Countdown to fourth of July

Newsroom 03/07/2011 | 13:28

As Bucharest’s American community gets ready to celebrate the 4th of July, BR presents some fun facts and figures about the occasion, which is celebrated all over the world.

In July 1776, there were an estimated 2.5 million of people living in the newly independent nation. The US’s estimated population this July Fourth is 311.7 million.

In 2010, the dollar value of US imports of American flags was USD 3.2 million. The vast majority of this amount (USD 2.8 million) was for star-spangled banners that were made in China. The value of US flags exported in 2010 was USD 486,026. Mexico was the leading customer, purchasing USD 256,407 worth. The annual dollar value of shipments of fabricated flags, banners and similar emblems by the nation’s manufacturers was USD 302.7 million.

The value of fireworks imported from China in 2010 was USD 190.7 million, representing the bulk of all US fireworks imported (USD 197.3 million). US exports of fireworks, by comparison, came to just USD 37 million in 2010, with Japan purchasing more than any other country (USD

6.3 million).