Population: 272,639,608 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 22% (male 30,097,125; female 28,699,568)
15-64 years: 66% (male 89,024,052; female 90,379,328)
65 years and over: 12% (male 14,189,132; female 20,250,403) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.85% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 14.3 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 8.8 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: 3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 6.33 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 76.23 years
male: 72.95 years
female: 79.67 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.07 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Nationality:
noun: American(s)
adjective: American

Ethnic groups: white 83.5%, black 12.4%, Asian 3.3%, Amerindian 0.8% (1992)

Religions: Protestant 56%, Roman Catholic 28%, Jewish 2%, other 4%, none 10% (1989)

Languages: English, Spanish (spoken by a sizable minority)

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97%
male: 97%
female: 97% (1979 est.)