In search of a better life, immigrants traveled and go to America. However, the US population density remains significantly lower than in other developed countries (with a few exceptions).
Indigenous people - Indians
The territory of the present USA was settled by the Indians before European colonization. About 400 tribes of up to 2-3 million people were settled throughout American soil.
European colonies began to form on this territory in the 16-17th centuries. The main colonizers were the British: the British, Irish, and Scots. However, representatives of other nationalities rushed from Europe to the American continent: Swedes, Dutch, French and others.
The indigenous population - the Indians - has been virtually exterminated. Those who did not die were settled on the reservation. By the beginning of the 20th century, the number of Indians was reduced to 200 thousand people. However, they are also part of the US population.
Active immigration
The most massive movement of immigrants to America occurred in the mid-19th century. In Europe, at the indicated time, the situation was very unstable both economically and socially. About four million people during this period arrived in the United States. Mostly they were Irish and Germans.
In the 17-18 centuries, many blacks came to America as slaves from the African continent. By the middle of the 19th century, their number was already about 3.2 million people.
As a result, assimilation of all races and nationalities of the USA took place, the number of population continued to increase.
During the years of the war of independence, the influx of immigrants stopped, but then resumed and continued to grow at an accelerated pace. It is estimated that approximately seventy million people came to America from 1820 to 2000.
Immigration barrier
To stop the flow of overseas immigration, the United States began to issue special laws governing entry into the country. The first of them was adopted in the 20s of the 20th century. Although he limited the influx of immigrants, it was not so significant. The number of immigrants from the countries of Europe and Asia decreased, but their number from the countries of the American continent increased.
In 1965, a new immigration law further restricted entry into the United States. Strict quotas were set for different groups of countries. The priority right of entry was enjoyed only by scientists, skilled workers of rare professions, relatives of American citizens. Now, on average, about 1 million migrants annually come to the United States of America .
USA: Population
According to the 2010 general census, the US population was about 309 million. Three hundred millionth resident of this country was born in 2006. The annual population growth (natural and migratory) exceeds three million people.
Today, the US population is 320 million. In terms of population, this country ranks third in the world after China and India, which have already exceeded the 1 billion figure. By the way, the Russian Federation in this list takes 9th place with an amount that is almost two times less than in the United States.
The racial composition of the US population is approximately characterized as follows: white - 78%, black - 13.1%, Asians - 5%, Indians, Aleuts and Eskimos - 1.2%. Among whites, 16.7% are Hispanics. Among immigrants (data from the Census Bureau for 2006), there were 169,197 million Europeans. Most Slavs are represented by Ukrainians and Poles.
Wide open spaces
The US population density is far from the highest in the world (16,500 people / sq. Km, Monaco). On the contrary, this country is one of the last places in this indicator among the developed countries of the world. Only Austria and Canada give in to her. US population density averages 33.1 people per square kilometer.
Of course, residents are not equally distributed throughout the country. This is primarily due to the history of US land development and favorable living conditions.
Colonization of America began in the northeast - on the Atlantic coast and in the Lakes region. Today it is the most populated areas of the United States. The population density there reaches 100 people per 1 sq. Km. km, in some states (New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and others) this figure is even higher - 250-350 people / sq. km
As you move away from the coast, population density decreases. The mountain states, for example, Wyoming and Colorado, are populated by a small number (from 2 to 12 people per sq. Km). But the fewest people, of course, in Alaska - 0.3 people / sq. km
Urbanization
At the beginning of the 20th century, the United States could still be attributed to countries predominantly rural. However, then America began rapid urbanization. Now the question of what population in the USA can be answered: mainly urban.
Although cities and their suburbs occupy only about six percent of the country's territory, it is there that the majority of the population is concentrated - 74%. In this regard, California is particularly indicative, where the urban population is 91%. The Mid-Atlantic states are not far behind - more than 80%. Agrarian and less populated are considered the states of the Central Plains and the south of the country. Although the urbanization of the latter is picking up pace.
In the United States there are many small towns, but a large mass of the urban population falls on megacities. Ten US cities have populations of over a million people. The largest of them is New York. Its population is almost 8.5 million people. The second and third places are occupied by Los Angeles (about four million) and Chicago (about three million). Closes the top ten "millionaires" of San Jose (1 million 200 thousand people).
Metropolitan areas and US cities
The largest population density in the United States is metropolitan area and metropolitan area.
More than three hundred agglomerations are formed in the United States of America. Each of them includes a central city with a population of at least fifty thousand people and its suburbs.
The largest agglomeration of the United States, it is also the second largest in the world - New York. It includes not only New York with its suburbs, but also seven other large cities. Its total area is about thirty one thousand kilometers, and the population is about twenty one million people.
Continuing to grow, agglomerations began to form megalopolises. So, on the Atlantic coast of the United States, a large area (two hundred kilometers in width and a thousand in length) was formed of continuous development, combining the agglomerations of Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston. More than forty million people live in this megalopolis, which is called: Bosvash.
The other two largest US megalopolises are not significantly inferior in size and population to Boswash. These are Chipitts and San San. These three megalopolises are home to half of the US urban population.
Other characteristics of the population
How many people are in the USA, we already know. It remains to say that there are more women among Americans than men. The average life expectancy for the fair sex is 81 years, for the strong half of humanity - 75 years.
The average annual birth rate is declining. Currently, it is 14 babies per 1000 inhabitants.
The religious composition of the population is dominated by Christians. More than half are Protestants (51.3%), Catholics - 23.9%. Of course, there are Jews, Muslims, and Buddhists.
The official language of the United States is English (it differs somewhat from the classical version).