Browse economic indicators and data sets, selected by Global Finance editors, to learn more about the United States economic outlook, debt to GDP ratio, international trade performance and population trends. Rankings of the U.S. best banks and safest banks are also available.
Basic Information
Government Type: Constitutional federal republicc
Capital City: Washington, DC
GDP & Economic Information
Macroeconomy & Sovereign Data
| Central Bank |
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System |
|---|---|
| Currency |
US Dollar (USD) |
| International Reserves |
USD 251.57 billion (2021) |
| Gross Domestic Product – GDP |
USD 22,939.58 billion (2021 estimate) |
| GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) |
USD 22,939.58 billion (2021 estimate) |
GDP Data
| Real GDP growth |
2107 2.5% 2018 2.9% 2019 1.5% 2020 -3.4% 2021 6.0%* *Estimate |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita – current prices |
USD 69,375.38 (2021 estimate) |
| GDP per capita – PPP |
USD 69,375.38 (2021 estimate) |
| GDP (PPP) – share of world total |
USD 15.86% (2021 estimate) |
| GDP – composition by sector |
agriculture: 0.9% industry: 18.2% services: 77.3% (2017 estimate) |
| Gross domestic expenditure on R&D; (% of GDP) |
3.1% (2019) OECD, retrieved January 2022 |
| Inflation |
2017 2.1% 2018 2.4% 2019 1.8% 2020 1.2% 2021 4.3%* *Estimate |
The United States
Economics, Policy & Regulation
US Non-Banks Face New Scrutiny From Federal Agency
Economics, Policy & Regulation
Automotive Union Seeks To Spread Representation
Sustainable Finance
Regulators Fight GreenwashingInflation & Debt
| Inflation |
2017 2.1% 2018 2.4% 2019 1.8% 2020 1.2% 2021 4.3%* *Estimate |
|---|---|
| Government Bond Ratings |
Standard & Poor’s: AA+ Moody’s: Aaa Standard & Poor’s / Moody’s |
| Unemployment rate |
2107 4.4% 2018 3.9% 2019 3.7% 2020 8.1% 2021 5.4%* *Estimate |
| Household saving rates |
17.1% (2020) |
| Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP) |
2017 106% 2018 107.1% 2019 108.5% 2020 133.9% 2021 133.3** *Estimate |
| Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP) |
2017 -2.6% 2018 -3.2% 2019 -3.5% 2020 -12.7% 2021 -9.2% *Estimate |
| Market value of publicly traded shares |
USD 40,720 billion (2020) |
| Largest Companies | N/A |
Import/Export
| Exports as percent of GDP (Exports of goods and services) |
10.1% (2020) |
|---|---|
| Shares in world total merchandising export |
8.1% (2020) |
| Shares in world total commercial services export |
13.5% (2020) |
| Total exports |
USD 2,140.8 billion (2020 estimate) |
| Export commodities |
Refined petroleum, crude petroleum, cars and vehicle parts, integrated circuits, aircraft (2019) |
| Total imports |
USD 2,811.0 billion (2020 estimate) |
| Import commodities |
Cars, crude petroleum, computers, broadcasting equipment, packaged medicines (2019) |
| Exports – major partners |
Canada 17%, Mexico 16%, China 7%, Japan 5% (2019) |
| Imports – major partners |
China 18%, Mexico 15%, Canada 13%, Japan 6%, Germany 5% (2019) |
Competitiveness & Trade
| Current account balance |
USD -796.1 billion (2021 estimate) |
|---|---|
| Current account balance by percentage of GDP |
-3.5% (2021 estimate) |
| FDI inflows |
2018 USD 223,401 Million 2019 USD 261,412 Million 2020 USD 156,321 Million |
| FDI Outflows |
2018 USD -194,412 Million 2019 USD 92,552 Million 2020 USD 92,811 Million |
| Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser |
2017 USD 115,333 Million 2018 USD 253,254 Million 2019 USD 102,913 Million 2020 USD 125,192 Million |
| Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2014 | Verizon Communications Inc, Verizon Wireless Inc, United States, USD 130.3 billion / Walgreen Co, Alliance Boots GmbH, Switzerland, USD 15.3 billion / Burger King Worldwide Inc, Tim Hortons Inc, Canada, USD 13.4 billion / SAP America Inc, Concur Technologies Inc, United States, USD 9.1 billion / Blackstone Group LP, Gates Corp, United States, USD 5.4 billion / Microsoft Corp, Nokia Oyj-Devices & Services Business, Finland, USD 5.0 billion / Enterprise Products Partners LP, Oiltanking Partners LP, United States, USD 4.6 billion / Fiat North America LLC, Chrysler Group LLC, United States, USD 3.7 billion / Abbott Laboratories, CFR Pharmaceutical SA, Chile, USD 3.3 billion / Investor Group, Nets Holding A/S, Denmark, USD 3.2 billion / Archer Daniels Midland Co, WILD Flavors GmbH, Switzerland, USD 3.1 billion / EnCana Oil & Gas(USA)Inc, Freeport-McMoRan Oil & Gas LLC- Eagle Ford Shale Assets, United States, USD 3.1 billion / Alcoa Inc, Firth Rixson Ltd, United Kingdom, USD 3.0 billion |
| Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2015 | Medtronic Inc, Covidien PLC, Ireland, USD 42.7 billion / General Electric Co-Energy Assets, Alstom SA-Energy Businesses, France, USD 10.7 billion / PetSmart Inc SPV, PetSmart Inc, United States, USD 8.4 billion / Honeywell International Inc, Elster Group GmbH, Germany, USD 6.6 billion / Mylan Inc, Abbott Laboratories-Non US Markets Specialty & Branded Generics Business, Netherlands, USD 5.7 billion / Eli Lilly & Co, Novartis AG-Animal Health Division, Switzerland, USD 5.4 billion / Platform Specialty Products Corp, Arysta Lifescience Ltd, Ireland, USD 3.5 billion / Otsuka America Inc, Avanir Pharmaceuticals Inc, United States, USD 3.4 billion / Investor Group, Verallia SA, France, USD 3.2 billion / CommScope Holding Co Inc, TE Connectivity Ltd-Broadband Network Solutions, Switzerland, USD 3.1 billion / Iberdrola USA Inc, UIL Holdings Corp, United States, USD 3.0 billion |
| Best countries for doing business |
Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm. Overall ranking: 6 out of 190 countries Subcategories: Starting a Business: 55 out of 190 countries Dealing with Construction Permits: 24 out of 190 countries Getting Electricity: 64 out of 190 countries Registering Property: 39 out of 190 countries Getting Credit: 4 out of 190 countries Protecting Minority Investors: 36 out of 190 countries Paying Taxes: 25 out of 190 countries Trading across Borders: 39 out of 190 countries Enforcing Contracts: 17 out of 190 countries Resolving Insolvency: 2 out of 190 countries |
| Global competitiveness ranking |
Ranking: 25 / Score: 72.1 (Mostly Free) |
| Index of Economic Freedom |
Ranking: 12 / Score: 76.8 (Mostly free) (100=totally free 0=totally repressed) |
Population & Geographic Data
| Time Zone |
UTC-5 |
|---|---|
| Total Area |
9,833,517 sq km |
| Total Population |
1990 249.6 Million 2000 282.2 Million 2010 309.3 Million 2015 320.7 Million 2020 329.5 Million |
| Urban population as % of total population |
1980 70.0% 1990 75.3% 2000 73.7% 2010 79.1% 2020 82.7% |
| Population median age |
38.5 years CIA World Factbook / Population median age |
| Population growth rate |
0.69% (2022 est.) |
| Life expectancy |
80.6 years (2022 estimate) |
| % of population living on less than $3.10 a day |
1% (last available estimate, 2019) |
| Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index) |
41.5 (last available estimate, 2016) (0=perfect equality, 100=absolute inequality) |
| Freedom House rating |
Total score: 83/100 Status: Free Political Rights: 32/40 Civil Liberties: 51/60 (2022) |
| Total telephone subscribers as % of population |
Fixed: 30.7% Mobile: 106.2% (2020) (fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers) |
| Internet users as % of total population |
90.9% (2020) |
Language & Religon
| Languages |
English only 78.2%, Spanish 13.4%, Chinese 1.1%, other 7.3% (2017 est.) / note: data represent the language spoken at home; the US has no official national language, but English has acquired official status in 32 of the 50 states; Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii, and 20 indigenous languages are official in Alaska |
|---|---|
| Literacy |
N/A |
| Religions |
Protestant 46.5%, Roman Catholic 20.8%, Jewish 1.9%, Church of Jesus Christ 1.6%, other Christian 0.9%, Muslim 0.9%, Jehovah’s Witness 0.8%, Buddhist 0.7%, Hindu 0.7%, other 1.8%, unaffiliated 22.8%, don’t know/refused 0.6% (2014 est.) |
World Rankings
| Population | 329.5 M |
|---|---|
| Mercer Cost of living index |
New York: 9th San Francisco: 16th Los Angeles: 18th Chicago: 37th Honolulu: 38th Washington: 42nd Miami: 44th Boston: 49th White Plains: 56th Houston: 59th Dallas: 62nd Seattle: 64th Atlanta: 69th Morristown: 70th Minneapolis: 78th Detroit: 90th St. Louis: 94th Pittsburgh: 97th Cleveland: 106th Portland: 107th Winston-Salem: 138th (2019) |
| C02 Emissions per capita |
15.2 metric tons per capita (2018) |
Global Finance Rankings & Awards: The United States
Global Finance Magazine holds several conferences and awards ceremonies throughout the year to recognize the winning financial institutions and companies in a host of categories including World’s Best Trade Finance Banks, World's Biggest Banks, World's Safest Banks, World's Best Developed & Emerging Markets Banks, World's Best Internet Banks, and World’s Best Investment Banks.
Data Sources:
IMF World Economic Outlook
UN World Population Prospects
World Inequality Report
S&P Global Ratings
Moody’s
Fitch Ratings
IMF Direction of Trade Statistics (DOTS)
UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
CIA The World Factbook
World Bank’s World Integrated Trade Solution
Forbes Global 2000