LearnCountries › United States

United States

Country profile · North America

The United States is the third-largest country in the world by both area and population, made up of 50 states spanning a whole continent's width plus Alaska in the far north-west and the Hawaiian islands in the Pacific.

Advertisement

Key facts

CapitalWashington, D.C.
ContinentNorth America
RegionNorthern America
Main language(s)English (de facto)
Land bordersCanada, Mexico

Geography

Its geography is enormous in range: the Rocky Mountains and the Grand Canyon in the west, the Great Plains through the centre, the Mississippi River draining the interior, and the Appalachian Mountains in the east. The contiguous states stretch across six time zones once Alaska and Hawaii are included.

Neighbours

United States shares land borders with 2 countries: Canada, Mexico. Knowing a country's neighbours is one of the best ways to fix its place on the map — try our Name a Neighbour game to practise.

Did you know? The U.S.–Canada border is the longest international land border in the world.

Find United States on the map

Think you can locate it in seconds? Put it to the test.

Play Name the Countries

Explore more

‹ All country profilesNorth America guide