World Statistics Day: Oct. 20

The United Nations General Assembly designated Oct. 20, 2010, as the first-ever World Statistics Day to highlight the role of official statistics and the many achievements of national statistical systems. Statistical organizations throughout the world will celebrate World Statistics Day at the national and regional level. The census, the U.S. Census Bureau and 13 other principal federal statistical agencies together have been collecting statistics about the nation’s people, economy and society since 1790.

Stats for Kids

74.5 million

The number of children under 18 in the U.S. in 2009.
Source: 2009 population estimates http://www.census.gov/popest/national/asrh/natasrh.html>

84 percent

Percent of children who ate dinner with a parent five or more times per week in 2006.
Source: A Child’s Day: 2006 http://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/p70-118.pdf>

70 percent

The percent of children under 18 who lived with both parents in 2009.
Source: America’s Families and Living Arrangements http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hh-fam.html>

59 percent

The percent of children ages 6 to 11 who were highly engaged in school in 2006. The index for measuring a child’s engagement in school is based on whether a child is interested in schoolwork, whether a child works hard in school and whether the child likes school.
Source: A Child’s Day: 2006 http://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/p70-118.pdf>

56 percent

Percent of children who are subject to family television rules, such as limiting what programs they may watch, what times they may watch and how many hours they may watch television.
Source: A Child’s Day: 2006 http://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/p70-118.pdf>

42 percent

Percent of children ages 6 to 17 who participated in sports in 2006.
Source: A Child’s Day: 2006 http://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/p70-118.pdf>

33 percent

Percent of children ages 6 to 17 who participated in extracurricular clubs in 2006.
Source: A Child’s Day: 2006 http://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/p70-118.pdf>

5.3 million

Estimated number of “stay-at-home” parents in 2009 in the United States: 5.1 million mothers and 158,000 fathers.
Source: America’s Families and Living Arrangements http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hh-fam.html>

Stats for Everyone

310 million*

Estimated current U.S. population. We reached 300 million in 2006, 200 million in 1967 and 100 million in 1915. When our nation achieved independence in 1776, we had a population of only 2.5 million. *National and state population counts from 2010 Census data will be released by Dec. 31, 2010.
Source: U.S. and World Population Clocks http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html>

155.6 million

The number of women in the U.S. in 2009. Overall, the U.S. had more women than men (151.4 million). In a few states, however, men outnumbered women, such as Alaska where there were 362,000 men and 336,000 women.
Source: 2009 Population Estimates http://www.census.gov/popest/states/asrh/> and http://www.census.gov/popest/national/asrh/>

36.9 million

The number of U.S. residents who claimed Irish ancestry in 2009, which was eight times the population of Ireland itself (4.5 million).
Source: 2009 American Community Survey http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-ds_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_&-_lang=en&-_caller=geoselect&-state=dt&-format=&-mt_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G2000_B04006> Ireland Central Statistics Office http://www.cso.ie/releasespublications/documents/population/current/popmig.pdf>

70,490

The estimated number of centenarians (100 years old or more) in the U.S. in 2009. Projections indicate that in 2050, the number will be more than 600,000.
Source: 2009 Population Estimates http://www.census.gov/popest/national/asrh/2009-nat-res.html> Projections http://www.census.gov/population/www/projections/downloadablefiles.html>

58 percent

The percent of female advanced degree holders among ages 25 to 29 in 2009.
Source: Current Population Survey: 2009 Educational Attainment http://www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/education/>

85 percent

The percent of people 25 or older who held at least a high school degree in 2009.
Source: 2009 American Community Survey http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/STTable?_bm=y&-qr_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_S1501&-geo_id=01000US&-ds_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_&-_lang=en&-format=&-CONTEXT=st>

28 percent

The percent of people 25 or older who held at least a bachelor’s degree in 2009.
Source: 2009 American Community Survey http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/STTable?_bm=y&-qr_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_S1501&-geo_id=01000US&-ds_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_&-_lang=en&-format=&-CONTEXT=st>

28 percent

The percent of householders who rated their homes a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10 in 2009.
Source: 2009 American Housing Survey http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/ahs/ahs.html>

25.1 minutes

The national mean travel time to work in 2009.
Source: 2009 American Community Survey http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/STTable?_bm=y&-qr_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_S0801&-geo_id=01000US&-ds_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_&-_lang=en&-format=&-CONTEXT=st>

24.3 pounds

Per capita candy consumption in 2009.
Source: Current Industrial Reports, Confectionery: 2009 http://www.census.gov/manufacturing/cir/historical_data/ma311d/index.html>

Statistical Agencies

230

The U.S. Census Bureau website includes links to more than 200 international statistical agencies. Visit them by clicking the link below.
Source: http://www.census.gov/aboutus/stat_int.html>

14

Number of U.S. principal statistical agencies. They are the Bureau of Economic Analysis; Bureau of Justice Statistics; Bureau of Labor Statistics; Bureau of Transportation Statistics; U.S. Census Bureau; Economic Research Service; Energy Information Administration; National Agricultural Statistics Service; National Center for Education Statistics; National Center for Health Statistics; Office of Environmental Information; Social Security Administration Office of Research Evaluation and Statistics; National Science Foundation: Science Resources Statistics; and the Internal Revenue Service’s Statistics of Income Division.
Source: Office of Management and Budget Statistical Programs of the United States Government http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/information_and_regulatory_affairs/10statprog.pdf>

Statisticians

29,208

Number of statisticians employed in the United States in 2009.
Source: 2009 American Community Survey http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-ds_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_&-_lang=en&-_caller=geoselect&-state=dt&-format=&-mt_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G2000_B24124>

20 percent

Percent of statisticians employed by the federal government, with most of them concentrated in the Departments of Commerce, Agriculture, and Health and Human Services in 2008. Another 10 percent worked for state and local governments.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos045.htm>

13 percent

Projected growth of employment of statisticians from 2008 to 2018.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos045.htm>

$72,820

Median annual wage for statisticians in May 2009.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes152041.htm#nat>