| Economy | United States |
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Economy - overview:
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The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $46,900. In this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and the federal and state governments buy needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace. US business firms enjoy greater flexibility than their counterparts in Western Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capital plant, to lay off surplus workers, and to develop new products. At the same time, they face higher barriers to enter their rivals' home markets than foreign firms face entering US markets. US firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances, especially in computers and in medical, aerospace, and military equipment; 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 war in March-April 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq, and the subsequent occupation of Iraq, required major shifts in national resources to the military. Hurricane Katrina caused extensive damage in the Gulf Coast region in August 2005, but had a small impact on overall GDP growth for the year. Soaring oil prices between 2005 and the first half of 2008 threatened inflation and unemployment, as higher gasoline prices ate into consumers' budgets. Imported oil accounts for about two-thirds of US consumption. Long-term problems include inadequate investment in economic infrastructure, rapidly rising medical and pension costs of an aging population, sizable trade and budget deficits, and stagnation of family income in the lower economic groups. The merchandise trade deficit reached a record $840 billion in 2008 before shrinking to $450 billion in 2009. The global economic downturn, the sub-prime mortgage crisis, investment bank failures, falling home prices, and tight credit pushed the United States into a recession by mid-2008. GDP contracted till the third quarter of 2009, making this the deepest and longest downturn since the Great Depression. To help stabilize financial markets, the US Congress established a $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) in October 2008. The government used some of these funds to purchase equity in US banks and other industrial corporations. In January 2009 the US Congress passed and President Barack OBAMA signed a bill providing an additional $787 billion fiscal stimulus to be used over 10 years - two-thirds on additional spending and one-third on tax cuts - to create jobs and to help the economy recover. Approximately two-thirds of these funds will have been injected into the economy by the end of 2010. |
GDP (purchasing power parity):
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$14.25 trillion (2009 est.)
$14.61 trillion (2008 est.)
$14.56 trillion (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars |
GDP - per capita (PPP):
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$46,400 (2009 est.)
$48,100 (2008 est.)
$48,300 (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars |
GDP (official exchange rate):
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$14.27 trillion (2009 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate:
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-2.5% (2009 est.)
0.4% (2008 est.)
2.1% (2007 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 1.2%
industry: 21.9%
services: 76.9% (2009 est.) |
Investment (gross fixed):
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12.5% of GDP (2009 est.) |
Population below poverty line:
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12% (2004 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 30% (2007 est.) |
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
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45 (2007)
40.8 (1997) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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-0.7% (2009 est.)
3.8% (2008 est.) |
Central bank discount rate:
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0.5% (31 March 2009)
4.83% (31 December 2007) |
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
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5.09% (31 December 2008)
8.05% (31 December 2007) |
Stock of money:
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$1.436 trillion (31 December 2008)
$1.395 trillion (31 December 2007) |
Stock of money - per capita:
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4,675 USD per capita |
Stock of quasi money:
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$10.99 trillion (31 December 2008)
$7.466 trillion (31 December 2007) |
Stock of quasi money - per capita:
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35,774 USD per capita |
Stock of domestic credit:
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$15.06 trillion (31 December 2008)
$14.21 trillion (31 December 2007) |
Stock of domestic credit - per capita:
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49,022 USD per capita |
Labor force:
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154.5 million (includes unemployed) (2009 est.) |
Labor force participation rate:
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50.29 % of population |
Labor force - by occupation:
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farming, forestry, and fishing 0.6%, manufacturing, extraction, transportation, and crafts 22.6%, managerial, professional, and technical 35.5%, sales and office 24.8%, other services 16.5%
note: figures exclude the unemployed (2007) |
Unemployment rate:
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9.4% (2009 est.)
5.808% (2008 est.) |
Budget:
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revenues: $1.914 trillion
expenditures: $3.615 trillion (2009 est.) |
Budget revenues per capita:
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6,231 USD per capita |
Public debt:
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39.7% of GDP (2009 est.)
