The United States of America is a country located in North America. Also known as the U.S, it borders on Canada to the north, and Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico to the South. On the east coast, the US is boedered by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the west coast it is bordered by the Pacific Ocean. To the northwest of Canada, separated from the US mainland, is the state of Alaska. The state of Hawwaiinis located in the Pacific Ocean, southwest of California. In addition to its 50 states, the US has several possessions and protectorates, located in the Caribbean sea and the Pacific Ocean. Basic Indicators Location: right in the middle of North America. Area: 9.629.091 square kilometers. Area comparative: the world’s third-largest country by size ( after Russia and Canada). Population: 290.342.500 (July 2003 est.),79% of whom live in urban areas. Climate: mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, artic in Alaska, semiarid in the Great Plains west of the Mississipi River and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest. System of Government: Presidencialism. Religion: Protestant 56%, Roman Catholic 28%, Jewish 2%, other 4%, none 10% ( 1989 est.). Currency: US. Dollar.