North America > United States > Government

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Capital city	Washington, DC
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General government final consumption expenditure > annual % growth	2.5 %		[70th of 147]
DEFINITION: Annual percentage growth of general government final consumption expenditure based on constant local currency. Aggregates are based on constant 2000 U.S. dollars. General government final consumption expenditure (general government consumption) includes all government current expenditures for purchases of goods and services (including compensation of employees). It also includes most expenditures on national defense and security, but excludes government military expenditures that are part of government capital formation.		View time series
SOURCE: All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008
General government final consumption expenditure > constant 2000 US$	1,604,600,000,000 constant 2000 US$		[1st of 145]
DEFINITION: General government final consumption expenditure (formerly general government consumption) includes all government current expenditures for purchases of goods and services (including compensation of employees). It also includes most expenditures on national defense and security, but excludes government military expenditures that are part of government capital formation. Data are in constant 2000 U.S. dollars.		View time series
SOURCE: World Development Indicators database
General government final consumption expenditure > current US$	1,844,600,000,000 $		[1st of 169]
DEFINITION: General government final consumption expenditure (formerly general government consumption) includes all government current expenditures for purchases of goods and services (including compensation of employees). It also includes most expenditures on national defense and security, but excludes government military expenditures that are part of government capital formation. Data are in current U.S. dollars.		View time series
SOURCE: World Development Indicators database
Legal origin English
DEFINITION: Legal origin identifies the origin of the Company Law or Commercial Code in each country
SOURCE: World Development Indicators database
Parliamentary seats > Female	13%		[42nd of 143]
SOURCE: CIA World Factbook, 28 July 2005
Procedures to register property > number	4		[141st of 167]
DEFINITION: Number of procedures to register property is the number of procedures required for a businesses to secure rights to property.		View time series
SOURCE: United Nations World Statistics Pocketbook and Statistical Yearbook
Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament > %	15.2 %		[80th of 174]
DEFINITION: Women in parliaments are the percentage of parliamentary seats in a single or lower chamber occupied by women.		View time series
SOURCE: World Development Indicators database
Start-up procedures to register a business > number	5		[157th of 171]
DEFINITION: Start-up procedures are those required to start a business, including interactions to obtain necessary permits and licenses and to complete all inscriptions, verifications, and notifications to start operations. Data are for businesses with specific characteristics of ownership, size, and type of production.		View time series
SOURCE: World Development Indicators database
Status federal democracy
DEFINITION: Democracy: state in which democratic structures provide for an alternance of power Pseudo-Democracy: state in which there are democratic structures but without a real chance for an alternance of power Transition State: a state with a transitional structure Absolute Monarchy: a one-party state, or a state governed by an absolute monarchy or dictatorship.
SOURCE: World Development Indicators database
Time required to build a warehouse > days	69 days		[165th of 168]
DEFINITION: Time required to build a warehouse is the number of calendar days needed to complete the required procedures for building a warehouse. If a procedure can be speeded up at additional cost, the fastest procedure, independent of cost, is chosen.		View time series
SOURCE: electionworld.org
Time required to enforce a contract > days	300 days		[138th of 171]
DEFINITION: Time required to enforce a contract is the number of calendar days from the filing of the lawsuit in court until the final determination and, in appropriate cases, payment.		View time series
SOURCE: World Development Indicators database
Time required to register property > days	12 days		[146th of 167]
DEFINITION: Time required to register property is the number of calendar days needed for businesses to secure rights to property.		View time series
SOURCE: World Development Indicators database
Time required to start a business > days	5 days		[169th of 171]
DEFINITION: Time required to start a business is the number of calendar days needed to complete the procedures to legally operate a business. If a procedure can be speeded up at additional cost, the fastest procedure, independent of cost, is chosen.		View time series
SOURCE: World Development Indicators database
Time to prepare and pay taxes > hours	325 hours		[54th of 169]
DEFINITION: Time to prepare and pay taxes is the time, in hours per year, it takes to prepare, file, and pay (or withhold) three major types of taxes: the corporate income tax, the value added or sales tax, and labor taxes, including payroll taxes and social security contributions.		View time series
SOURCE: World Development Indicators database
Trademarks, nonresidents	26,988		[2nd of 99]
DEFINITION: Trademark applications filed are applications for registration of a trademark with a national or regional trademark office. Trademarks are distinctive signs that identify goods or services as those produced or provided by a specific person or enterprise. Trademarks protect owners of the mark by ensuring exclusive right to use it to identify goods or services or to authorize its use in return for payment.		View time series
SOURCE: World Development Indicators database
Trademarks, residents	213,495		[2nd of 98]
DEFINITION: Trademark applications filed are applications for registration of a trademark with a national or regional trademark office. Trademarks are distinctive signs that identify goods or services as those produced or provided by a specific person or enterprise. Trademarks protect owners of the mark by ensuring exclusive right to use it to identify goods or services or to authorize its use in return for payment.		View time series
SOURCE: World Development Indicators database
Transnational Issues > Disputes > International the U.S. has intensified domestic security measures and is collaborating closely with its neighbors, Canada and Mexico, to monitor and control legal and illegal personnel, transport, and commodities across the international borders; abundant rainfall in recent years along much of the Mexico-US border region has ameliorated periodically strained water-sharing arrangements; 1990 Maritime Boundary Agreement in the Bering Sea still awaits Russian Duma ratification; managed maritime boundary disputes with Canada at Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and around the disputed Machias Seal Island and North Rock; The Bahamas and US have not been able to agree on a maritime boundary; US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased from Cuba and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease; Haiti claims US-administered Navassa Island; US has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other states; Marshall Islands claims Wake Island; Tokelau included American Samoa's Swains Island among the islands listed in its 2006 draft constitution
DEFINITION: This entry includes a wide variety of situations that range from traditional bilateral boundary disputes to unilateral claims of one sort or another. Information regarding disputes over international terrestrial and maritime boundaries has been reviewed by the US Department of State. References to other situations involving borders or frontiers may also be included, such as resource disputes, geopolitical questions, or irredentist issues; however, inclusion does not necessarily constitute official acceptance or recognition by the US Government.
SOURCE: World Development Indicators database
UN membership date	24 Oct. 1945
DEFINITION: Date of United Nations Membership
SOURCE: All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008
United Nations mission http://www.state.gov http://www.un.int/usa/
DEFINITION: United Missions mission or approximate website
SOURCE: United Nations World Statistics Pocketbook and Statistical Yearbook

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