see url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States
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The *United States of America* (*U.S.A.* or *USA*), commonly known as
the *United States* (*U.S.* or *US*) or *America*, is a country
primarily located
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_United_States> in North
America <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_America>. It consists of 50
states <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._state>, a federal district
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,_D.C.>, five major
unincorporated territories
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territories_of_the_United_States>, 326
Indian reservations <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_reservations>,
and some minor possessions
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Minor_Outlying_Islands>.^[i]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States#cite_note-28> At
3.8 million square miles (9.8 million square kilometers), it is the
world's third- or fourth-largest country by total area
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_area>.^[c]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States#cite_note-largestcountry-13>
The United States shares significant land borders with Canada
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada> to the north and Mexico
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico> to the south, as well as limited
maritime borders with Cuba <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuba>, Russia
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia>, and the Bahamas
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahamas>.^[22]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States#cite_note-31> With a
population of more than 331 million people, it is the third most
populous country
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_population>
in the world. The national capital
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_city> is Washington, D.C.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,_D.C.>, and the most populous
city
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_population>
is New York City <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City>.
Paleo-Indians <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleo-Indians> migrated
from Siberia <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Settlement_of_the_Americas>
to the North American mainland at least 12,000 years ago
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_human_prehistory>, and
European colonization
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_colonization_of_the_Americas>
began in the 16th century. The United States emerged from the thirteen
British colonies <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirteen_Colonies>
established along the East Coast
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Coast_of_the_United_States>.
Disputes over taxation
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_taxation_in_the_United_States>
and political representation
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_taxation_without_representation> with
Great Britain <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Great_Britain>
led to the American Revolutionary War
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolutionary_War> (1775–1783),
which established independence
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence>. In the late 18th century,
the U.S. began expanding across North America
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_America>, gradually obtaining new
territories
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_evolution_of_the_United_States>,
sometimes through war
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican%E2%80%93American_War>, frequently
displacing Native Americans
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_removal>, and admitting new states
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_date_of_admission_to_the_Union>;
by 1848, the United States spanned the continent. Slavery
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_the_United_States> was legal
in the southern United States
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave_states_and_free_states> until the
second half of the 19th century when the American Civil War
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War> led to its abolition
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution>.
The Spanish–American War
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish%E2%80%93American_War> and World
War I <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I> established the U.S.
as a world power <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Power>, a status
confirmed by the outcome of World War II
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II>.
During the Cold War <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_War>, the United
States fought the Korean War <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War>
and the Vietnam War <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War> but
avoided direct military conflict with the Soviet Union
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union>. The two superpowers
competed in the Space Race <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Race>,
culminating in the 1969 spaceflight
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11> that first landed humans on
the Moon. The Soviet Union's dissolution in 1991
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Union> ended
the Cold War, leaving the United States as the world's sole superpower
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superpower>.
The United States is a federal republic
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_republic> and a representative
democracy <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representative_democracy> with
three separate branches of government
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_powers_under_the_United_States_Constitution>,
including a bicameral legislature
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicameralism>. It is a founding member of
the United Nations <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations>, World
Bank <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Bank>, International Monetary
Fund <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Monetary_Fund>,
Organization of American States
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization_of_American_States>, NATO
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO>, and other international
organizations. It is a permanent member
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permanent_members_of_the_United_Nations_Security_Council>
of the United Nations Security Council
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council>.
Considered a melting pot <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melting_pot> of
cultures <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_the_United_States>
and ethnicities
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States>,
its population has been profoundly shaped by centuries of immigration
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_immigration_to_the_United_States>.
The U.S. ranks high
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_rankings_of_the_United_States>
in international measures of economic freedom
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_economic_freedom>,
quality of life <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Development_Index>,
education <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_Index>, and human
rights
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_the_United_States>, and
has low levels of perceived corruption
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index>. However,
the country has received criticism concerning inequality
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inequality_in_the_United_States_(disambiguation)>
related to race
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_inequality_in_the_United_States>,
wealth
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealth_inequality_in_the_United_States>
and income
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_inequality_in_the_United_States>,
the use of capital punishment
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_the_United_States>,
high incarceration rates
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarceration_in_the_United_States>, and
lack of universal health care
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_the_United_States>.
The United States is a highly developed country
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Developed_country>, and continuously
ranks high in measures of socioeconomic performance. It accounts for
approximately a quarter of global GDP
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_domestic_product> and is the
world's largest economy by GDP at market exchange rates
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)>. By
value, the United States is the world's largest importer
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_imports> and the
second-largest exporter
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_exports> of goods.
Although its population is only 4.2% of the world's total, it holds
29.4% of the total wealth in the world
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_total_wealth>, the
largest share held by any country. Making up more than a third of global
military spending
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditures>,
it is the foremost military power in the world and is a leading
political <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_the_United_States>,
cultural <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_the_United_States>,
and scientific
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_and_technology_in_the_United_States>
force internationally.^[23]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States#cite_note-32>
