United States of America     [26]
(Independent since 1776 from United Kingdom)
ISO COUNTRY CODE: US
LAND AREA: 9363130 sq. km
NUMBER OF ISLANDS BY SIZE (sq. km):

>17,000	>10,000	>1,000	>100	>10	>1	<1	Unknown	TOTAL
0	0	0	0	0	4	1	0	5

DEMOGRAPHY
  POPULATION: 266557000 (1996)
  DENSITY: 28 persons/sq. km    GROWTH RATE: 0%/year
  URBAN POP: 76% (1994), versus 70% (1960), Annual Growth: 1.2%
  LIFE EXPECTANCY: 76.2 years,  ADULT LITERACY: 99.0%
  HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX: 0.942

ECONOMY
  GNP: US$6737.0 billion, Annual GNP Growth Rate 1980-1993: 2.4%,  Annual Growth Rate GNP/Capita: 1.7%
  GDP/Capita: $20500  GDP/Capita PPP: $26397
  GDP/Capita: 1960 $10707, 1970 $13794, 1980 $16389, 1990 $19461

ENVIRONMENT (see also individual islands)
  TOTAL FOREST AREA: 212515,000 ha, 23.2% of land area, 0.8 ha/capita
  ANNUAL CHANGE IN FOREST COVER: 0.3%
  ARABLE LAND: 18.9% of land area
NATURE CONSERVATION INTEREST:

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
  INTERNAL RENEWABLE WATER RESOURCES: 9.4,000 cu.m/cap/year

INSTITUTIONS
GOVERNMENT ENVIRONMENT/SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY: