Wednesday, November 4. 2009The Census is Heating Up
THE CENSUS IS HEATING UP Senator David Vitter ( D-LA) has introduced a resolution to force the that would force the Census Bureau to only count US citizens when they reapportion House seats among the states in 2010. If adopted, the allocation of Congressional seats among the states would be radically different. The current procedure is to count all residents regardless of legal status (see blog of 10/13) and the courts upheld that procedure in 1980. If all residents are counted it is anticipated that Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Utah would gain one seat each and Texas would get three. Those 8 seats would come from Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Given that traditional migration patterns have changed dramatically in the last two years, the reallocation of political power might not be as dramatic. Florida has been losing population and the growth in Texas has slowed. If only US citizens are counted then California would lose five seats and New York and Illinois one each. Those seven seats would go to Indiana, Montana, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas and Utah. The redistricting that would occur within the states would be affected also. Counting only US citizens would increase the power of rural and suburban America which tend to be more conservative. If all residents are counted then the seat that New York would lose would be in upstate New York which has been traditionally Republican because New York City has grown faster than the rest of the state. However, the reverse would be true if only US citizens are counted. This amendment has wrecked havoc with the Senate Justice Commerce Bill. The Senate has been unable to invoke cloture to pass the bill because of the absence of Democratic Senator. It is anticipated that Senator Reid will try again sometime this week (Nov 1) to pass cloture. Dr. Groves told the House census oversight subcommittee on October 21 that if Congress requires the Census Bureau to add new questions to the 2010 census, the enumeration would not start on time and the Census Bureau would not deliver apportionment and redistricting counts in accordance with current legal deadlines (by December 31, 2010, and April 1, 2011, respectively). There are several organizations that are studying the issue of the size of the House of Representatives. ApportionmentUSA.org has filed suit in Mississippi asking the courts to order the House to enlarge its size and Thirty Thousand blogs about the size of the House of Representatives on a regular basis. PRC has held two workshops considering the implications of population growth and representation.
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Friday, October 30. 2009Experts WorryOverlooking Solutions
The New York Times recently reported on concerns voiced by experts attending a UN Food and Agricultural Organization meeting in Rome.They estimate that food production will have to increase by 50percent over the next two decades to feed the world's growing population. Their major concern was with increasing food production rather than considering the possibility of reducing the rate of population growth throughout the world and particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. These parts of the world have the highest rates of population growth and the greatest number of hungry people. South Central Asia has a growth rate of 1.7 percent and are projected to increase their population from 1.7 billion people in 2009 to 2.6 billion by 2050. This is an additional billion people, a 50% increase. In sub-Saharan Africa the population is projected to increase from 1 billion to 2 billion people by 2050. This is 100% increase in population. The figures above are from the UN mid-range projections. If more aggressive family planning programs and female education programs were initiated, the number of people needing food might be as much as 20% fewer. However, neither in the article nor at the conference was there any discussion of the need to undertake efforts to reduce population growth.
They also have some of the most challenging and difficult growing conditions in the world. The gains of the green revolution are difficult to transfer to Asia and Africa. The green revolution concentrated on wheat and rice but Africa has different staple crops. The entire article focused on the need to increase support for agricultural research and fertilizer. As the number of hungry people has declined, the level of foreign assistance devoted to agriculture has declined from 17% of assistance in n1980 to 4 percent in 2000. The article and the experts called for an increase in agricultural assistance. They did not call for an increase in spending for family planning funds which would reduce the demand for food if there were fewer people.
Wednesday, October 28. 2009House of Representatives in Christian Science MonitorStaff of PRC recently had an editorial in the Christian Science Monitor about the growth of US population and the size of the house of Representatives. See As population increasesCongress must adjust.
This article is part of an on-going program at the Center to raise awareness of the growing disparity in representation in the US House of Representatives.
