SUMMARY

U.S. Demographics: On October 17, 2006, the U.S. population clock hit the 300 million mark. As of July 2014, the U.S. population is 318,662,000 people including an approximate 11.2 million illegal immigrants. In 1967, 200 million lived in the U.S. and the 100 million - around 1915. So, the U.S. population more than tripled during the 20th century, a growth rate of about 1.3% a year, having been about 76 million in 1900.

The U.S. population growth rate reflects 13.42 births and 8.15 deaths per 1,000 people. The U.S.population growth rate is 0.77% (2014 est.), significantly higher than those of Western Europe, Japan, and South Korea.

Total fertility ratein the U.S. is 2.01 children born/woman (2014 est.).

Life expectancy is high

· total population: 79.56 years

· male: 77.11 years

· female: 81.94 years

Age structure for 2014 was as follows:

As you see, women have a longer life expectancy than men. Up to the age of 30, however, men outnumber women in the U.S. for two reasons: 1) slightly more males are born than females, and 2) slightly more young men immigrate into the U.S. than women.

The average age of the American population is older than it once was, and the percentage of the population over 65 will continue to increase through the first quarter of the 21st century. This aging of the population poses complex questions how to provide funding for the Social Security system.

Age differences also vary by ethnicity and race.

In 2014,the median age was in total - 37.6. years, for

male - 36.3 years,

female - 39 years

the non-Hispanic white population - 37.7,

the non-Hispanic blacks - 30.2,

Native Americans - 28.0,

Asian and Pacific Islanders - 27.5,

Hispanics - 24.6.

U.S. population distribution:About 5% of the earth’s inhabitants live in the U. S. Yet, it remains less densely populated than other large countries or other industrialized nations — in 2009 there were 32 persons per sq km.

The mean population center of the U.S. has consistently shifted westward and southward, with California and Texas currently the most populous states. Almost two-thirds of the U.S. population lived in states along the three major coasts — 38% along the Atlantic Ocean, 16% along the Pacific Ocean, and 12% along the Gulf of Mexico. About one-third of all Americans at the beginning of the 21st century lives around the Great Lakes and in Northeastern states, and the corridor stretching from Boston to Washington, D.C., remained the most densely settled part of the U.S.

82.4% of Americans live in urban areas; about half of those reside in cities with populations over 50,000; the rate of urbanization is1.14% annual rate of change.

In 2014, 273 cities had populations over 100,000, nine global cities had over 5 million (New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Miami, Washington and Atlanta). There are 52 metropolitan areas with populations greater than 1 million. Of the 50 fastest-growing metro areas, 47 are in the West or South. The metro areas of Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, and Phoenix all grew by more than a million people between 2000 and 2010.

The states that attract newcomers, such as Colorado, Georgia, Texas, and Alaska, tend to have the highest proportion of young people and the smallest proportion of older people. Of all the states, Utah has the largest portion of young people, largely because of high birthrates among its predominantly Mormon population.

The states that experience more people leaving than arriving include Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and North Dakota. Similarly, many northeastern cities have large elderly populations, while suburbs in the Southeast and Southwest have large populations of younger people. Florida is an exception to these trends, because it attracts many retirees as well as younger Cubans, Haitians, and other immigrants.

The U.S. has a very diverse population. The ethnical distribution of the U.S. population on the U.S. territory is as follows:

· White 64%,

· Hispanics 16%,

· African American 12%,

· Asian American 5%

· Native American and Alaska Native 1%

· Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander 0.2%

· Multiracial 2% (2012 est.)

The population growth of Hispanic or Latino Americans is a major current demographic trend. 46.9 million Americans are of Hispanic descent, 64% of them are of Mexican descent. Between 2000 and 2010, the country's Hispanic population increased 32% while the non-Hispanic population rose just 4.3%. Much of this growth is from immigration; as of 2007, 12.6% of the U.S. population was foreign-born, with 54% of that figure born in Latin America.

Fertility is also a factor; the average Hispanic woman gives birth to 3 children in her lifetime. The comparable fertility rate is 2.2 for non-Hispanic black women and 1.8 for non-Hispanic white women.

Demographic Forecasting: The growing American economy has always required a lot of workforce which could be replenished both by the increase of the birth rate and by attracting immigrants. Nowadays, when the birthrate is decreasing, the only way to help the country offset the aging population is to supplement it by immigration.

The Census Bureau estimates that the U.S. population will grow from 300 million in 2006 to 397 million in 2050 with expected immigration, but only to 328 million with zero immigration (Tab.2). "If we have zero immigration with today's low birthrates the American population would eventually begin to shrink" (B. Clinton).

Table 2. U.S. Population projections for the years of 2008 and 2050

1. The U.S. economy is the world's largest. Its nominal GDP was $17.311 (Q-2 2014), with the GDP growth of 4.2% in 2014. The U.S. economy also maintains a very high level of output per capita. In 2014, GDP per capita was $54,980.

