Factbook
History of United States — Timeline
Key dates in the history of United States, from the Magna Factbook and the Universal Encyclopedia.
1776Independence: 4 July 1776 (declared independence from Great Britain); 3 September 1783 (recognized by Great Britain).
1776Thirteen of Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783.
1861Two of the most traumatic experiences in the nation's history were the Civil War (1861-65), in which a northern Union of states defeated a secessionist Confederacy of 11 southern slave states, and the Great Depression of the 1930s, an economic downturn during which about a quarter of the labor force lost its jobs.
1991Buoyed by victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the US remains the world's most powerful nation state.
2017Languages: English only (official) 78.2%, Spanish 13.4%, Chinese 1.1%, other 7.3% (2017 est.) 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.) Urban population: 83.3% of total population (2023).
2023(capital) (2023) world’s largest economy by nominal GDP; largest importer and second-largest exporter; home to leading financial exchanges and global reserve currency; high and growing public debt; inflation moderating but remains above pre-pandemic levels Inflation: 2.9% (2024 est.).
2023Generation mix — fossil fuels: 58.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); nuclear: 18.2% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); solar: 5.6% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); wind: 9.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); hydroelectricity: 5.6% of total instal Energy use: 278.474 million Btu/person (2023 est.).
2023Industries: highly diversified, world leading, high-technology innovator, second-largest industrial output in the world; petroleum, steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber, mining Agriculture: maize, soybeans, milk, wheat, sugar beets, sugarcane, potatoes, chicken, pork, tomatoes (2023) Electricity access: 100% (2022 est.).
2025Military spending: 3.2% of GDP (2025 est.).
2025Population: 338.0 million (2025 estimate).
