The United States of America was a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. 

At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km²) and with about 305 million people, the United States was the third or fourth largest country by total area, and third largest by land area and by population. The United States was one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy was the largest national economy in the world, with an estimated 2008 gross domestic product (GDP) of US$14.3 trillion (23% of the world total based on nominal GDP and almost 21% at purchasing power parity).

[source: wikipedia]

And now it is gone...