Tuesday, October 13. 2009Reflections on Vitter-Bennett Amendments
Reflections on the Vitter-Bennett Amendment
The 2010 Census is fast approaching. The forms are being printed now and they will be mailed to all households in less than 6 months. And the perennial issue of the decennial census has once again reared its head. Every decade a Member of Congress proposes legislation that says the Census should not count illegal residents or people who are not citizens in the allocation of seats for the House of Representatives. Recently Sens. David Vitter (R-LA) and Robert Bennett (R-UT) have introduce an amendment to the Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations bill which would bar the Census Bureau from conducting the census unless questions on citizenship and immigration status are added. The data from the Census result in the most radical peacetime redistribution of political power because these data are used to apportion Congressional seats and to draw legislative districts at every level of state and local government. The political fights at the state level are very intense and the jockeying has already started. Other uses of the Census data include the distribution of over $500 billion of federal funds throughout the country, designing the sample size and composition for every federal and private survey conducted over the next decade, and government decisions about where to locate polling places, schools, roads, and communities. In addition the location of business sites, where to open new business and where to move companies are based on the data from the decennial Census.
A Little Background
What is the background on this issue of “residents” vs. “citizen”. The constitution calls for an enumeration of all “residents” of the several states for the purpose of allocating the seats in the House of Representatives. Residents was carefully chosen because in 1879 a person became a citizen of the United States by virtue of being a citizen of a state. States had very different requirements for citizenship and for voting. It was only after the Civil War that the nation began to define a concept of a national citizenship. It is easy to forget today that there were 13 “independent” states that came together to form the United States. They brought different laws and cultures to the union. To create a somewhat equal means of counting for the distribution of political power they counted all residents including women and children who could not vote. Blacks only counted as three-fifths of a person. This counting was regardless of the state’s laws concerning citizenship in that state. In 1790, the first Census Act provided that the enumeration of that year would count “inhabitants” and “distinguish” various subgroups by age, sex, status as free persons, etc. The Oxford English Dictionary defined an inhabitant as one who “is a bona fide member of a State, subject to all the requisitions of its laws, and entitled to all the privileges which they confer.” In 1979, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) sued to enjoin the Census Bureau from counting illegals in the decennial census of 1980 (FAIR v. Klutznick, 486 F. Supp. 564, D.D.C. 1980). The case was ultimately dismissed by the Supreme Court on the grounds of lack of standing. In 1988, a similar suit filed by FAIR, 40 members of Congress, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania which was also dismissed. As a result, the constitutionality of excluding illegal immigrants from the apportionment has yet to be decided by a court of law.
Consequences
By law, the Congress has the right to review, approve and add questions two years before the decennial census. This is necessary so that questions and forms can be tested, revised, and the forms printed and mailed. Proposing such an addition to the Census at this time would be very costly and would disrupt the Census. Reapportionment would be delayed because the Census would be delayed. The additional cost would run into millions of dollars. The Department of Commerce has issued a press release opposing the Vittner-Bennett amendment. The amendment is an appealing vote. It is a statement against illegal immigration, feeds into the anti-immigrant feelings in the country and is an easy vote to defend and support. It is ironic that pressure is coming from the Latino community (see Count or Be Counted) to not complete the 2010 Census form. Both pro- and anti-immigration reform see the Census as a tool to wield political power.
And who said that the Census was dull.
Thursday, October 8. 2009Count or Be Counted: An Immigrant Perspective
Latino Christian advocacy groups are proposing that Latinos refuse to respond to the 2010 Census to protest the treatment of undocumented immigrants and the slow pace at which the Democratic party is undertaking immigration reform. A recent forum at Princeton University sponsored by the Center for Migration Studies had proponents on both sides of the debate discuss the question of responding to the Census. The proposal of the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders is not intended to sabotage the 2010 Census but to force Congress to take steps toward comprehensive immigration reform according to Dr. Miguel Angel Rivera, founder and head of the Coalition. The proposal by this advocacy coalition is ironic since several bills have been introduced in the House of Representatives and US Senate to prevent the Census Bureau from including in final state totals undocumented or illegal residents. The courts have ruled that the constitution requires that all residents be counted in the process of allocating political power. The reason that the language all residents was included in the Constitution was because in 1789 one became a citizen of the United States by virtue of being a citizen of a state. And states had different requirement for citizenship. And it wasn’t until the 1960’s that we finally allowed black citizens to vote. (women got the vote in 1918) . Several Princeton scholars including Dr. Marta Tienda, Dr. Alejandro Portes and Dr. Douglas Massey argued that the boycott would have serious consequences if Latino refuse to participate. Federal monies and political power are distributed based upon the Census numbers and failure to be counted in large numbers will diminish the potential political power of Latinos. In the last amnesty in 1983, a person could produce their 1980 Census form ( only an individual can request release of the form before 70 years after the Census is taken) to prove they were in the country before the amnesty deadline. Since the number of House seates (435) remain fixed, and each state gets at least one, failure of the most rapidly growing minority group to respond to the Census will mean that fewer of the remaining 485 seats will be allocated among the rapidly growing states. Among states that will lose seats such as New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, state legislatures may be forced to merge urban black and Hispanic districts. While important to draw attention to the demands of the Latino community this proposed boycott may according to Dr. Portes “ shoot ourselves in the foot by reducing numbers”
Thursday, October 8. 2009The Census: Expanding Political PowerThe Census and Political Power An expanding source of power
Under the Constitution of the United States a decennial count of all residents of the states of the United States of America was to be used to allocate seats in the House of Representatives among the states. Each state received one seat and then remaining seats were divided among the states based upon population. There was no limit placed on the number of Members of the House of Representative although no seat was to represent fewer than 33,000 residents.
