United States

:For other uses, see US (disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), and United States (disambiguation).

Society

Demographics

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Ethnicity and race

Americans, in part due to categories outlined by the U.S. government, generally are described as belonging to one of five racial groups: White, also called Caucasian (those having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa); Black, also called African American (those having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa); Native Americans/Alaskan Natives, also called American Indians (those having origins in any of the original peoples of North, Central and South America, and who maintain tribal affiliation or community attachment); Asian, also called Asian American and frequently specified as Chinese American, Filipino American, Indian American, Japanese American, Korean American (those having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent); and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander (those having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands).

Related Topics:
Categories - Racial - White - Black - African American - Native Americans - Alaskan Native - American Indians - Asian - Asian American - Chinese American - Filipino American - Indian American - Japanese American - Korean American - Native Hawaiian - Other Pacific Islander

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The government and Census Bureau considers race to be separate from ethnicity (that is Hispanic origin).

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Although "Asian American" includes those whose ancestry originates from the countries of the Indian subcontinent (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh), the category is more popularly identified with East Asia. The term African-American is associated with centuries-long residents, and does not make distinctions between them and, say, recent Afro-Caribbean immigrants from Jamaica or refugees from Somalia. Furthermore, the categories disregard the multi-ethnic heritage of many Americans.

Related Topics:
Indian subcontinent - East Asia - Afro-Caribbean - Jamaica - Somalia

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The majority of the 295 million people currently living in the United States descend from European immigrants who have arrived since the establishment of the first colonies (most, however, arrived after Reconstruction). This majority, 69.1% in 2000, decreases each year, and whites are expected to become a plurality within several decades. In the 2000 Census, Americans were able to state their ancestry. The most frequently stated European ancestries were German (15.2%), Irish (10.8%), English (8.7%), Italian (5.6%) and Scandinavian (3.7%). Many immigrants also hail from Slavic countries such as Poland (both Catholic Poles and Ashkenazi Jews), and in recent years an influx of Russians (mainly Ashkenazi Jews). Other significant immigrant populations came from eastern and southern Europe and French Canada. Most Americans of French descent, in fact, including the Cajuns of Louisiana, are descended from French Canadians, as France has never been a major immigrant-sending country. These numbers, however, are less precise than they appear. Even though a high proportion of the population has two or more ancestries, only slighly more than one ancestry was stated per person, suggesting that many were omitted, either because they were not known or not considered important by the individuals. Also many citizens listed themselves as "American" on the census (7.2%). Some ancestries are likely to have been understated more than others, with English ancestry perhaps particularly prone to be overlooked as it is least distinct from "American". A county by county map of plurality ethnic groups reveals that the areas with the largest "American" ancestry populations were mostly settled by English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh, suggesting that the percentages listed for those groups should consequently be larger. (See British-Americans.)

Related Topics:
European - Reconstruction - Plurality - 2000 Census - German - Irish - English - Italian - Scandinavian - Slavic - Poland - Poles - Ashkenazi Jews - Cajuns - Louisiana - County by county map of plurality ethnic groups - British-Americans

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Likewise, while there were few immigrants directly from Spain, Hispanics from Mexico and South and Central America are considered the largest minority group in the country, comprising 13.4% of the population in 2002. This has brought increasing use of the Spanish language in the United States. Mexicans alone made up 7.3% of the population in the 2000 census, and this proportion is expected to increase significantly in the coming decades. The Hispanic category is based more on language than race and is defined by the Census as anybody from or with forebears from Spain or Spanish-speaking Latin America so Hispanics may be of any race. About 45% identify by their ethnic background only ("Mexican", "Salvadoran"); they are mostly mestizo, though some may be unmixed Amerindians. About 40% identify as white of European (Spanish) ancestry; however, on average, they tend to have a slightly greater admixture of Amerindian or African blood than non-Hispanic whites. They are a diverse group consisting of most Cuban Americans, many Puerto Ricans, and a large proportion of the New Mexican Hispanos, Tejanos, and recent South American immigrants, as well as children of mixed marriages between Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites. Another 5% identify as black or mulatto; they typically are descended from Spanish-speaking Caribbean immigrants such as Dominicans. The remainder includes mostly self-identified Indians (Maya, Mixtec, etc.) and people of mixed background. With the exception of a tiny minority of families with specific Spanish or Mexican ancestry, Filipinos are not classified as Hispanic.

