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Census Bureau Publishes Compendium for Millennium
1999 Statistical Abstract Highlights 20th Century Changes
Over the past 100 years, the nation's population nearly quadrupled, the
number of divorced people grew nearly a hundredfold, the number of married
women in the workforce increased more than 40 times, motor vehicles moved
from a novelty to a necessity and the air we breathe became nearly 10
times more polluted, according to the 1999 Statistical Abstract of the United
States released today by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau.
From 1900 to 1998, the new Abstract reports, the country's resident
population grew from 76 million to 270 million; the currently divorced
population jumped from less than 200,000 to 19.4 million; married women in
the workforce rose from less than 800,000 to 33.9 million; gasoline-
fueled vehicles climbed from 8,000 to 208 million (1997); and nitrogen
dioxide emissions soared from 2.6 million tons to 23.6 million tons
(1997).
"To date, the 20th century has to be the most dynamic in our history,
and these statistics paint a picture of rapid and massive change," said
Kenneth Prewitt, director of the Census Bureau, whose agency publishes the
compendium, now in its 119th edition. "The Statistical Abstract traces
this century of change by the numbers, and some of the numbers are truly
amazing."
Highlights:
Population
More than 10 times as many Americans were 65 and over in 1997 (34
million) than in 1900 (3 million).
In 1900, 60 percent of the people lived in rural areas and 40 percent
lived in urban areas. In 1990, only 25 percent lived in rural areas,
with 75 percent in urban areas.
In 1998, the population of Florida (14.9 million) was 28 times larger
than in 1900 (530,000). California (32.7 million) was 22 times larger
than in 1900 (1.5 million).
Between 1901 and 1910, 2 million immigrants came from Italy and
50,000 from Mexico. Between 1991 and 1997, 1.8 million came from
Mexico and 54,000 from Italy.
The number of foreign-born residents in the United States grew from
10.3 million in 1900 to 25.8 million in 1997.
The average household in 1900 had 4.8 people, and in 1998 it was 2.6
people.
Education
In 1900, about 1 in 10 (11 percent) of all 14- to 17-year-olds were
enrolled in high school; in 1997, more than 9 in 10 (93 percent) were
in grades 9-12.
In 1900, about 95,000 people graduated from high school and
28,700 earned bachelor's degrees. In 1997, 2.7 million people
received high school diplomas and 1.2 million were awarded bachelor's
degrees.
Health and Mortality
Life expectancy increased from 46 years for men and 48 for women
(based on data for 10 states) in 1900 to 74 years for men and 79 for
women in 1997.
Death rates were cut in half, from 17.2 people per 1,000 population
in 1900 (based on data for 10 states) to 8.6 deaths per 1,000 in
1997.
Influenza and pneumonia killed 202 out of every 100,000 persons in
1900 (based on data for 10 states); by 1997, the rate had fallen to
33.
Transportation and Communication
The first sustained powered airplane carried two passengers on Dec.
17, 1903, when Orville and Wilbur Wright flew 120 feet in 12 seconds
at Kitty Hawk, N.C. In 1998, commercial airlines carried 614 million
passengers.
There were 36 highway traffic fatalities in 1900 compared with
41,967 in 1997.
The 1920 census (first available data) showed that 35 percent of
households had telephone service. This reached 94 percent in 1997.
In 1930 (again, first time data collected), 4 in 10 households had a
radio. Since 1970, nearly all households had at least one radio.
Government
The U.S. government had $567 million in receipts in 1900. In 1999,
the government took in $1.7 trillion.
National defense and veteran expenditures were about $300 million in
1900 and $307 billion in 1998.
The largest budget deficit of the 20th century was $290.4 billion in
fiscal year 1992; the $9.5 billion surplus of 1999 was second only
to the $11.8 billion surplus in 1948.
Presidents receiving the highest percentage of popular votes in the
20th century were Lyndon Johnson (61.1 percent in 1964), Franklin
Roosevelt (60.8 percent in 1936) and Richard Nixon (60.7 percent in
1972).
The Economy and Agriculture
Standard and Poor's 500 composite stock index for 1900 was 6.2, rose
to 26.0 for 1929, fell to 9.0 for 1933, and was at 1,085.5 for 1998.
With $1 (in terms of 1982-84 dollars), an American could buy $10.08
worth of consumer goods in 1913, compared with 60 cents worth in
1998.
In 1900, there were 5.7 million farms encompassing 841 million acres;
in 1998 there were 2.2 million farms covering 954 million acres.
The average farm was 147 acres in 1900 and 435 acres in 1998.
While nearly one-third of the 120 new tables in the Statistical Abstract
feature 20th century statistics, other additions range from topics such as
cigarette smoking by sex and state, to data on why people hold more than
one job.
The 1999 Statistical Abstract is available from the U.S. Government
Printing Office (Stock No. 003-024-08841-0, $39 for the softbound cover
and 003-024-08842-8, $46 for the hardbound) by calling 202-512-1800.
It is also available from the National Technical Information Service
(Stock No. PB99-965801, $34 for the softbound cover and PB99-965301, $41
for the hardbound) by calling 1-800-553-6847.
A CD-ROM version of the book will be available later.
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