However, until 1962, state legislatures were given a virtually free hand to draw district boundaries. The Constitution said nothing about equal representation within states. The failure to speak on this issue reflected the supremacy granted to states that had surrendered their soverignity to form a “more perfect union”
For example, in 1930, New York's largest district contained 776,400 voters versus only 90,700 for its smallest. In 1962, the Supreme Court changed this practice, declaring the "one man, one vote" principle, which required state legislatures to draw congressional districts that are equal in population.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 carried this principle one step further, requiring state legislatures to, wherever possible, draw districts that grant African-Americans, and later, Hispanics, a majority of the population within the district, thereby increasing the opportunity for those groups to elect representatives of their own ethnicity. When combined with the "one man, one vote" principle, this legal requirement expanded the need for an accurate head count by geographic area.
In 1975, Congress expanded the census' responsibility for legislative redistricting again. The new law required the Census Bureau to provide population counts for small geographic areas to state legislatures and governors so that those legislatures could also be redistricted.
In 1999 the Supreme Court ruled that statistical sampling and adjustment could not be used to apportion Congressional seats, although it can be used for apportioning state legislative seats and for allocation of federal and state expenditures.
Thursday, October 8. 2009HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE ACSMore Highlights from the 2008 American Community Survey
The 2008 American Community Survey (ACS)was released in September 2009. These data were collected from January through December 2008 and do not fully capture the collapse of our economy that occurred in late 2008. Most of the year had rather slow economic growth. The good year of 2008 shows a decline in the real median income of 3.6% to $50,303 from 2007. Although Hispanic households were the hardest hit (and non-Hispanic white the least), black households median income of $34,218 continued to be the lowest in the nation. Black household income only fell 2.8% while the Hispanic household income fell 5.6% to $37,913. Asian household income of $65,637 fell 4.4% while non-Hispanic white fell to $55,530. The poverty rate rose slightly to 13.2% , the first statistically significant increase since 2004. The percentage of Americans who had health insurance remained unchanged although the source of insurance shifted from the private sector to the public sector. As more individuals lost their jobs(8.5% in 2008) and private sector insurance the number of people covered by government insurance increased from 83 million to 87 million people ( 28% of the population) . The percentage of children without insurance (9.9%) was the lowest since 1987 when it was first measured. The SCHIP program is responsible for this extraordinary achievement.
More than 15% of people 65 and older participated in the work force. Alaska had the highest percent at 23.2 while West Virginia had the lowest at 11.2 pecent. More than 20% of the men and almost 12% of women over 65 participated in the work force, either full or part time. This is the continuation of a trend of increased labor force participation among older Americans. At the same time there is a growing increase in the number of Americans filing for Social Security at an early age as the older worker finds it more difficult to get a job.
