The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states, one federal district, and fourteen territories. The country is situated almost entirely in the western hemisphere: its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie in central North America between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south; the state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent with Canada to its east, and the state of Hawaii is in the mid-Pacific. U.S. territories, or insular areas, are scattered around the Caribbean and Pacific.

General
Information on the USA is provided in two parts: a general overview and individual State profiles, each of which has its own section.

Area
9,809,155 sq km (3,787,319 sq miles).

Population
294,800,000 (official estimate 2004).

Population density
30.5 per sq km.

Capital
Washington, DC. Population: 565,392 (2004).
20 other cities have a population larger than that of Washington, DC. New York is the largest city, with a population of over 8 million. Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Antonio and San Diego had populations of over 1 million in 2000.

Geography
Covering a large part of the North American continent, the USA shares borders with Canada to the north and Mexico to the south and has coasts on the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. The State of Alaska, in the northwest corner of the continent, is separated from the rest of the country by Canada, and Hawaii lies in the central Pacific Ocean. The third-largest country in the world (after the Russian Federation and Canada), the USA has an enormous diversity of geographical features. The climate ranges from subtropical to Arctic, with a corresponding breadth of flora and fauna. For a more detailed description of each regions geographical characteristics, see the individual State sections.

Language
English, with significant Spanish-speaking minorities.