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The United States of America, usually referred to as the UnitedStates, the USA, the U.S. or America, is a constitutional federal republiccomprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostlyin central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states andWashington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and AtlanticOceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state ofAlaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to its east and Russiato the west across the Bering Strait, and the state of Hawaii is an archipelagoin the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories, or insularareas, scattered around the Caribbean and Pacific.

At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km²) and withmore than 300 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largestcountry by total area, and third largest by land area and by population. TheUnited States is one of the world's most ethnically diverse nations, theproduct of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is thelargest national economy in the world, with a nominal 2006 gross domesticproduct (GDP) of more than US$13 trillion (over 25% of the world total based onnominal GDP and almost 20% by purchasing power parity). Because of the UnitedStates' large size and wide range of geographic features, nearly every type ofclimate is represented. The climate is temperate in most areas, tropical inHawaii and southern Florida, polar in Alaska, semi-arid in the Great Plainswest of the 100th meridian, desert in the Southwest, Mediterranean in CoastalCalifornia, and arid in the Great Basin. Extreme weather is not uncommon—thestates bordering the Gulf of Mexico are prone to hurricanes, and most of theworld's tornadoes occur within the continental United States, primarily in theMidwest's Tornado Alley.

The US has the largest and most technologically powerfuleconomy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $46,000. In this market-orientedeconomy, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, andthe federal and state governments buy needed goods and services predominantlyin the private marketplace. US business firms enjoy greater flexibility thantheir counterparts in Western Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capitalplant, to lay off surplus workers, and to develop new products. At the sametime, they face higher barriers to enter their rivals' home markets thanforeign firms face entering US markets.

US firms are at or near the forefront in technologicaladvances, especially in computers and in medical, aerospace, and militaryequipment; their advantage has narrowed since the end of World War II. Theonrush of technology largely explains the gradual development of a"two-tier labor market" in which those at the bottom lack theeducation and the professional/technical skills of those at the top and, moreand more, fail to get comparable pay raises, health insurance coverage, andother benefits. Since 1975, practically all the gains in household income havegone to the top 20% of households. The response to the terrorist attacks of 11September 2001 showed the remarkable resilience of the economy.

There are minor restrictions on foreign ownership of realestate in America but they are insignificant for buy-to-let investmentpurposes. At the federal level there are only a few restrictions onnon-resident aliens (NRAs) owning or investing in real property. For practicalpurposes these restrictions are unimportant. In Oklahoma, foreigners are notallowed to buy land but they can buy condominiums. Falling prices created bythe weak dollar and housing market crash mean that foreign investors with astrong currency can find great bargains and the thriving tourist industry makesfor a reliably consistent rental market.