Wednesday, September 30. 2009Brief History of Census
The Census: A Brief History Every decade since 1790 the federal government has counted our population , documenting our national growth from 3.9 million people living on the Eastern seaboard in 1790 to nearly 283 million people spread across the continent in 2000. It is anticipated that more than 310 million Americans will be counted next year. The Census is a Constitutional Requirement “The Great Compromise” of the Constitutional Convention decided to have one legislative body represent the states (the Senate) and the other body to represent the people ( House of Representatives). This settled competing interests between the large and small states and ensured adequate representation of both state and individual interests in Congress. Article I requires that the federal government count the population at least every ten years to allocate representation in the U.S. House of Representatives among the states. The U.S. Census was the first constitutionally required national census in the world and the first used to apportion legislative representation. The Constitution (as amended by the 14th Admendment) stipulates that the census count all inhabitants, regardless of citizenship, voting status, age, race or gender. This method was chosen because in 1788 one became a citizen of a state and then of the United States. After the Civil War, the federal government set standards for citizenship. The size of the Congressional delegation from each state is determined based on the decennial population count. The First Counts
Federal marshals conducted the 1790 census by going door-to-door. It took 18 months and counted 3.4 million people. The 1830 Census used the first printed forms instead of pieces of papers or notebooks. The census of 1840 significantly expanded the amount of information collected, including information on Revolutionary War pensioners, schools and colleges, literacy, occupations, idiocy, and insanity, as well as commerce and industry. Since the first census questions had grown from 6 to 70. In 1849, Congress created the Census Board to undertake the 1850 count. In the later portion of the 19th century, the census increased the accuracy, detail, speed and cost. Machine tabulation was introduced in the 1890 census. The 1940 Census was the first to use a more detailed questionnaire, or long form, for sampling of the population to track specific trends within the overall population. In 1950, shortly after their invention, UNIVAC 1 computers were used to tabulate a portion of the mail-back census. By 1970, census forms were mailed to all households. Enumerators visited those households (about 30% of total households) which had not returned the form. Accordingly, the cost of the count rose from six cents per person 1860 to16 cents per person in 1900. By comparison, it cost $15.99 per person in 2000 ( unadjusted) while the 2010 Census will cost about $25 per person.
A New Role in a Modern Nation At the outset of World Wars I and II, the Census Bureau prepared estimates on draft age men and industrial capacity. The Bureau became aware of the undercount among minorities in 1941 when they significantly underestimated the number of black men of draft age. The issue of undercounting minorities and low income residents has plagued the Census Bureau since the 1940’s. The Bureau has devoted extensive resources to trying to reduce the undercount and in 2000 had significant success in reducing the undercount among minorities and low income.
The undercount declined from 5.4% in 1940 to 1.6% in1990. However, in 1990, the differential undercount between white and minority residents was greater than ever. A concerted effort in 2000 reduced the undercount to .01% nation wide. The black-white differential, while reduced, was 2.8%. With the increase of grant-in-aid programs run by the federal government, the census has played an increasingly important role in state-federal relations. States have come to depend upon the head count to determine the proportion of federal social spending.
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Wednesday, September 30. 2009Marriage Go Round
Andrew Cherlin, one of the nation’s leading experts on marriage, has written an excellent book on the state of marriage and the American family. Dr. Cherlin, in an interview with Random House, said that he became interested in comparing our marital patterns with other developed countries when data showed that our children were much more vulnerable to living with one parent than other countries.
Our children experience higher rates of living with just one parent ( 33%), experience higher rates of their parent living with at least one partner rather than the natural parent by age 15 ( four times the average of the rest of the OECD), and have a higher probability of living with serial partners than other developed countries.
These changing patterns of marriage and relationships have left American children to cope with the comings and goings of multiple parents. Marriage and remarriage, multiple partners both in and out of marriage and short-term cohabiting relationships have changed the nature of intergenerational care-giving.
American women’s median age of first marriage is 25, one of the youngest in the developed world. By age forty ,84% of American women have been married, a percentage exceeded only by Spain. We get divorced and end our cohabiting relationships at much greater rates than the rest of the world. More than 20% of all marriages end in separation or divorce within five years of marriages which is double any other country. More than 55% of cohabiting relationships end before five years. Approximately 40% of all marriages end in divorce.
Dr. Cherlin explores how marriage in the United States explores the two contradictory themes in American life… individualism and national good... the me vs we syndrome of American life. This conflict is reflected in marriage in the tension between personal fulfillment and family responsibility.
Both our religious and legal institutions encourage these contradictions. Contemporary religion supports both marriage and the quest for self-development. And while the nation has dramatically improved the collection of child support from fathers over the last 20 years, the law lags behind in the concept of responsibility for raising and nurturing children over self-fulfillment.
Dr. Cherlin offers many recommendations in The Marriage-Go-Round but the major one is “Slow Down”… the last chapter. Slow down getting married, slow down having the first child, slow down the divorce, make the divorce process more difficult and above all develop means so that children will have the financial support necessary after a divorce.
