United States — Country Profile
Population, GDP, natural resources, leaders and history of United States: the Magna Factbook country file, with its Magna Power score (--/100, ranked #-- of 195).
Last updated: October 2026
United States is in North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico. It covers 9,833,517 sq km. 3 September 1783 (recognized by Great Britain). Terrain: vast central plain, mountains in west, hills and low mountains in east; rugged mountains and broad river valleys in Alaska; rugged, volcanic topography in Hawaii. Climate: mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the…
| Capital | Washington, D.C. |
|---|---|
| Population | 338,016,259 (2025 est.) |
| GDP (PPP) | $25.676 trillion (2024 est.) |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | $75,500 (2024 est.) |
| Real GDP growth | 2.8% (2024 est.) |
| Inflation | 2.9% (2024 est.) |
| Unemployment | 4.2% (2024 est.) |
| Public debt | 114.8% of GDP (2023 est.) |
| Exports | $3.191 trillion (2024 est.) |
| Imports | $4.108 trillion (2024 est.) |
| Life expectancy | 80.9 years (2024 est.) |
| Median age | 39.5 years (2025 est.) |
| Urbanization | 83.3% of total population (2023) |
| Government | constitutional federal republic |
| Independence | 4 July 1776 (declared independence from Great Britain); 3 September 1783 (recognized by Great Britain) |
| Languages | English only (official) 78.2%, Spanish 13.4%, Chinese 1.1%, other 7.3% (2017 est.) |
United States’s GDP is $25.676 trillion (2024 est.) in purchasing-power-parity terms. At official exchange rates it stands at $29.185 trillion (2024 est.). Real GDP grew 2.8% (2024 est.). See where United States ranks among all 195 countries by GDP.
POWER --/100 — The Magna Power score is our 0–100 composite of structural national power — nine components, 135 indicators. It is the Bureau's own assessment, not a mirror of World Bank or CIA figures.
Momentum +6 — Quarterly momentum: the Bureau's read on the country's trajectory over the last quarter, from −10 (deteriorating fast) to +10 (accelerating).
Late September concentrated the quarter's signal: the Trump–Xi summit brought mutual tariff relief and a trade truce running to January 2027, while the $15B Mesabi steel-mill announcement underscored the industrial bet.
The other edge of the same blade: the Canada tariff escalation showed the protectionist reflex intact — momentum is positive, but it was bought with friction.
- What our model rewards: the world's #1 military power; inflation tamed at 2.9%
- What drags it down: public debt above 115% of GDP — the budget's ball and chain; a current-account deficit of $1.1 trillion (3.9% of GDP) — living beyond its means
Coal, Copper, Lead, Molybdenum, Phosphates, Rare earths, Uranium, Bauxite, Gold, Iron ore, Mercury, Nickel, Potash, Silver, Tungsten, Zinc, Oil, Natural gas, Timber.
Energy is the physical base of economic power — what a country can generate, move and burn decides what it can build, sell and defend.
| Electricity access | 100% (2022 est.) |
|---|---|
| Installed capacity mix (CIA) | fossil fuels: 58.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); nuclear: 18.2% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); solar: 5.6% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); wind: 9.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); hydroelectricity: 5.6% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); geothermal: 0.4% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) |
| Energy consumption per capita (CIA) | 278.474 million Btu/person (2023 est.) |
| Primary energy consumption (OWID) | 26,528.6 TWh (2024) |
| Electricity generation (OWID) | 4,387.3 TWh (2024) |
| Energy per capita (OWID) | 76,800 kWh per person (2024) |
| Electricity generation mix (OWID) | Gas 42.5%, Nuclear 17.8%, Coal 14.9%, Wind 10.3%, Solar 6.9%, Hydro 5.4%, Oil 0.7% (2024) |
| Low-carbon share of electricity (OWID) | 41.9% (2024) |
| Carbon intensity of electricity (OWID) | 383.5 gCO2/kWh (2024) |
Sources: CIA World Factbook, Energy section; Our World in Data (IEA/Ember), 2024.
