In search of a better life, settlers went and go to America. However, the US population density remains significantly lower than in other developed countries (with a few exceptions).
Indigenous Indians
The territory of the current United States was inhabited by Indians before European colonization. About 400 tribes numbering up to 2-3 million people were settled throughout American soil.
European colonies began to form in this area in the 16th and 17th centuries. The main colonizers were the British: the British, the Irish, the Scots. However, representatives of other nationalities also rushed from Europe to the American continent: Swedes, Dutch, French and others.
Indigenous people - the Indians - were practically exterminated. Those who did not die were settled on reservations. By the beginning of the 20th century, the number of Indians was reduced to 200 thousand people. However, they are also part of the US population.
Active immigration
The most massive movement of immigrants to America took place in the middle of the 19th century. In Europe at that time there was a very unstable situation, both economically and socially.plan. About four million people arrived in the United States during this period. They were mostly Irish and Germans.
In the 17-18 centuries, many blacks came to America as slaves from the African continent. By the middle of the 19th century, their number was already about 3.2 million.
As a result of the assimilation of all races and nationalities of the United States, the population continued to increase.
During the years of the War of Independence, the influx of immigrants stopped, but then resumed and continued to grow at an accelerated pace. It is estimated that approximately seventy million people came to America between 1820 and 2000.
Immigration barrier
To stop the flow of overseas immigration, the US began to issue special laws governing entry into the country. The first of them was adopted in the 20s of the 20th century. Although he limited the influx of immigrants, but not so significantly. The number of immigrants from Europe and Asia has decreased, but their number from the countries of the American continent has increased.
In 1965, a new immigration law further restricted entry into the States. Strict quotas have been set for different groups of countries. Only scientists, skilled workers of rare professions, relatives of American citizens enjoyed the preferential right of entry. Now, on average, about 1 million migrants come to the United States of America every year.
USA: Population
According to the 2010 general census,The US population was about 309 million. The 300 millionth inhabitant of this country was born in 2006. Annual population growth (natural and migration) exceeds three million people.
Today the US population is 320 million people. In terms of population, this country ranks third in the world after China and India, which have already crossed the figure of 1 billion. By the way, the Russian Federation in this list takes 9th place with a number that is almost two times less than in the States.
The racial composition of the US population is approximately characterized as follows: whites - 78%, blacks - 13.1%, Asians - 5%, Indians, Aleuts and Eskimos - 1.2%. Among whites, 16.7% are Hispanics. Among immigrants (data from the Census Bureau for 2006), there were 169,197 million Europeans. Slavs are represented mostly by Ukrainians and Poles.
Wide open spaces
US population density is far from the highest in the world (16,500 people/sq. km, Monaco). On the contrary, this country occupies one of the last places in this indicator among the developed countries of the world. Second only to Austria and Canada. The US population density averages 33.1 people per square kilometer.
Of course, the inhabitants are not equally distributed throughout the country. This is primarily due to the history of US land development and favorable living conditions. The colonization of America began in the northeast - on the Atlantic coast and in the Lake District. Today it is the mostpopulated areas of the United States. The population density there reaches 100 people per 1 sq. km. km, in some states (New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and others) this figure is even higher - 250-350 people/sq. km.
As you move away from the coast, the population density decreases. The mountain states, for example, Wyoming and Colorado, are sparsely populated (from 2 to 12 people per sq. km). But the least people, of course, are in Alaska - 0.3 people / sq. km.
Urbanization of population
At the beginning of the 20th century, the United States could still be classified as a predominantly rural country. However, then rapid urbanization began in America. Now the question of what kind of population in the United States can be answered: predominantly urban.
Although the cities and their suburbs occupy only about six percent of the country's territory, it is there that the majority of the population is concentrated - 74%. In this regard, California is particularly indicative, where the urban population is 91%. The Mid-Atlantic states are not far behind - more than 80%. The states of the Central Plains and the south of the country are considered agrarian and less populated. Although the urbanization of the latter is gaining momentum.
There are many small towns in the US, but most of the urban population is in metropolitan areas. Ten US cities have a population of over a million people. The largest of them is New York. Its population is almost 8.5 million people. The second and third places are occupied by Los Angeles (about four million) and Chicago (about three million). Closes the top ten "millionaires" San Jose (1 million 200 thousand people).
U. S. agglomerations and metropolitan areas
The highest population density in the United States is in agglomerations and metropolitan areas.
More than three hundred agglomerations are formed in the United States of America. Each of them includes a central city with a population of at least fifty thousand people and its suburbs.
The largest agglomeration in the United States, it is also the second largest in the world - New York. It includes not only New York with its suburbs, but also seven other large cities. Its total area is about thirty-one thousand kilometers, and the population is about twenty-one million people.
Continuing to grow, agglomerations began to form megalopolises. So, on the Atlantic coast of the United States, a large area (two hundred kilometers wide and a thousand kilometers long) of continuous development has formed, combining the agglomerations of Washington, B altimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston. More than forty million people live in this megalopolis, which is called so: Boswash.
Insignificantly inferior in size and population to Boswash are the two largest US megalopolises. These are Chipitts and San San. These three metropolitan areas are home to half of the US urban population.
Other characteristics of the population
How many people in the US, we already know. It remains to be said that there are more women among Americans than men. The average life expectancy for the fair sex is 81 years, for the strong half of humanity - 75 years.
Average annual birth ratedecreases. It currently stands at 14 babies per 1,000 inhabitants.
The religious composition of the population is dominated by Christians. More than half are Protestants (51.3%), Catholics - 23.9%. Of course, there are Jews, and Muslims, and Buddhists.
The official language of the United States is English (it is somewhat different from the classic version).
