July 4 is one of the most important holidays in the life of every American. It was on this day in 1776 that a new state formation appeared on the world map - the United States of America. The population of the country today is 325 million people. In terms of the number of inhabitants of the USA, they are third in the world.
Population and countries: United States of America
The USA is one of the largest states on the planet. The world's largest nominal GDP and largest public debt. The biggest spending on the army and health. The largest number of police officers and the maximum number of killings per year. All this is the United States of America.
The population of the country is about 325 million inhabitants. And according to this indicator, the United States confidently holds the third position in the world (after India and China). According to the latest statistics, 4.44% of the total population of our planet lives in the "States".
The United States is located within North America and occupies more than a third of the area of this continent. The state has a tremendous influence on the whole modern world (political, economic, military). Hundreds of US military bases are scattered across eighty countries on Earth.
The history of the emergence and formation of the United States
Of course, the first step towards the emergence of this state was made by the navigator Christopher Columbus, who discovered America in 1492. It was at the end of the 15th century that Europeans first appeared in this part of the world. Until that moment, North America (as well as South) was inhabited exclusively by Native American tribes.
In the XVIII century, almost the entire territory of North America was colonized by Europeans. Moreover, immigrants from Britain settled mainly on the Atlantic coast, the Spaniards settled in Texas and Florida, and the French settled in the Great Lakes region. In 1774, more than a dozen English colonies in America begin an open armed confrontation with their immediate metropolis.
Two years later, a Declaration was adopted announcing the independence and sovereignty of the new state. In 1787, the Americans wrote their own constitution, according to which, their new country was to develop on the principles of freedom and democracy. So the United States of America appeared ...
The US population at the end of the 18th century was not very large - only about 4 million people. Over the next hundred years, the territory of the young state only increased: due to conquests and acquisitions of new lands. Thus, the United States acquired Florida among the Spaniards, Alaska among the Russians, Louisiana among the French, etc.
In the 1860s, serious disagreements arose between the northern and southern states, which subsequently resulted in a full-fledged civil war. With the help of weapons, the "northerners" managed to maintain the unity and integrity of the United States of America. The country's population by that time had already reached 40 million people.
War. The crisis. The war again ...
Until the beginning of the twentieth century, the United States did not intervene in the affairs of Europeans, limiting itself to establishing its spheres of influence in the Caribbean. In April 1917, American authorities decided to enter the First World War on the side of the Entente. In this war, the United States lost 117 thousand of its citizens.
Rapid economic growth in the postwar years gave way to the same deep crisis. During the so-called “Great Depression” (1929-1933), production in the USA decreased significantly. At the peak of the crisis, there were about 15 million unemployed in the country. For comparison: the total population of the United States of America at that time was 125 million people.
Not having time to really recover after a large-scale crisis, the United States entered World War II. It happened on December 7, 1941. And again, America sided with the anti-German coalition. The main battlefield for US forces was the Pacific, and the main military adversary was the Japanese army. It was the Americans who set the grandiose point in World War II by dropping atomic bombs on two Japanese cities - Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After this, the Japanese emperor Hirohito was forced to sign an act of surrender.
USA during the “bipolar world”
The victory in World War II allowed the American economy not only to stand firmly on its feet, but also to occupy one of the first positions in the world. In the post-war years, American TNCs (transnational corporations) began to develop rapidly, expanding the network of their branches around the planet.
By and large, already at the end of the 40s the USA entered the next war, but already “cold”. This time, Soviet communism is becoming an opponent of American democracy. In the following decades, practically the whole world was conditionally divided between these two forces.
The so-called "cold war" has generated a whole bunch of serious civil and interstate conflicts. The hottest spots on the planet in the second half of the twentieth century were: Cuba, Vietnam, Korea and Afghanistan. Only in the mid-80s did a certain “warming” begin in relations between the USA and the Soviet Union.
US Population: Size, Composition, and Languages. Features of the mentality of Americans
The United States is a multinational country. Almost 63% of its population is “white” (mostly historical immigrants from England, Scotland and Ireland), 16% are Hispanic, 12% are black. There are also quite a lot of Chinese, French, Russians, Italians and Koreans in the country. Among the most common US languages are English (American), Spanish, Chinese, French, and German.
What is the population of the United States of America today? As of 2016, 325.3 million people live here. 81% of Americans live in cities. Life expectancy in the USA is one of the highest in the world. Women live here on average 84 years, and men - 75 years.
Classical inhabitants of this country are practical, pragmatic, patriotic and cheerful. Americans love to joke and often smile. When traveling to the USA, you need to know about some important aspects of their mentality. For example, caution should be exercised here in dealing with women and members of national minorities. So, if a man in the United States helps an outside woman to take off her coat or touches her shoulder in a friendly manner, then this can be regarded as sexual harassment. Another interesting point: Americans are very fond of suing on a variety of occasions.
US Modern Administration
The US territory is divided into 50 states. They also include a number of dependent territories and protectorates. Each of the states has its own constitution, its own laws and executive bodies.
Each state state, in turn, is divided into districts. Moreover, their number varies widely. For example, there are 254 such counties in Texas, and only three within Delaware.
The largest (in terms of population) US states are Texas, California and Florida. In the smallest state of the country - Wyoming - there are only 580 thousand people.
15 interesting facts about the US population and Americans
- During the Great Depression, US residents actively migrated to the USSR.
- Every eighth American works or has ever worked at McDonald's restaurant chain.
- 40% of children in the United States are born out of wedlock.
- US laws do not prohibit minors from buying cigarettes.
- Until 1836, it was forbidden to celebrate Christmas in the country.
- The average statistical American eagerly and in very large quantities uses bananas and chocolate.
- A fifth of the taxes of American citizens go to the US armed forces.
- The country has a highly developed practice of anonymous denunciations of its fellow citizens.
- In the United States, it is not customary to give way to public transport.
- Americans are deeply disgusted with jelly, but chips are eaten as a side dish.
- Americans are generally indifferent to what is happening outside their state.
- In the United States, it is not considered shameful to work as a maintenance staff (a waiter, a janitor, a cleaner, etc.).
- It was the Americans who invented hip-hop, jazz, rock-and-roll and many other musical directions.
- Americans do not like casual or street dating.
- The US population is a world leader in drug use.
Conclusion
On July 4, 1776, a new state appeared on the political map of the world - the United States of America. The population of this country today is about 325 million people. Here are a variety of ethnic groups and peoples who have brought to the US culture their mores, traditions and customs.