Related Topics:
Spain - Hispanics - Spanish language in the United States - Mestizo - Amerindian - Cuban American - Puerto Ricans - New Mexican - Tejanos - South American - Dominicans - Maya - Mixtec - Filipinos

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About 12.9% (2000 census) of the American people is African Americans of non-Hispanic origin, some of whom are descendants of the enslaved Africans brought to the U.S. between the 1620s and 1807 and emancipated during the American Civil War. Starting in the 1970s, the black population has been bolstered by immigration from the Caribbean, especially Jamaica and Haiti; more recently, starting in the 1990s, there has been an influx of African immigrants to the United States due to the instability in political and economic opportunities in various nations in Africa.

Related Topics:
African American - Enslaved Africans - American Civil War - Caribbean - Jamaica - Haiti - Africa

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A third significant minority is the Asian American population (4.2%), most of whom are concentrated on the West Coast and Hawaii. It is by no means a monolithic group; the largest groups are immigrants or descendants of emigrants from the Philippines, China, India, Vietnam, South Korea and Japan. While the Asian-American population is generally a fairly recent addition to the nation's ethnic mix, large waves of Chinese, Filipino and Japanese immigration happened in the mid to late 1800s.

Related Topics:
Asian American - West Coast - Hawaii - China - India - Vietnam - South Korea - Japan

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The indigenous peoples in the United States, such as American Indians and Inuit, make up about 1.5% of the population.

Related Topics:
Indigenous peoples in the United States - American Indian - Inuit

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According to the 2000 census, the United States has 31 ethnic groups with at least one million people each.

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Religion

The United States is noteworthy among developed nations for its relatively high level of religiosity. According to a 2004 Gallup poll, about 44% of Americans attend a religious service at least once a week. However, this rate is not uniform across the country; attendance is more common in the Bible Belt?composed largely of Southern and Midwestern states?than in the Northeast and West Coast. In the Southern states, Baptists are the largest group, followed by Methodists; Roman Catholics are dominant in the Northeast and in large parts of the Midwest due to their being settled by descendants of Catholic immigrants from Europe (such as Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Poland) or other parts of America (mainly Quebec and Puerto Rico). The rest of the country for the most part has a complex mixture of various Christian groups.

Related Topics:
Gallup poll - Bible Belt - Southern - Midwestern - Northeast - West Coast

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Table: Self-reported religious identification of the adults?1990 and 2001 http://www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_briefs/aris/key_findings.htm

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NB: All figures are after adjustment for refusals to reply, which jumped from 2.3% in 1990 to 5.4% in 2001

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Education

In the United States, education is a state, not federal, responsibility, and the laws and standards vary considerably. In most states, all students must attend mandatory schooling starting with kindergarten, which children normally enter at age 5, and following through 12th grade, which is normally completed at age 18 (although in some states, students are permitted to drop out upon the age of 16 with the permission of their parents/guardians). Parents may educate their own children at home (with varying degrees of state oversight), send their children to a public school, which is free, or to a private school, where parents must pay tuition. Public schools are highly decentralized with funding and curriculum decisions taking place mostly at the local level through school boards.

Related Topics:
Kindergarten - Public school - Private school - Tuition - School boards

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After high school, students have a choice of attending either a public/state university, a private university, entering the workforce, or enlisting in the military. Public universities receive funding from the federal and state government but students still pay tuition, which can vary depending on the university, state, and whether the student is a resident of the state or not. Tuition at private universities tends to be much higher than at public universities.

Related Topics:
Public - State university - Private university

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American colleges and universities range from highly competitive schools, both private (such as Harvard University and Princeton University) and public (such as the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Virginia), to hundreds of local community colleges with open admission policies.