Wednesday, September 23. 2009The 2010 Census and the TelenovelasThe 2010 Census is coming to soap operas. Beginning in October Mas Sabe el Diablo ( The Devil Knows Best) will have the 2010 Census as a major theme in the program. Something as dull ( to some) and uninspiring will be in direct contrast to the steamy sex, horrendous villians, extraordinary wealth and poverty and never ending illnesses. The New York Times reported today that Telemundo will include the Census in the plot line of Diablo from October until early February, shortly before the 2010 Census forms arrive in our mailboxes. While many Americans are unaware of the Spanish telenovelas, they are extremely popular with Hispanics audiences. Telenovelas were first used in Mexico and Brazil as a vehicle for promoting smaller family size and the use of contraception by Population Communication International and Population Media Center. Themes are woven into existing story line. This may be the first time that the enumeration of any nation has been included as a plot line... and certainly the first time in the US. In Diablo, Perla Beltran will use a position as recuriter of workers for the U.S. Census Bureau as a way out of poverty and the brutal society in which she has been living. She will leave her job selling stuffed pastries when a Census Bureau employee approaches her about being a recruiter. Throughout the series the Census will be discussed. There will be a long discussion about the confidentiality of the Census, a major concern in the undocumented Hispanic community when the star takes the required test for employment. During the course of the soap opera many of the concerns of the Latino community will be discussed including the critical issue of confidentiality, the need to report all people living in a household even if it is more than one family and the need to report all persons whether or not they are documented and in the country with legal papers. The next Census is expected to report an increase in the Hispanic population of 14 million people, almost a 50% increase from the 22 million reported during the last Census. This rapid population growth results from immigration and high birth rates. However, the Hispanic community has greater fears of completing the Census form because many are in the country without legal papers. Low income communities have traditionally been under counted and often are missed because they have unusual living arrangements without a mailing address or many families are living in one home. For the first time some community leaders are urging that Hispanics not complete the Census as a means of applying pressure to get immigration reform. It is very important that everyone complete their Census form and it will be interest to see how well this novel approach works. REMEMBER TO COMPLETE YOUR CENSUS FORM IN MARCH.
Tuesday, September 22. 2009The Great Recession: A View from the American Community Survey
The toll of the Great Recession was reported today by the US Census Bureau with the release of the 2008 American Community Survey. Median household income declined across the nation, the value of homes fell, home ownership declined, fewer of us changed residence and more of our income went for housing cost.,fewer American married and more carpooled to work. For the first time the Census Bureau reported on the number of Americans who had health insurance. These data provide a portrait of all communities in America for the year 2008. Since these data are collected on a nationwide sample over the course of the year,it only provides a snapshot of the impact of the Great Recession which gathered full steam in the later half of 2008. Median household income (half of Americans earn less and half more) declined nationwide with only five states - New York, New Jersey, Kansas, Louisiana and Texas experiencing a rise in median income. New York and New Jersey probably report a decline in median household income in 2009 after the collapse of Wall Street in late 2008. Five states- Arizona, California, Florida, Indiana and Michigan experienced a decline in median household income. After almost a decade of steady increase in home value, the median home value across the country decreased slightly (-.2 percent)and in 22 states across the country. These decline in home values will probably accelerate in 2009. Seven states experienced an increase in home value between 2007 and 2008. Those states were Texas, Utah, Wyoming, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and North Carolina. The Bureau reported that mortgages had increased across the country. The combination of a drop in income and increase in mortgages means that a larger portion of American's income is being spent on housing. Almost 30% of home owners and 40% of renters are paying more than 35% of their income for housing. Traditionally Americans have changed residents frequently. The number of Americans who moved declined sharply last year, reaching the lowest percentage in 60 years as people grappled with fewer jobs and tighter credit. Roughly 11.9 percent of the nation's population, or 35.2 million people, moved to a new home, down from 13.2 percent, or 38.7 million people in 2007. This is a far cry from the more than 20% who moved in the period 1985-1990. For the first time the percentage of foreign born in the United States took a small decline from 12.6 to 12.5 percent of the population. However, this may have occurred because of refusal of many to participate in government surveys. There was a 2.8% decline in reported immigrants from Mexico but an 8% increase in immigrants from India. However, there were more than 11 million people born in Mexico living in the US but only 1.6 million from India. The percentage of people who drove alone to work dropped last year to 75.5 percent, the lowest in a decade, as commuters grew weary of paying close to $4 a gallon for gasoline and opted to carpool or take public transportation. Twenty-two states had declines in solo drivers compared with the year before, with the rest statistically unchanged. The decreases were particularly evident in states with higher traffic congestion, such as Maryland, Texas and Washington. The life style of Americans is changing because of the recession and these changes are reported by the American Community Survey. Preliminary data was released by the US Census Bureau and the full reports will be available on Sept 22. These data will provide a portrait of all communities in America for the year 2008. Since these data are collected on a nationwide sample over the course of the year,it will only provide a snapshot of the impact of the Great Recession. Data will be available in October for geographic areas with a population greater than 20,000. These data released today was at the national and state level. the ACS began collecting data in 2004.
