Illinois Seal

Illinois Geography and Economy

Area 149,998 km²
Residents 12,801,539
Residents per km² 85.3
Capital Springfield
Postal Code IL
ISO-3166-2 code US IL
FIPS code 17th

Abbreviated as IL by AbbreviationFinder, Illinois is a US state. It is located in the midwest and borders Lake Michigan in the northeast. The name comes from the Algonquin language and French and denotes the Indian tribe of the Illinois or Illinois people who lived in the country at that time and whose name means the people. When the first French settlers arrived at the end of the 17th century, they called the Illinoisas “[les] Illinois” (the Illinois, Illinois). From 1712 on, the area was a French colony under this name and after it was taken over by the British in 1765, they kept the name – spelled the same way, now pronounced in English. It stayed that way in 1818, when Illinois became a state of the United States.

The only metropolis in Illinois is Chicago, the third largest city in the USA after New York City and Los Angeles. The official nickname Illinois is “Land of Lincoln” – Lincoln’s Land. The later 16th US President Abraham Lincoln moved to Illinois in 1830 at the age of 21 and lived in New Salem until his election in 1860, later in the capital Springfield, where he also found his final resting place.

Residential buildings in the Pullman Historic District

Economy and Infrastructure

The economic output of Illinois was USD 791 billion in 2016, making it the fifth-highest economic output of the states of the USA and a share of 4.29% of the total American economy. Counted as a separate country, Illinois’s economic output would be roughly the same as that of the Netherlands. The gross domestic product per capita GDP was USD 61,837 in 2016 (national average of the 50 US states: USD 57,118; national ranking: 12th). In May 2017, Illinois had an unemployment rate of 4.6%.

Illinois has very fertile soils, which are mainly used for soy and corn cultivation (Corn Belt). In addition, other products such as B. wheat, sorghum or fruit are grown.

In addition to agriculture, industry also plays an important role. The main focus of the state’s industrial economy is Chicago, which is part of the Rust Belt.

Due to the favorable traffic situation, where many railroad routes meet at the southern tip of Lake Michigan, a large slaughtering and food processing industry developed here. The waterway connection from here to the Mississippi River and the St. Lawrence Seaway also contribute to its role as a trading seat (Chicago Board of Trade with commodities and futures transactions, as well as the seat of several retail groups such as Sears) and a transport hub. In the south of the city (on the Indiana border), the iron and steel industry determines the economic focus.

There is also industry in the country’s smaller centers. This is mostly closely related to agriculture, such as agricultural machinery (John Deere is based in Moline and Caterpillar in Peoria).

United States East Coast

As East Coast of the United States (English East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Seaboard, Eastern Seaboard, or simply East Coast ) refers to the coast of the United States to the open Atlantic Ocean.

It was the earliest part of what would later become the United States that was settled by Europeans. As part of the American Revolution and the American War of Independence, on July 4, 1776, thirteen British colonies declared their detachment from Great Britain and their right to form their own sovereign confederation with the declaration of independence.

Geography

Geographically, the American east or Atlantic coast extends from the border between Canada and the United States at Lubec, Maine to Key West, Florida and thus extends from 45 to 24 degrees north.

The east coast states from north to south are the New England states of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut as well as New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.

Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia are not directly on the coast, but by the Delaware River and the Potomac River connected to the coast respectively).

Although Vermont and West Virginia are not directly on the coast, they are often also counted among the east coast states for historical reasons ( The 13 Colonies, the Old South).

Population

The east coast is the most populous coastal area in the United States. In 2010, the population of the states that have coastlines on the east coast was estimated at 112,642,503 (36% of the total population of the country). The area is also characterized by a relatively high population density; the urban regions from Boston in the north to Washington, DC in the south “grow together”, this metropolitan agglomeration with around 45 million inhabitants is known as Boswash. The Kennedy family, as well as many other influential families in the USA, are also from there ( Brahmins of Boston ).

Society

The majority of the population of the northern part of the east coast is considered to be liberal. In the political and sociological field, the term ” east coast establishment ” is sometimes used. What is meant is the US social elite, which is largely concentrated in the area between Washington and New England. In addition to the political capital, this area is home to several important financial and cultural centers (New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore) and the renowned universities of the so-called Ivy League. Usually the term is used derogatory, especially to denounce the social inequality in the country. In anti-Semitic, ideological conspiracy and right-wing extremist jargon, it is used as a code word for the international financial system supposedly dominated by Jews.

Also known as Prairie State, Illinois is short for IL with a population of 12,419,293. According to Countryaah, the capital city of Illinois is Springfield and the biggest city is Chicago.

Illinois Seal