The number of cell phone subscribers in the United States reached approximately 159 million in 2003, up from 34 million in 1995, according to the latest edition of the national data book released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

     The 1,000-plus-page Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2004-2005, published since 1878, introduces 68 new tables covering topics such as enrollment and teachers for the largest public school districts; asset ownership rates for households; and transit ridership in the 50 largest urbanized areas. Altogether, the new edition has nearly 1,400 tables and charts with statistics from the most recent year or period available.

     Highlights include:

     Health of the Nation

• Drugs and drug sundries accounted for the highest proportion (35 percent) of the nearly $320 billion in U.S. merchant wholesale electronic commerce sales in 2002.
• In 2002, 58 percent of persons age 18 and older were above a healthy weight, and 23 percent were considered to be obese.

     Commerce

• The average cell phone call in 2003 lasted 2.87 minutes, and the average monthly bill was $49.91.
• In 2003, manufacturers’ shipments of music recordings fell to 798 million, down from 1.1 billion in 2000. The value of these shipments was $11.9 billion in 2003, down from $14.3 billion in 2000.
• In 2003, 6.1 million existing one-family homes were sold at a median price of $170,000. The highest median price was in the West at $234,200.

     Jobs and Education

• The fastest-growing jobs between now and 2012 are expected to be medical assistants (an employment increase of 59 percent) and network systems and data communications analysts (57 percent increase). In terms of numbers,
  projections indicate registered nurses will experience the largest job growth, with a jump from 2.3 million in 2002 to 2.9 million in 2012 (a 27 percent increase).
• More than 28 million children participated in the National School Lunch Program in 2003, which served around 2.3 billion free lunches and 453 million reduced-price lunches.
• In 2002, 39,955 doctoral degrees were conferred. Among those with known citizenship, 74 percent of these degrees were awarded to U.S. citizens; 26 percent went to citizens of another country.
• Between 1998 and 2002, the number of higher education enrollments in foreign languages increased by 17 percent, from 1.2 million to 1.4 million. The largest percentage increases were in American Sign Language (from 11,400 to 60,800 students or 433 percent) and Arabic (from 5,500 to 10,600 students or 93 percent).

     Coming to America

• For the year ending Sept. 30, 2002, almost 1.1 million immigrants were admitted to the United States. The three leading countries from which they came were Mexico (219,380), India (71,105) and China (61,282).
• The number of foreign travelers to the United States dropped from a high of 50.9 million in 2000 to 41.9 million in 2002. Travelers from the United States showed a similar trend: 60.9 million Americans traveled abroad in 2000 and 56.4 million in 2002.

     A New Low

• The rate at which teenagers gave birth reached another historic low in 2002, dropping 5 percent from 2001 to 43.0 births per 1,000 women ages 15 to 19.

     A New High

• The 108th Congress featured 59 women in the House of Representatives and 14 in the Senate. Twenty years ago, in the 98th Congress, there were 21 women in the House and two in the Senate.

     And Just Plain High on the Hog

• Iowa, North Carolina and Minnesota accounted for more than half of the total U.S. hog production in 2003, which was 26.3 billion pounds. Iowa produced 6.8 billion pounds, North Carolina 3.8 billion pounds and Minnesota 3.0 billion.

     The 2004-2005 Statistical Abstract may be obtained by calling the U.S. Government Printing Office on (202) 512-1800 (ISBN No. 003-024-09055-4, $35 for the softbound edition; and No. 003-024-09056-2, $39 for the hardbound edition <http://bookstore.gpo.gov/>).

     It also may be obtained by calling the National Technical Information Service on (800) 553-6847 (PB2005965801, $35 for the softbound edition; and PB2005965301, $39 for the hardbound edition <http://www.ntis.gov/>).

     A CD-ROM version of the book will be available later.

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