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Wednesday, September 16. 2009Update on American Community Survey (ACS)
UPDATE on AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY AND CENSUS
On September 22, 2009, the Census Bureau will release the 2008 one-year estimates from the American Community Survey. These data will be for congressional districts (700,000 people) and for all counties, cities and metropolitan areas with a population of 65,000 or greater. Included are the ACS income, earnings, and poverty data as well as all other ACS estimates on social, economic, demographic, and housing characteristics. The release will include data on health insurance coverage, marital history, and veterans' service-connected disability for the first time. On October 27, 2009, the Census Bureau will release the 2006-2008 ACS 3-year estimates, based on data collected from 2006-2008, for all geographic areas with populations of 20,000 or more. Included are the estimates on social, economic, demographic and housing characteristics. Since 2005, single-year estimates have been available every year for geographies with population of 65,000 or more. In December 2008, the Bureau released three-year estimates for geographies with populations of 20,000. The American Community Survey plans to release five-year estimates for all geographies by the end of 2010 and refresh these estimates every year thereafter. All data products from the American Community Survey can be found on the American FactFinder. Current and historical data from the American Community Survey can also be found on the this site.
The American Community Survey provides summarized data for social, economic, housing, and demographic estimates. Many of these estimates are cross tabulated by various characteristics. The summarized data products are designed to provide statistics with a level of subject and geographic detail that are sufficient for most data users. These products include tabular and narrative profiles, year-to-year comparison profiles, selected population profiles, detailed summary tables, subject tables, ranking tables by state, and geographic comparison tables.
The ACS was launched nationwide in 2005 (group quarters were added in 2006) to gather a wide range of economic, demographic, and housing information previously gathered only once-a-decade on the decennial census "long form." As a result, the 2010 census will feature only a "short form," with 10 questions covering six topics.
ABOUT THE HOUSEHOLD Is the housing unit owned or rented Telephone number How many people live in the residence? If any additional people who lived at the residence on April 1, 2010, were not included ABOUT EACH RESIDENT: Name Sex Age/date of birth Relationship to the person who owns or rents this residence Hispanic origin Race Does this person sometimes live or stay somewhere else
Friday, September 11. 20092009 World Population Data Sheet
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The Population Reference Bureau has published its 2009 World Population Data Sheet . Some of the highlights include Africa's population has just passed 1 billion and will double by 2050. Nigeria, Niger and Uganda have some of the highest growth rates in the world Nearly have the world's population lives on less than US $2per day. The largest number of the desperately poor live in Asia but Africa has the highest percentage of individuals living on US $2 per day. HIV prevalence now appears to be on the decline in Africa, but rates are still far higher than in other world regions. 26 percent of the population of Swaziland ages 15 to 49 is HIV positive. This is the highest rate in the world. The birth rate among U.S. teenagers is twice as high as the average for all developed countries. The U.S. rate is 42 births per 1,000 teenage girls (ages 15-19); the rate for all developed countries is 21 per 1,000.
