Frequently Asked Questions About the United States

How many states are there in the United States?

There are 50 states, 1 district (District of Columbia - Washington), and several dependent areas in the U.S.
For a list of the 50 states and the outlying territories, please visit the U.S. chapter of The World Factbook.

How many stars and stripes are there in the U.S. flag?

There are 50 stars (for the 50 states) and 13 red and white stripes (for the original 13 founding colonies) in "The Stars and Stripes," the flag of the United States. For more information, please visit the U.S. Flag page.

What is the text of The Star-Spangled Banner, the national anthem of the United States? Can I hear the tune?

Please visit our National Anthem page.

Where can I find an image and a description of the Great Seal of the United States?

Please see the publication of the U.S. Department of State about the Seal.

(Please note: this is a 980KB pdf file, which can be viewed and printed with Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have this software please visit Adobe's page, where you can download it for free. Adobe also offers accessibility tools for reading the PDF forms.)

What are the federal holidays in the United States?

For a list of the holidays and their dates for years ahead, please visit the Federal Holidays page of the U.S. Naval Observatory.

For more information about the major U.S. holidays, please visit our holidays page.

What is the population of the United States?

The nation's resident population on Census Day, April 1, 2000, was 281,421,906, a 13.2 percent increase over the 248,709,873 counted in the 1990 census. Fur further census 2000 data, please visit the U.S. Census Bureau's Census 2000 page and U.S. POPClock Projection of the Census Bureau.

How many terms can a U.S. President serve?

Here is what the Constitution of the United States says:
AMENDMENT XXII
Passed by Congress March 21, 1947. Ratified February 27, 1951.
Section 1.
No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of President more than once. [...]

Where can I find biographical information about a U.S. representative or senator?

Please visit the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress web site, which provides biodata from 1774 to the present.

What does the term "Lame Duck" mean?

Please visit the TheCapitol.Net, Inc. web site, where you can find an excellent glossary of congressional terms.

When does the Daylight Saving Time begin and end in the United States?

For most of the United States, Daylight Saving Time begins at 2 a.m. on the second Sunday in March, and ends at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in November.

Daylight Saving Time is NOT observed in Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and by most of Arizona (with the exception of the Navajo Indian Reservation in Arizona).

What is the recent rate of inflation in the United States?

Usually, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is considered the "best" measure of inflation. Please visit the CPI Home Page of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, where you can find tables with the latest figures, as well as answers to questions such as what the CPI is, how it is calculated, and how it should be read and interpreted.

Where can I find information about trade shows in the United States?

We suggest you visit the TSNN.com page, where you can search a database of trade shows by events, suppliers, and venues.

Where can I obtain information on the weather for a certain city, or region of the United States?

Both CNN and The Weather Channel provide detailed weather information.

Where can I check the movement of a storm, or hurricane?
Please visit the web site of the National Hurricane Center.

How can I find a telephone number in the United States?

Some free Internet phone directories:

Where can I retrieve the ZIP Code for a certain address?

Please visit the U.S. Postal Service's ZIP Code Lookup page.