Related Topics:
College - Harvard University - Princeton University - University of California, Berkeley - University of Virginia - Community college

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Language

The United States does not have an official language at federal level; nevertheless, English is the first and/or only language of the overwhelming majority of the population and serves as the de facto official language: English is the language used for legislation, regulations, executive orders, treaties, federal court rulings, and all other official pronouncements.

Related Topics:
Official language - English - De facto

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Twenty-seven individual states have adopted English as their official language, and three of those?Hawaii, Louisiana, and New Mexico?have also adopted a second official language (Hawaiian, French and Spanish, respectively). Spanish follows English as the second-most spoken language in the United States, primarily due to the influence of recent Latin American immigrants and the fact that almost a fifth of its continental territory was originally part of Mexico, and it is a primary spoken language in some areas of the Southwest. Puerto Rico's first language is Spanish, and while it is a US territory and not a state its citizens have similar rights and their migration has a significant linguistic impact on New York State and other areas.

Related Topics:
Hawaii - Louisiana - New Mexico - Hawaiian - French - Spanish - Latin America - Southwest - Puerto Rico - New York State

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The primary signed language is American Sign Language (ASL).

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As of 2004, the United States was the home of approximately 336 languages (spoken or signed), of which 176 are indigenous to U.S. territory.

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Culture

U.S. popular culture has a significant influence on the rest of the world, especially the Western world. U.S. music is heard all over the world, and it is the sire of such forms as blues and jazz and had a primary hand in the shaping of modern rock and roll and popular music culture. Many great Western classical musicians and ensembles find their home in the U.S. New York City is a hub for international operatic and instrumental music as well as the world-famed Broadway plays and musicals, Seattle is a world leader in the grunge and heavy metal music industries, and Nashville is the capital of country music. New York, Seattle, and San Francisco are worldwide leaders in graphic design and New York and Los Angeles compete with major European cities in the fashion industry.

Related Topics:
Western world - U.S. music - Blues - Jazz - Rock and roll - Popular music - Western classical music - New York City - Opera - Instrumental - Broadway - Seattle - Grunge - Heavy metal - Nashville - Country music - San Francisco - Graphic design - Los Angeles

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U.S. movies (primarily embodied in Hollywood) and television shows can be seen almost anywhere except the most totalitarian places. This is in stark contrast to the early days of the republic, when the country was viewed by Europeans as an agricultural backwater with little to offer the culturally "advanced" world centers of Asia and Europe.

Related Topics:
U.S. movies - Hollywood - Television - Totalitarian

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Nearing the mid-point of its third century of nationhood, the U.S. plays host to the gamut of human intellectual and artistic endeavor in nearly every major city, offering classical and popular music; historical, scientific and art research centers and museums; dance performances, musicals and plays; outdoor art projects and internationally significant architecture. This development is a result of both contributions by private philanthropists and government funding.

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American holidays are variously national and local. Many holidays recognize events or people of importance to the nation's history; as such, they represent significant cultural observance.

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Sports

The major team sports in America are home grown. American football, basketball, and baseball, which is often referred to as the Great American Pastime, are the top three. Ice hockey is also popular in the U.S., especially in Minnesota and the northeast states. The majority of the world's highest paid athletes play team sports in America http://www.forbes.com/2004/06/23/04athletesland.html. The U.S. hosted the World Cup in 1994.

Related Topics:
Major - American football - Basketball - Baseball - Ice hockey - World Cup

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The United States hosts some of the premier events in other sports such as golf (including three of the four major championships), and tennis (the U.S. Open). The most popular form of auto racing is NASCAR. Formula One, while dominant in the rest of the world, has only made limited inroads into the U.S. market.

Related Topics:
Golf - Major championships - Tennis - U.S. Open - Auto racing - NASCAR - Formula One

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Eight Olympic Games have been hosted in the U.S., more than any other nation. The United States generally fares very well in the Olympics, especially the Summer Olympics: in 2004, the U.S. topped the medals table with 103 medals (35 gold, 39 silver and 29 bronze). For details see: United States at the Olympics.

Related Topics:
Olympic Games - Summer Olympics - Medals table - United States at the Olympics

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