34.6% of GDP (2008 est.) |
Industries:
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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:
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-5.5% (2009 est.) |
Electricity - production:
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4.11 trillion kWh (2008 est.) |
Electricity - production per capita:
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13,379 kWh per capita |
Electricity - consumption:
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3.873 trillion kWh (2008 est.) |
Electricity - consumption - per capita:
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12,607 kWh per capita |
Electricity - exports:
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24.08 billion kWh (2008 est.) |
Electricity - imports:
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57.02 billion kWh (2008 est.) |
Oil - production:
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8.514 million bbl/day (2008 est.) |
Oil - production per capita:
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27,714 bbl/day per capita |
Oil - consumption:
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19.5 million bbl/day (2008 est.) |
Oil - consumption - per capita:
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23.17 bbl/year per capita |
Oil - exports:
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1.433 million bbl/day (2008 est.) |
Oil - imports:
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13.47 million bbl/day (2008 est.) |
Oil - proved reserves:
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21.32 billion bbl (1 January 2009 est.) |
Natural gas - production:
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582.2 billion cu m (2008 est.) |
Natural gas - production per capita:
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1,896 cu m per capita |
Natural gas - consumption:
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657.2 billion cu m (2008 est.) |
Natural gas - consumption - per capita:
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2,140 cu m per capita |
Natural gas - exports:
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28.49 billion cu m (2008 est.) |
Natural gas - imports:
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112.7 billion cu m (2008 est.) |
Natural gas - proved reserves:
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6.731 trillion cu m (1 January 2009 est.) |
Agriculture - products:
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wheat, corn, other grains, fruits, vegetables, cotton; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish; forest products |
Current account balance:
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$-380.1 billion (2009 est.)
$-706.1 billion (2008 est.) |
Current account balance - per capita:
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-1,237 USD per capita |
Exports:
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$994.7 billion (2009 est.)
$1.277 trillion (2008 est.) |
Exports per capita:
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3,238 USD per capita |
Exports - commodities:
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agricultural products (soybeans, fruit, corn) 9.2%, industrial supplies (organic chemicals) 26.8%, capital goods (transistors, aircraft, motor vehicle parts, computers, telecommunications equipment) 49.0%, consumer goods (automobiles, medicines) 15.0% |
Exports - partners:
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Canada 20.1%, Mexico 11.7%, China 5.5%, Japan 5.1%, Germany 4.2%, UK 4.1% (2008) |
Imports:
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$1.445 trillion (2009 est.)
$2.117 trillion (2008 est.) |
Imports per capita:
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4,704 USD per capita |
Imports - commodities:
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agricultural products 4.9%, industrial supplies 32.9% (crude oil 8.2%), capital goods 30.4% (computers, telecommunications equipment, motor vehicle parts, office machines, electric power machinery), consumer goods 31.8% (automobiles, clothing, medicines, furniture, toys) |
Imports - partners:
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China 16.5%, Canada 15.7%, Mexico 10.1%, Japan 6.6%, Germany 4.6% (2008) |
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
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$NA (31 December 2009 est.)
$77.65 billion (31 December 2008 est.) |
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold - per capita:
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void |
Debt - external:
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$13.45 trillion (30 June 2009 est.)
$13.75 trillion (31 December 2008 est.) |
Debt - external - per capita:
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43,781 USD per capita |
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
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$2.398 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)
$2.367 trillion (31 December 2008 est.) |
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home - per capita:
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7,806 USD per capita |
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
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$3.259 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)
$3.162 trillion (31 December 2008 est.) |
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad - per capita:
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10,609 USD per capita |
Market value of publicly traded shares:
|
$NA (31 December 2008)
$19.95 trillion (31 December 2007)
$19.43 trillion (31 December 2006) |
Market value of publicly traded shares - per capita:
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void |
Economic aid - donor:
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$23.53 billion |
Economic aid - recipient:
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void |
Economic aid - recipient per capita:
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void |
Currency (code):
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US dollar (USD) |
Exchange rates:
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British pounds per US dollar: (2009), 0.6494 (2009), 0.5302 (2008), 0.4993 (2007), 0.5418 (2006), 0.5493 (2005)
Canadian dollars per US dollar: 1.1548 (2009), 1.0364 (2008), 1.0724 (2007), 1.1334 (2006), 1.2118 (2005)
Chinese yuan per US dollar: 6.8249 (2009), 6.9385 (2008), 7.61 (2007), 7.97 (2006), 8.1943 (2005)
euros per US dollar: 0.7338 (2009), 0.6827 (2008), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005)
Japanese yen per US dollar: 94.5 (2009), 103.58 (2008), 117.99 (2007), 116.18 (2006) 110.22 (2005) |
Fiscal year:
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1 October - 30 September |
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