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Nuts about numbers? Census Bureau can cure the craving

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, January 23, 2002

Associated Press

WASHINGTON —On sale starting today is the latest edition of the Census Bureau’s Statistical Abstract of the United States — a 1,000-page book light on words but chock-full of numbers on who we are, and how we live.

For starters:

  • Americans consumed 76 billion pounds of red meat and poultry in 2000, up 21 percent from 1990.

  • Deaths in alcohol-related crashes are down from about half of all accidents in 1990 to two out of five a decade later.

  • Nearly 110 million people use cell phones, up from 5 million.

    "One hundred and ten million cell phone users? I’m not surprised," medical student Smitha Philip said as she clutched a cell phone in her hand while waiting for a friend. "I’m not too dependent on mine, but I know a lot of friends who cannot live without it."

    The 121st edition of the abstract features more than 1,400 tables and charts, including updated population counts from the 2000 census.

    Call it the federal government’s version of the World Almanac, said Glenn King, chief of the Census Bureau’s statistical compendia branch.

    "It’s sort of like our official record keeper," King said. Not only does the book compile government figures, but it takes data from trade associations and other groups as well on topics that the bureau does not track, such as religion.

    Other tidbits:

  • Birth rates for teens 15 to 19 fell to an all-time low in 1999, at about 50 births per 1,000. That was 20 percent lower than the peak reported in 1991.

  • Per capita consumption of sweeteners like sugar, syrups and honey increased from 137 pounds in 1990 to 158 pounds in 1999.

  • The average monthly cell phone bill declined over the decade from $81 to $45.

  • 42 percent of U.S. households had Internet access in 2000, up from 26 percent just two years earlier.

    But the numbers themselves can only say so much about whether quality of life of Americans has improved, medical researcher Mike Hammett said as he took a break from work.

    The Sept. 11 attacks, the anthrax scare and the flailing economy weigh on people’s minds, Hammett said as he smoked a cigarette. "I don’t think the quality of life is as good as it was 10 years ago, considering all the problems we’ve had lately."

    Copyright ©2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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