Country profile
United States of America
North America · Northern America · Americas
US · USA
- Capital
- Washington, D.C.
- Population
- 340,110,988
- Area
- 9,525,067 km²
- Democracy index
- 77
- Regime type
- Fragmented Democracy
Events
Ballots from United States of America
The latest elections, referendums, and opinion polls from United States of America. Community totals are not official results.
Classification
Democracy profile
The score and regime label are assigned by Porto Voto using our in-house democracy index and classification framework, not ratings from governments or external agencies.
Democracy index
77/100
Regime type
Fragmented Democracy
The United States maintains a stable democratic foundation characterized by regular, contested elections and a robust, though occasionally pressured, system of checks and balances. The political environment is marked by deep structural polarization, resulting in frequent legislative deadlock and intensified partisanship that complicates the implementation of consistent national policy. While the judiciary continues to exercise independent oversight, the politicization of judicial appointments remains a point of significant institutional tension. Civil liberties and freedom of the press are firmly protected by constitutional standards, yet public trust in core democratic institutions faces persistent strain from intense electoral competition and disinformation challenges. Despite these substantial governance frictions and systemic challenges to institutional cohesion, the state continues to manage political transitions and policy disputes through established constitutional processes, reflecting a functioning, albeit increasingly fragmented, democratic order.
Last evaluation:
How we classify regimes →World Factbook
Country background
A concise introduction to United States of America, together with notes on how power and law are organized, to put local ballots in context.
Thirteen 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. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions. Two 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.
Buoyed 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. Since the end of World War II, the economy has achieved relatively steady growth, low unemployment, and rapid advances in technology.