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; limited natural fresh water resources in much of the western part of the country require careful management; desertification


Population:
298,444,215 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 20.4% (male 31,095,847/female 29,715,872)
15-64 years: 67.2% (male 100,022,845/female 100,413,484)
65 years and over: 12.5% (male 15,542,288/female 21,653,879) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 36.5 years
male: 35.1 years
female: 37.8 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.91% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
14.14 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
8.26 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
3.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
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: 0.72 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 6.43 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.09 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 5.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 77.85 years
male: 75.02 years
female: 80.82 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
2.09 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.6% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
950,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
14,000 (2003 est.)

Nationality:
noun: American(s)
adjective: American
Ethnic groups:
white 81.7%, black 12.9%, Asian 4.2%, Amerindian and Alaska native 1%, native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0.2% (2003 est.)
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.)

Religions:
Protestant 52%, Roman Catholic 24%, Mormon 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 1%, other 10%, none 10% (2002 est.)

Languages:
English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census)
note: Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 99% (2003 est.)

Telephones - main lines in use:
268 million (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
219.4 million (2005)

Telephone 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)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 4,789, FM 8,961, shortwave 19 (2006)
Radios:
575 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
2,218 (2006)

Televisions:
219 million (1997)

Internet country code:
.us

Internet hosts:
195,138,696 (2005)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
7,000 (2002 est.)

Internet users:
205,326,680 (2005)