The World Population Data Sheet is one of the most important information tools one can have. I recommend the old fashioned hard copy rather than using it on the internet. It is actually much faster to grab the data sheet and look at a country and to see the country in the context of its region and the world. While the sheet can be downloaded from PRB the printed copy is really the most useful. It provides an incredible amount of data on population fertility, mortality and environment for nations and regions of the world. This year they have added metric tons of c02 emissions per capita. The United States emits 19. metric tons per capita while Qatar emits 48.3 per capita. Our impact, of course is bigger. This sheet enables one to quickly find the size of country, its project population growth to 2050, the infant mortality rate, HIV rate, percent of population with HIV/AIDS and the percent of women using contraception. The beauty of the Population Data Sheet is the layout by region and country so that you can compare countries within a region and then to the world. I urge everyone interested in population growth to order one from PRB.... or at least download it via the internet. Friday, September 11. 2009UPDATE ON 2010 CENSUS
UPDATE on AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY AND 2010 CENSUS On September 22, 2009, the Census Bureau will release the 2008 one-year estimates from the American Community Survey. These data will be for congressional districts (700,000 people) and for all counties, cities and metropolitan areas with a population of 65,000 or greater. Included on the reports are income, earnings, and poverty data as well as all other ACS estimates on social, economic, demographic, and housing characteristics. This release will include data on health insurance coverage, marital history, and veterans' service-connected disability for the first time. On October 27, 2009, the Census Bureau will release the 2006-2008 ACS 3-year estimates, based on data collected from 2006-2008, for all geographic areas with populations of 20,000 or more. Included are the estimates on social, economic, demographic and housing characteristics. Since 2005, single-year estimates have been available every year for geographies with population of 65,000 or more. In December 2008, the Bureau released three-year estimates for geographies with populations of 20,000. The American Community Survey plans to release five-year estimates for all geographies by the end of 2010 and refresh these estimates every year thereafter. All data products from the American Community Survey can be found on the American FactFinder. Current and historical data from the American Community Survey can also be found on the FTP site.
The American Community Survey provides summarized data for social, economic, housing, and demographic estimates. Many of these estimates are cross tabulated by various characteristics. The summarized data products are designed to provide statistics with a level of subject and geographic detail that are sufficient for most data users. These products include tabular and narrative profiles, year-to-year comparison profiles, selected population profiles, detailed summary tables, subject tables, ranking tables by state, and geographic comparison tables.
The ACS was launched nationwide in 2005 (group quarters were added in 2006) to gather a wide range of economic, demographic, and housing information previously gathered only once-a-decade on the decennial census "long form." As a result, the 2010 census will feature only a "short form," with 10 questions covering six topics.
ABOUT THE HOUSEHOLD Is the housing unit owned or rented Telephone number How many people live in the residence? If any additional people who lived at the residence on April 1, 2010, were not included ABOUT EACH RESIDENT: Name Sex Age/date of birth Relationship to the person who owns or rents this residence Hispanic origin Race Does this person sometimes live or stay somewhere else
Thursday, September 10. 2009Life Expectancy IncreasesUS LIFE Expectancy Increases The National Center for Health Statistics announced today that life expectancy in the United States has increased. A baby born in 2007 can expect to live 77.9 years, compared with 77.7 for one born in 2006. The decline in the death rates was a major contributor to this increase in life expectancy. The most dramatic decrease in death rates was among black males who have long had the lowest life expectancy.
The 2007 increase in life expectancy - up from 77.7 in 2006 -- represents a continuation of a trend. Over a decade, life expectancy has increased 1.4 years from 76.5 years in 1997 to 77.9 in 2007. In 1955 life expectancy was 69.6 years. This report highlights the continued reduction in deaths from the three leading killers in the United States - heart disease, cancer and stroke - which is most likely due to better prevention efforts and medical advances in the treatments of these diseases. Record high life expectancy was recorded for both males and females (75.3 years and 80.4 years, respectively). While the gap between male and female life expectancy has narrowed since the peak gap of 7.8 years in 1979, the 5.1 year difference in 2007 is the same as in 2006. The most exciting news was that for the first time, life expectancy for black males reached 70 years. Since 1995 black men have had the most rapid gain in life expectancy and are narrowing the gap with white men. However, of the 35 countries in the Organization of Economically Developed Countries the United States ranked 29th in life expectancy. The countries with lower life expectancy in the OECD group were Turkey, Slovak Republic, Portugal, Poland, Mexico, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. (OECD report)
