US State and Politics

State and Politics

The country is divided into 50 states and one district. Besides the 50 states, the US has 14 dependent areas. Of these, Howland Island, Baker Island, Jarvis Island, Kingman Reef, Johnston Atoll, Navassa Island, Midway Islands, and Wake Island are unincorporated territories of U.S.A.; American Samoa (AS) is an unincorporated and unorganized territory of US; Northern Mariana Islands (MP) are a Commonwealth in political union with the US; Puerto Rico (PR) is a Commonwealth associated with the US; Guam (GU) and Virgin Islands (VI) are organized, unincorporated territories of US; and the Palmyra Atoll is a privately owned incorporated territory of the US.

The US is a constitution-based federal republic with a strong democratic tradition. The Constitution was adopted on September 17th, 1787, and came into effect on March 4th, 1789. It has been amended several times since then.

Everyone over 18 years of age is eligible to vote. A college of representatives who are elected directly from each state, elect the President and Vice President for a term of four years.

Defense

The main branches of the US military are the US Army, the US Navy, including the Marine Corps, the US Air Force, and the US Coast Guard. Expenditure on defense for the year 2016 is USD 580.3 billion.

Human Development Index (HDI)

As per the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the U.S.A was ranked tenth in the world with an HDI of 0.920 in 2015.

Health

The life expectancy at birth in the US is 80 years. According to official estimates, the federal government will spend $1.4 trillion on health care for the year 2015.

Education

Any person above the age of 15, that can read & write is considered literate. The basic literacy rate in the US is 99%. As per the year 2014, the government spent 5% of GDP on education.

Per Capita National Income

As of 2015, the per capita income of the residents of the United States was $55,980.



Last Updated Date: January 1st, 2018