Trade shows what the world buys from a country and what the country must buy from the world — the balance between the two is a direct measure of economic leverage.
| Exports | $3.191 trillion (2024 est.) |
|---|---|
| Imports | $4.108 trillion (2024 est.) |
| Trade balance (calculated) | Deficit of $917.0 billion (2024), calculated from the CIA export and import figures above. |
| Key industries | highly diversified, world leading, high-technology innovator, second-largest industrial output in the world; petroleum, steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber, mining |
Source: CIA World Factbook, Economy section.
Donald J. Trump — President. President Donald J. TRUMP (since 20 January 2025)
United States maintains 168 embassies and 83 consulates abroad, hosts 184 foreign diplomatic missions, holds permanent missions to UN New York, OAS Washington. The breadth of a diplomatic network is a direct measure of diplomatic power — it shows how far a country’s influence, alliances and interests reach.
| Embassies abroad | 168 |
|---|---|
| Consulates abroad | 83 |
| Foreign missions hosted | 184 |
| Multilateral missions | UN New York, OAS Washington |
Source: Lowy Institute Global Diplomacy Index 2024 via Wikipedia 'List of countries by number of diplomatic missions' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_diplomatic_missions ; hosted: Consular Affairs Center Jan 2026 report (in-country ranking) https://zenodo.org/records/18109976
Transport networks are economic power made physical — ports, runways, railways and pipelines decide what a country can move, sell and defend.
| Sea access | Coastal — 19924 km of coastline. |
|---|---|
| Airports (total) | 16116 + 8130 heliports (registration prefix N) |
| Major seaports | Baltimore, Boston, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Chester, Cleveland, Detroit, Galveston, Houston, Los Angeles, Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), Mobile, New Orleans, New York City, Norfolk, Oakland, Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, Tri-City Port |
| Railways | 293564.2 km |
| Pipelines | 1,984,321 km natural gas, 240,711 km petroleum products (2013) |
| Top container ports (TEU) | Los Angeles (10,677,610 TEU, 2021); Long Beach (9,384,368 TEU, 2021); New York/New Jersey (8,985,929 TEU, 2021) |
Major airports
Albany International Airport (ALB) — Albany; Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ) — Albuquerque; Austin Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) — Austin; Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) — Baltimore; Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM) — Birmingham; Boise Air Terminal/Gowen Field (BOI) — Boise; Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) — Boston; Bradley International Airport (BDL) — Hartford; Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF) — Buffalo; Charleston International Airport (CHS) — Charleston.
Showing 10 of 15 major airports.
Terminals
| LNG export terminals | Calcasieu Pass (LA), Cameron (LA), Corpus Christi (TX), Cove Point (MD), Elba Island (GA), Freeport (TX), Sabine Pass (LA) |
|---|---|
| LNG import terminals | Cove Point (MD), Elba Island (GA), Everett (MA), Freeport (TX), Golden Pass (TX), Hackberry (LA), Lake Charles (LA), Neptune (offshore), Northeast Gateway (offshore), Pascagoula (MS), Sabine Pass (TX) |
| Oil terminals | LOOP terminal, Haymark terminal |
| River ports | Baton Rouge, Plaquemines, New Orleans (Mississippi River) |
Sources: OurAirports public-domain extract (2026-10-02); per-entry Wikipedia links included; CIA World Factbook via cia_factbook snapshot (2026-09-28); theodora.com CIA mirror (CIA World Factbook Transportation section), scraped 2026-10-02
| Political system | federal presidential republic |
|---|---|
| Last election | 2024 — presidential; 2024-11-05; winner: Donald Trump (Republican) Wikipedia |
| Next election | 2028 — presidential (scheduled) |
Source: constitutional schedule / public election calendar
POWER --/100 Ranked #-- of 195 countries in the Magna Country Rankings. Full ranking breakdown for United States.
Historical timeline of United States
This profile covers the population, economy, natural resources, leaders, and history of United States — with the Bureau’s live national-power score of --/100, ranking #-- of 195 countries.
What is United States's power score?
United States has a Magna Power score of --/100. The score measures structural power — the proven capacity to shape events — across nine components.