The United States is one of the most economically developed countries in the world and an influential player in the international arena. The United States is located on the continent of North America and has access to the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Oceans. Geographically, the USA consists of three parts: the continental states, bordered by Canada to the north, Mexico to the south, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east; the Alaska Peninsula in northwestern North America; and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Other US possessions include the Virgin Islands in the West Indies, Eastern Samoa, Guam, and the islands of Oceania.
The total population is 331.9 million (based on World Bank estimates in 2021).
The USA is a federal state divided into 50 states, each of which has its own constitution and system of power and administration.
Since 1800 the capital of the USA has been Washington, D.C. The largest cities are New York, Los Angeles (California), Chicago (Illinois) and Houston (Texas).
The main provisions regulating the system of state administration in the USA are stated in the US Constitution, which is one of the oldest working constitutions of the world. It was adopted in 1787 and came into force on March 4, 1789. The U.S. Constitution guarantees citizens fundamental rights and freedoms: inviolability of person, home, property, freedom of religion, speech, press, and the like.
Since 1789, 27 amendments have been made to the U.S. Constitution, the first 10 of which were adopted in 1791 and created the famous Bill of Rights. This document was approved by Congress in 1789 and ratified by 11 states before the end of 1791.
Amendments to the Constitution covered the following: freedom of conscience, speech, and the press; the right to peaceful assembly and the right to petition the government to end abuses; the right of citizens to bear arms; the prohibition of placing troops in private homes without owner consent; the prohibition of unreasonable searches and seizures of persons and property; the prohibition of bringing felony cases to trial without a grand jury conviction; preventing retrial for the same crime; the prohibition of using punishment without a supervised
More recent amendments include: The 22nd Amendment, which limits the President’s time in office to two terms; the 23rd, giving D.C. residents the right to vote in presidential elections; the 24th, confirming the right to vote regardless of payment of the poll tax; the 25th, establishing procedures for filling the vice presidential office between elections; the 26th, lowering the voting age to 18; the 27th, prohibiting Congress from raising itself a paycheck.