Looking for some USA facts? The United States of America is a country on the North American continent. It is the first democracy in the world. It is commonly known as the US or the USA or simply America. Its capital city is Washington D.C.
The USA is one of the greatest countries in the world, if not the greatest. It is a melting hotpot of every culture of this world. It is amazing in so many ways. It is important to know something about this country, and hence we got you 50 unbelievable USA facts that you should read now!
USA Facts: 1-5
1. The USA is the second largest country in North America. The first one is Canada. According to Statista, the US is the third largest country in the world. The first and the second largest countries are Russia and Canada respectively.
2. The country is a union of states and consists of 50 states. 49 of them are present on the mainland and only one state which is Hawaii is located in the Pacific Ocean. Apart from the states, it also consists of 14 territories and the District of Columbia which is a federal district.
3. Five territories out of the fourteen are inhabited, and they are the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and Guam. The biggest and most populous territory is Puerto Rico.
4. The USA’s motto is ‘In God We Trust.’
5. ‘Star-Spangled Banner’ is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics of the national anthem are based on Francis Scott Key’s poem written in 1814.
USA Facts: 6-10
6. The national animal of the US is American Bison, and the national tree is the oak tree. The national bird is a bald eagle and the national flower is rose.
7. Washington D.C. is the national capital of the USA. D.C. stands for District of Columbia. The capital city has a population of 7.5 million people.
Note: Washington is also the name of a state in the northwestern USA. Olympia is the capital city of Washington.)
8. The country shares borders with only two countries – Canada and Mexico. The border America shares with Canada is the world’s longest international border. It is 5,525 miles or 8,891 kilometers long.
9. The border between Mexico and America is 1,954 miles or 3,145 kilometers long. America is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east.
10. Did you know that America is the third most populous country in the world? The first two are China and India. It has a population of 332 million people. Nearly 83% of the population lives in urban areas. 40% of the population lives along the east coast and 16% lives along the west coast.
USA Facts: 11-15
11. Though Washington D.C. is the capital city of America, the largest city in the country is New York City. It has a population of 8.4 million.
12. Other big cities with big populations are Los Angeles (3.9 million), Chicago (2.7 million), Brooklyn (2.3 million), and Houston (2.3 million).
13. California is the most populous state in the United States of America. It inhabits 40 million people. Wyoming is the least populous state with just 580,000 inhabitants.
14. Largest state (by land) is Alaska. It is a little more than twice the size of Texas and four times the size of California. Alaska is the size of Austria, Switzerland, Germany, France, and Italy combined. The smallest state is Rhode Island and it is 1.5 times the size of Luxembourg.
15. Mount Denali or Mount McKinley is the highest mountain in the USA. It is 20,310 feet or 6,190 meters high. It is located in Alaska.
USA Facts: 16-20
16. The Missouri River is the longest river in the US. It is 2,341 miles or 3,767 kilometers long. It flows through seven states that are Kansas, Missouri, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Nebraska, and Iowa. It joins with the Mississippi River to form one of the world’s largest river systems.
17. Death Valley is the hottest place in America. Badwater Basin in Death Valley is the lowest point in North America. It has an elevation of 282 feet or 86 meters above sea level.
18. Lake Superior is the largest lake in the country. It is present in both Canada and the USA. Lake Superior is also the largest freshwater lake (by area) in the world.
19. The highest waterfall in the continental USA is the Colonial Creek Falls in the state of Washington. It has a height of 2,568 feet or 783 meters. But, Hawaii’s Olo’upena Falls are unofficial North America’s highest waterfalls. Its height is 2,952 feet or 900 meters.
20. America gained independence from Britain on 4th July 1776. Since then, it is celebrated as Independence Day and the day is a national holiday. It is a federal holiday since 1941. It is also known as the Fourth of July.
USA Facts: 21-25
21. The land that we call America now was not a barren land before the advent of Europeans. Native Americans lived there from around 15,000 BCE. Later a Viking explorer, Leif Eriksson, reached America in 1000 CE. After Christopher Columbus accidentally discovered the sea route to America, Europeans started pouring in from 1492.
22. In 1607, Britain captured their first settlement in America which was Jamestown in the Colony of Virginia. In 1620, they (British pilgrims) reached Mayflower and founded Plymouth Colony.
