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US Summary
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Economy - overview: The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $36,200. In this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and government buys needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace. US business firms enjoy considerably greater flexibility than their counterparts in Western Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capital plant, lay off surplus workers, and develop new products. At the same time, they face higher barriers to entry in their rivals' home markets than the barriers to entry of foreign firms in US markets. US firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances, especially in computers and in medical, aerospace, and military equipment, although their advantage has narrowed since the end of World War II. The onrush of technology largely explains the gradual development of a "two-tier labor market" in which those at the bottom lack the education and the professional/technical skills of those at the top and, more and more, fail to get comparable pay raises, health insurance coverage, and other benefits. Since 1975, practically all the gains in household income have gone to the top 20% of households. The years 1994-2000 witnessed solid increases in real output, low inflation rates, and a drop in unemployment to below 5%. Long-term problems include inadequate investment in economic infrastructure, rapidly rising medical costs of an aging population, sizable trade deficits, and stagnation of family income in the lower economic groups. Growth weakened in the fourth quarter of 2000; growth for the year 2001 almost certainly will be substantially lower than the strong 5% of 2000. The outlook for 2001 is further clouded by the continued economic problems of Japan, Russia, Indonesia, Brazil, and many other countries.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $9.963 trillion (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 5% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $36,200 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 2%
industry: 18%
services: 80% (1999)
Population below poverty line: 12.7% (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.8%
highest 10%: 30.5% (1997)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.4% (2000)
Labor force: 140.9 million (includes unemployed) (2000)
Labor force - by occupation: managerial and professional 30.2%, technical, sales and administrative support 29.2%, services 13.5%, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and crafts 24.6%, farming, forestry, and fishing 2.5% (2000)
note: figures exclude the unemployed
Unemployment rate: 4% (2000)
Budget: revenues: $1.828 trillion
expenditures: $1.703 trillion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999)
Industries: leading industrial power in the world, highly diversified and technologically advanced; petroleum, steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber, mining
Industrial production growth rate: 5.6% (2000 est.)
Electricity - production: 3.678 trillion kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 69.64%
hydro: 8.31%
nuclear: 19.8%
other: 2.25% (1999)
Electricity - consumption: 3.45 trillion kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports: 14 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports: 43 billion kWh (1999)
Agriculture - products: wheat, other grains, corn, fruits, vegetables, cotton; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; forest products; fish
Exports: $776 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Exports - commodities: capital goods, automobiles, industrial supplies and raw materials, consumer goods, agricultural products
Exports - partners: Canada 23%, Mexico 14%, Japan 8%, UK 5%, Germany 4%, France, Netherlands (2000)
Imports: $1.223 trillion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Imports - commodities: crude oil and refined petroleum products, machinery, automobiles, consumer goods, industrial raw materials, food and beverages
Imports - partners: Canada 19%, Japan 11%, Mexico 11%, China 8%, Germany 5%, UK, Taiwan (2000)
Debt - external: $862 billion (1995 est.)
Economic aid - donor: ODA, $6.9 billion (1997)
Currency: US dollar (USD)
Currency code: USD
Exchange rates: British pounds per US dollar - 0.6764 (January 2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6106 (1997), 0.6403 (1996); Canadian dollars per US dollar - 1.5032 (January 2001), 1.4851 (2000), 1.4857 (1999), 1.4835 (1998), 1.3846 (1997), 1.3635 (1996); French francs per US dollar - 5.65 (January 1999), 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997), 5.1155 (1996), 4.9915 (1995), 5.5520 (1994); Italian lire per US dollar - 1,668.7 (January 1999), 1,763.2 (1998), 1,703.1 (1997), 1,542.9 (1996), 1,628.9 (1995), 1,612.4 (1994); Japanese yen per US dollar - 117.10 (January 2001), 107.77 (2000), 113.91 (1999), 130.91 (1998), 120.99 (1997), 108.78 (1996); German deutsche marks per US dollar - 1.69 (January 1999), 1.9692 (1998), 1.7341 (1997), 1.5048 (1996), 1.4331 (1995), 1.6228 (1994); euros per US dollar - 1.06594 (January 2001), 1.08540 (2000), 0.93863 (1999)
note: financial institutions in France, Italy, and Germany and eight other European countries started using the euro on 1 January 1999 with the euro replacing the local currency in consenting countries for all transactions in 2002
Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September

Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 194 million (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 69.209 million (1998)
Telephone system: general assessment: a very large, technologically advanced, multipurpose communications system
domestic: a large system of fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and domestic satellites carries every form of telephone traffic; a rapidly growing cellular system carries mobile telephone traffic throughout the country
international: 24 ocean cable systems in use; satellite earth stations - 61 Intelsat (45 Atlantic Ocean and 16 Pacific Ocean), 5 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 4 Inmarsat (Pacific and Atlantic Ocean regions) (2000)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 4,762, FM 5,542, shortwave 18 (1998)
Radios: 575 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: more than 1,500 (including nearly 1,000 stations affiliated with the five major networks - NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, and PBS; in addition, there are about 9,000 cable TV systems) (1997)
Televisions: 219 million (1997)
Internet country code: .us
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 7,800 (2000 est.)
Internet users: 148 million (2000)
United States Transportation Top of Page
Railways: total: 225,750 km mainline routes
standard gauge: 225,750 km 1.435-m gauge (1999)
Highways: total: 6,370,031 km
paved: 5,733,028 km (including 74,091 km of expressways)
unpaved: 637,003 km (1997)
Waterways: 41,009 km
note: navigable inland channels, exclusive of the Great Lakes
Pipelines: petroleum products 276,000 km; natural gas 331,000 km (1991)
Ports and harbors: Anchorage, Baltimore, Boston, Charleston, Chicago, Duluth, Hampton Roads, Honolulu, Houston, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Port Canaveral, Portland (Oregon), Prudhoe Bay, San Francisco, Savannah, Seattle, Tampa, Toledo
Merchant marine: total: 376 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 10,814,622 GRT/14,416,517 DWT
ships by type: barge carrier 9, bulk 68, cargo 29, chemical tanker 13, combination bulk 3, container 80, liquefied gas 1, multi-functional large-load carrier 3, passenger 9, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 98, roll on/roll off 49, short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 9 (2000 est.)
Airports: 14,720 (2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 5,174
over 3,047 m: 182
2,438 to 3,047 m: 220
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1,331
914 to 1,523 m: 2,440
under 914 m: 1,001 (2000 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 9,546
over 3,047 m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 6
1,524 to 2,437 m: 164
914 to 1,523 m: 1,675
under 914 m: 7,698 (2000 est.)
Heliports: 131 (2000 est.)

Money & Costs
Currency: US dollar (USD)

Meals

Budget: US$3-10
Mid-range: US$10-20
Top-end: US$20 and upward

Lodging
Budget: US$12-70
Mid-range: US$70-100
Top-end: US$100 and upward
If you camp or stay in hostels, catch buses and self-cater, you could feasibly explore the country on around US$50 a day. Staying in motels and eating at modest cafes will mean you'll hit the US$100 mark, and enjoying the convenience of a rental car will push your daily budget up to US$150. If you want to do the US in style, welcome to the world of credit and consumerism.

You'll save yourself hassle and expense if your traveler's checks are in US dollars. Restaurants, hotels and most stores accept US dollar traveler's checks as if they were cash. Major credit cards are widely accepted; you'll find it hard to perform certain transactions (such as renting a car or reserving tickets over the phone) without one. You may also be able to access your bank account using US ATMs.

Tipping is expected in restaurants and better hotels. The going rate in restaurants is 15% or more of the bill; never tip in a fast-food or self service environment. Taxi drivers, bartenders and hairdressers depend on similar-sized gratuities. Sales taxes vary from state to state but are typically 5-8%, though some states have no sales taxes at all. Top-end accommodation also often attracts a bed tax, which can be as high as 15%. It's worth checking whether quoted prices for lodging include all relevant taxes