census

Official count of the population of a country, originally for military call-up and taxation, later for assessment of social trends as other information regarding age, sex, and occupation of each individual was included. The data collected are used by government departments in planning for the future in such areas as health, education, transport, and housing.

The first US census was taken in 1790.

In a special millennium edition of its annual Statistical Abstract of the United States the Census Bureau compared statistics of 1900 with 1999. Among its findings, it reported: there were 3 million people aged 65 or over compared with more than 34 million today; the population of New York has increased from 3.4 million to 7.4 million; the number of married working women has increased by more than 40 times; life expectancy has increased from 46 to 74 years for men, and from 48 to 79 years for women.

US population predictions for 2100 were released at the start of 2000. The Census Bureau predicted that the percentage of whites will decline from 72% to 40%, while the numbers of minorities will increase; Hispanics from 12% to 33%, Asians from 4% to 13%, and blacks will remain at 13%. The US population could, it was claimed, more than double to 571 million.

US census 2000 The US census for 2000 was conducted online so that the relevant forms could be accessed by computer by the approximately 100 million households who received it. However, the Census Bureau requested that the completed forms be posted back on paper, claiming this would enable them to do additional tests on the new Internet site, which was supposed to be completely confidential and secure.

The 2000 US Census figures, released on 28 December 2000, gave the US population as 281,420,906 people, an increase of 13.2% since the last census in 1990. The fastest growing states were Nevada, up 66.3% and Arizona, with a 40% increase. The white population rose by 5.3% from 1990, to 198.2 million (69% of the total US population); the Asian population rose by 74.3%, to 11.5 million; the Hispanic population increased 57.9% to 35.3 million; and the black population increased 21.1% to 35.4 million.

The annual geographical mobility report, released on 12 July, said that between March 1998 and March 1999, about 70,000 more US citizens moved out of small towns and rural areas than moved into them, the first time this has happened in seven years. Experts believe that the shift has been caused by the good US economy that has created additional jobs in cities.

Figures released in September 2000 indicated that the annual income of an average US household reached a record high of $40,816 in 1999. This represented a rise that exceeded inflation for the fifth consecutive year. The poverty rate fell for the third consecutive year, from 12.7% in 1998 to 11.8% in 1999.