Find United States real estate investment information for Alaska, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington. Scroll down for more information about the United States.

About The United States

United States Population: 293,027,571 (July 2004 est.)
Languages: English, Spanish (spoken by a sizable minority)
Capital: Washington DC
Government Type: Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition.
Independence Day: 4 July 1776 (from Great Britain)
Legal System: Based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations.
Currency: US dollar (USD)

Executive Branch:

Chief of State: President Barack Obama ; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government.

International Investment Position: The U.S. net international investment position at yearend 2009 was -$2,737.8 billion (preliminary), as the value of foreign investments in the United States exceeded the value of U.S. investments abroad.

Real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States -- increased at an annual rate of 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010, (that is, from the third quarter to the fourth quarter), according to the "second" estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the third quarter, real GDP increased 2.6 percent.

The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $47,400. 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.