2. Historically, the U.S. economy has maintained a stable overall GDP growth rate, a low unemployment rate, and high levels of research and capital investment funded by both national and, because of decreasing saving rates, by foreign investors.

3. Almost two-thirds of the nation’s total economic output goes to individuals for personal use (the remaining one-third is bought by the government and business). The consumer role is so great, that the U.S. is characterized as having a “consumer economy”.

4. The U.S. economic history covers a period of more than two and a half centuries. Historically, the main causes of the U.S. economic growth were:

· the number of available workers and, more importantly, their productivity and mobility, including a stable cheap labor pool of millions of immigrants from all over the world,

· a large unified market,

· a supportive political-legal system,

· vast areas of highly productive farmlands,

· vast natural resources (especially timber, coal and oil),

· a cultural landscape that valued entrepreneurship,

· a commitment to investing in material and human capital

· willingness to exploit labor.

5. The U.S. has a capitalist mixed market-oriented economy. But there are certain limits to free enterprise and private ownership. Some services are better performed by public rather than private enterprise.

6. The U.S. has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world. Its economy is postindustrial, with the service sector of the economy now contributing to the greatest share of the U.S. GDP. So, the service sector contributes 79.4% of GDP, industry – 19.5%, agriculture – 1.1 %.

7. The overall pattern in American business is characterized by the trend towards large-scale enterprises. Giant corporations dominate. Small corporations are being consumed by larger ones and large corporations become even larger through mergers. At the same time the end of the 20^th century saw a trend called deinstitutionalizing.

8. The World Bank ranks the U.S. first in the ease of hiring and firing workers. The U.S. population for 2014 was 318,662,000; the U.S. has the highest labor force participation rate in the world with 156.08 million (includes 8.98 million unemployed, Q2 2014). Of those employed, around 80% had jobs in the service sector. The private sector employs 91% of Americans. Government accounts for 8% of all U.S. workers. Over 90% of all employing organizations in the U.S. are small businesses. The 30 million small businesses in the U.S. account for 64% of newly created jobs (those created minus those lost). Jobs in small businesses accounted for 70% of those created in the last decade.

9. The drive for success is the cornerstone of American ideology as a result there is no focused ideological support for America’s labor unions. Labor unions in the U.S. do not have the power or political direction of their counterparts in Europe. About 12% of workers are unionized, compared to over 30% in Western Europe.

10. The wealth is varied with relation to race, education, geographic location and gender. No doubt, households with greater income feature the highest net worth. In addition, wealth is unequally distributed - the wealthiest 25% of U.S. households own 87% ($54.2 trillion, in 2013) of the wealth in the U.S.

11. America’s export trade ($1.57 (2013)) are capital goods, 28%; industrial supplies and materials (except oil fuels), 25%; consumer goods (except automotive), 12%; automotive vehicles and components, 9.4%; food, feed, beverages, 8.6%; fuel oil and petroleum products, 7.6%; aircraft and components, 6%; other, 4%.

12. The leading U.S. imports ($2.30 trillion (2013) are consumer goods (except automotive), 23%; capital goods (except computing), 19%; industrial supplies (except crude oil), 18%; crude oil, 14%; automotive vehicles and components, 13%; computers and accessories, 5.4%; food, feed, and beverages, 4.8%; other, 3%.

13. Main export partners of the U.S.A are: Canada 19.1%; Mexico 14.8%; China, 7.4%; Japan, 4.2%; United Kingdom, 3.2% (2013).

Main import partners are China, 18.4%; Canada, 14.9%; Mexico, 12.5%; Japan, 5.8%; Germany, 5.3% (May, 2013). So, Canada, China, Mexico, Japan, UK and Germany are top trading partners of the U.S.

14. On June 30, 2014, debt held by the public was approximately $12.6 trillion or about 74% of Q1 2014 GDP. Intra-governmental holdings stood at $5.1 trillion (30%), giving a combined total public debt of $17.6 trillion or about 103% of Q1 2014 GDP.

15. The main reasons of the credit crunch of 2007-2009 were sky-rocketing military spending by the U.S. government, the sub-prime mortgage crisis, investment bank failures, tight credit, high oil and grain prices.

16. Since Franklin Roosevelt, no U.S. president came to office in such difficult circumstances. Like FDR President Obama started with his policy of Relief, Reform and Recovery named Change.

17. All programs aimed at overcoming the consequences of the 2008-2009 crisis, meant more government involvement and greater government spending which was expanding at an exponential rate. Nowadays, federal spending is almost 18 times higher than it was back in 1970. Barack Obama proposed a budget that would increase the U.S. government spending to 5.6 trillion dollars in 2021.

18. In 2012, Vladimir Putin accused the U.S. of living beyond its means "like a parasite" on the global economy and noted that dollar dominance was a threat to the financial markets. In fact, the U.S. federal government is massively overextended, most of state and local governments are massively overextended, most of major corporations are massively overextended, and the majority of U.S. consumers are massively overextended.