23. Dutch settlers established settlements like New Amsterdam (present-day Manhattan) along the Hudson River and called the settlements New Netherland. By the 17th and 18th centuries, the British established 13 colonies along the continent’s east coast.
24. After fighting for independence, America got independence from the British after the British colonies signed the Declaration of Independence from Britain.
25. George Washington became the first President of the USA. He was elected in 1789. The elections take place every 4 years. Joe Biden is the present and 46th President of the USA.
USA Facts: 26-30
26. 67% of Americans are Christians. The most commonly used language is English. There are over 300 languages that are spoken in America. 78% of Americans can speak only English and around 13% can speak mostly Spanish.
27. There is no official language for the country, but English is the official language of all the states. American English and British English use different words for the same thing. For example, Americans use elevators while Britishers use lifts, Americans use cookies, but British use biscuits, etc.
28. Some of the famous personalities of the USA are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Walt Disney, Neil Armstrong, Martin Luther King Jr., etc.
29. Some of the major trading partners of the USA are Germany, Canada, China, Japan, and Mexico.
30. The currency used in America is called US Dollar or United States Dollar. The currency was introduced in 1792 and stays to date. The currency denominations available are from 1 USD to 100 USD.
USA Facts: 31-35
31. The notes usually show one of the founding fathers on the front side and a popular landmark on the back side. There are notes in circulation with denominations from 500 USD to 10,000 USD. They are still valid and are sought after for collection purposes.
32. The American Central Banking System or Federal Reserve System was established in 1912. It is located in Washington D.C.
33. The continental USA has five time zones. There are additional time zones for Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and other islands. DST or Daylight Savings Time applies in the continental USA from March to November.
34. America is one of the twelve founding countries of the National Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) which was established in 1949. As of today, NATO includes 30 countries belonging to North America and Europe.
35. Some of the famous tourist attractions are Empire State Building (New York), Golden Gate Bridge (California’s San Francisco), Lincoln Memorial (Washington D.C.), Mount Rushmore (South Dakota’s Keystone), Great Lakes, Rocky Mountains, etc.
USA Facts: 36-40
36. Some of the animals that you can find in America are grizzly bears, polar bears, American bison, etc. There are over 400 areas that are protected by the National Park Service. It has over 3.1 million square miles of forest land. The countries that have more forest land than America are Russia, Canada, and Brazil.
37. More than half of the American population lives in 9 states that are California, Texas, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Georgia, and Illinois.
38. The Statue of Liberty was a gift from France to the US. It was gifted in 1886. Interestingly Americans sent a gift (a smaller statue of liberty) in 1889. There is a corn palace that is completely edible. The palace is called Mitchell Corn Palace.
39. In the early 19th century, Alaska didn’t belong to the USA, but Russia. Russia sold it off to Alaska for a very cheap price of 7.2 million USD.
40. American athletes won more Olympic medals than athletes from any other country.
USA Facts: 41-45
41. The only country to have all five types of climate zones in the world is America. You can experience temperate, dry, tropical, continental, and polar climate zones in America.
42. The USA is the third most visited country in the world after Spain and France.
43. According to CNBC, the USA has the most billionaires in the world than any other country. The number of billionaires (705) is more in America than in the next top four countries combined!
44. 52 of the top 100 golf courses are located in the USA. Americans are awarded more Nobel prizes than any other country.
45. There are around 2,000 biggest companies in the world. With 575, America tops the list and China comes second with 309 of the 2,000 biggest companies. 9 of the top 10 largest companies (by market cap) are located in the USA.
USA Facts: 46-50
46. America is the leading producer of corn in the world in 2018-2019, America produced 366 million metric tons of corn. China, with a production of 100 million metric tons, comes second.
47. Baseball is famous in America, but it borrows a lot from British cricket. Football is also inspired by Britain’s rugby. But basketball is purely an American sport. It was invented in Massachusetts Springfield in 1891.
48. As per the data of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, no other country faced more hurricanes (300) from 1851 than America. Three out of four tornadoes that take place on Earth occur in this country.
49. Walmart is the largest private-sector employer in the world. It was founded in 1962 in Arkansas. It employs 2.2 million people.
50. The oldest, largest, and most profitable film industry in the world is Hollywood. According to IBISWorld, a research firm, Hollywood generated a whopping 33 billion USD in 2019 alone!
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