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QuicksearchArchivesFeedsPopulation Reference BureauLetters Encourage Participation in the U.S. Census
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 Disaster Risk Reduction and Adaptation in Africa Thursday, February 25, 2010 Let the Great Head Count Begin! Monday, January 25, 2010 Population Media Center (PMC) BlogGrowing Skyscrapers: The Rise of Vertical Farms
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development report Wednesday, March 10, 2010 RIGHTS: U.N. Women’s Agency Remains Politically Paralysed Tuesday, March 9, 2010 Dot Earth, Andrew Revkin, New York TimesScience Academies to Assess Climate Assessors
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 On the Causes of Climate Deadlock Tuesday, March 9, 2010 Whale Meat on the Menu, in California? Tuesday, March 9, 2010 Sustainable Population - New England Coalition for Sustainable PopulationA Parched Future
Friday, August 28, 2009 US targets population growth, urges women's power Friday, May 22, 2009 Paradise Lost: Case Study of Limited Resources and Population Expansion Tuesday, May 12, 2009 Center for Global DevelopmentCommunity Programming, the Final Frontier: Going Where No World Bank Evaluation Has Gone Before
Thursday, March 4, 2010 Death Toll from Haiti’s Earthquake in Perspective Friday, February 19, 2010 FDA Goes Global: A New Approach to Food and Drug Import Safety Friday, February 12, 2010 Population Action InternationalMotherhood, It's Complicated
Thursday, February 18, 2010 Amid Blizzards, Protests, and Lock-downs, Population Gets Stunning Moments in the Sun in Copenhagen Thursday, December 17, 2009 Let the Human Face of Climate Change Emerge in Copenhagen Monday, December 14, 2009 New ScientistThis blog's moving home!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008 How Galveston weathered the storm Monday, September 15, 2008 Palin and McCain: At odds over the environment Friday, September 12, 2008 ReutersArctic leaking methane: but since when?
Monday, March 8, 2010 Obama, politics and nuclear waste Friday, March 5, 2010 Flood drowns Taipei in cinematic wake-up call Friday, March 5, 2010 People MoveError on line 137 of /var/www/html/prcdc.org/root/blog/bundled-libs/Onyx/RSS.php: The specified file could not be opened. (#404) |
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Population Resource Center
Wednesday, November 4. 2009Friday, October 30. 2009Wednesday, October 28. 2009Tuesday, October 13. 2009Thursday, October 8. 2009 |
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QuicksearchArchivesFeedsPopulation Reference BureauLetters Encourage Participation in the U.S. Census
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 Disaster Risk Reduction and Adaptation in Africa Thursday, February 25, 2010 Let the Great Head Count Begin! Monday, January 25, 2010 Population Media Center (PMC) BlogGrowing Skyscrapers: The Rise of Vertical Farms
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development report Wednesday, March 10, 2010 RIGHTS: U.N. Women’s Agency Remains Politically Paralysed Tuesday, March 9, 2010 Dot Earth, Andrew Revkin, New York TimesScience Academies to Assess Climate Assessors
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 On the Causes of Climate Deadlock Tuesday, March 9, 2010 Whale Meat on the Menu, in California? Tuesday, March 9, 2010 Sustainable Population - New England Coalition for Sustainable PopulationA Parched Future
Friday, August 28, 2009 US targets population growth, urges women's power Friday, May 22, 2009 Paradise Lost: Case Study of Limited Resources and Population Expansion Tuesday, May 12, 2009 Center for Global DevelopmentCommunity Programming, the Final Frontier: Going Where No World Bank Evaluation Has Gone Before
Thursday, March 4, 2010 Death Toll from Haiti’s Earthquake in Perspective Friday, February 19, 2010 FDA Goes Global: A New Approach to Food and Drug Import Safety Friday, February 12, 2010 Population Action InternationalMotherhood, It's Complicated
Thursday, February 18, 2010 Amid Blizzards, Protests, and Lock-downs, Population Gets Stunning Moments in the Sun in Copenhagen Thursday, December 17, 2009 Let the Human Face of Climate Change Emerge in Copenhagen Monday, December 14, 2009 New ScientistThis blog's moving home!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008 How Galveston weathered the storm Monday, September 15, 2008 Palin and McCain: At odds over the environment Friday, September 12, 2008 ReutersArctic leaking methane: but since when?
Monday, March 8, 2010 Obama, politics and nuclear waste Friday, March 5, 2010 Flood drowns Taipei in cinematic wake-up call Friday, March 5, 2010 People MoveError on line 137 of /var/www/html/prcdc.org/root/blog/bundled-libs/Onyx/RSS.php: The specified file could not be opened. (#404) |
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