2007 G8 Summit Magazine - (Page 70) United States of America T he United States of America (also known as the United States or the USA) is a presidential federal republic, composed of 50 States and the District of Columbia (DC) with the federal capital Washington. The official language is English, but much Spanish is spoken in the Southern states. The United States is 9,809,431 sq km in area, and it has a population of some 300 million. The USA is a founding member of the United Nations, a member of NATO (since 1949), of the OECD (since 1960) and of countless other international organisations. 62% of the population are members of one of 238 distinct religious bodies, 26% being Roman Catholic, 27.5% Protestant (Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians), 2.6% Jewish, 2% Mormons, while less than 2% are Muslim and 10% are of no religion. G8 The United States has been a member of G8 since the first meeting in 1975. It has held the presidency four times: 1983 (Williamsburg), 1990 (Houston), 1997 (Denver) and 2004 (Sea Island). The next meeting in the U.S.A. will take place in 2012. Political System The United States is a presidential republic. The President is the head | -70-
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