United States Population

A breaching whale on the sea of American demographics, the baby boom generation shocked its elders early on. They rocked out with Elvis, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. As teen-agers and young adults, they turned to civil rights, the women's movement and anti-war protests, launching an entire fashion industry of rainbow-hued hippie clothes in the process.

Pundits spew bitter screeds about its horrors and folkies ululate about its heartbreak in songs, but how much do you really know about the human species' eternal, often unsettling movement about the globe? * 1. What is the estimated number of illegal immigrants in the United States? a) 800,000 b) 1.4 million c) 5.6 million d) More than 10 million * 2. Rank countries from which immigrants have come to the United States illegally, from most to least: Colombia El Salvador Mexico Guatemala * 3.

Pundits spew bitter screeds about its horrors and folkies ululate about its heartbreak in songs, but how much do you really know about the human species' eternal, often unsettling movement about the globe? * 1. What is the estimated number of illegal immigrants in the United States? a) 800,000 b) 1.4 million c) 5.6 million d) More than 10 million * 2. Rank countries from which immigrants have come to the United States illegally, from most to least: Colombia El Salvador Mexico Guatemala * 3.

For all the talk of the graying American population, the United States places only 32nd among nations ranked according to the percentage of their population that is 65 and older, according to a government report. By this measure, Italy is the oldest country in the world, with 18% of its population having celebrated their 65th birthday. The United States, at 12.6%, is younger than Japan, virtually all of Europe and even Uruguay.

The 1990 census, already fraught with controversy, may have failed to count as many as 4.7 million U.S. residents, a major discrepancy between final population totals released this week and Census Bureau estimates issued last October. The margin of difference could change as Census Bureau officials revise their estimates.

From the Forty-Niners of the Gold Rush to the Depression-era farm workers of John Steinbeck's novels, California has seen most of the nation's great migratory races from the finish line. But a new Census Bureau report shows that, as American migration slows from a run to a crawl, more people are moving out of the Golden State than are moving in.

In a blow to California and other states with large immigrant populations, the Senate voted Friday to bar the Census Bureau from counting illegal aliens in the 1990 population count. "I'm stunned," said Santa Ana City Council member Miguel A. Pulido. Pulido and other Santa Ana council members say that the 1980 census substantially under-counted its population at 215,000. The city has been lobbying hard to have its illegal alien population--estimated at 50,000--included in the 1990 count.

Back in what some think were the good old days, Henry Ford ran his company's English Melting Pot School. Graduation was a public spectacle in which the auto maker's foreign-born employees, dressed in Old World costumes and carrying signs noting their birthplace, marched into a large, kettle-shaped prop labeled "Melting Pot." Moments later, they would emerge dressed in neat business suits and waving small American flags. America, circa 1916.

In a departure from its usual fare of public lands, pollution and endangered species, the Sierra Club is about to enter a potentially divisive debate about immigration, the outcome of which could alter the way people think and talk about the issue. Members of America's largest and most prestigious environmental organization will vote in March whether to reverse the club's neutral policy and endorse a drastic reduction in immigration as a way to slow U.S. population growth.

There is a new--and ominous--face on America's expanding homeless population: Families with young children have become the fastest-growing segment of the population now living on the nation's streets. A 1990 survey of 30 American cities by the U.S. Conference of Mayors shows that families with youngsters now represent at least one-third of the homeless population--up from a relative handful a decade before. In Los Angeles; New York; Louisville, Ky.; Alexandria, Va.

Newly released 2000 census data depict several of California's largest Latino groups as shrinking in the 1990s, an unexpected, improbable result that has community agencies complaining and demographers concerned. Some experts attribute it to a simple change in the census form. Others believe it is a consequence of an evolving pan-Latino consciousness that discourages people from retaining strong national identities.

From the moment segregation in America had a name, it has referred to the separateness of blacks and whites. But during the last decade, while blacks were making some progress in residential integration, Latinos and Asians became more isolated from other racial groups in the vast majority of the nation's large metropolitan areas, from Chicago's red-bricked grid to Phoenix's beige sprawl, a Times analysis of 2000 census data shows.

With shouts of "Arriba!" whistles and thunderous applause, Los Angeles mayoral candidate Antonio Villaraigosa was greeted like a conquering hero at a gathering of Latino officials this week. Though Villaraigosa lost the race, Latino officials, buoyed by census data showing their growing numbers, believe that victory--greater political power--is inevitable. Census findings show that there were 35.3 million Latinos in the United States in 2000, or about 12.5% of the population.

After 10 years of waiting for new census data and three months of analyzing it, the nation's demographics experts are sharply divided on whether segregation of blacks eased in the 1990s. Three main factions have emerged, offering up the same numbers as proof that (1) integration reached historic levels, (2) integration stalled or (3) what looks like new integration is a temporary mirage. On their debate turns a fundamental notion of American progress.

It is a familiar message, echoed on television, in Census Bureau reports and in the conventional wisdom of our culture: The two-parent family is in decline. But is it? Some of the newest evidence suggests that the tidal flow away from two-parent families peaked years ago and may even be starting to change course. And the strongest hints of a change in behavior are emerging from low-income and minority communities, groups that have paid the greatest price for the family breakdown since the 1960s.

The oldest of America's old are undergoing a population boom and--thanks to a combination of improved medication, better health care, more exercise and more education--are enjoying their waning years in remarkably good health. The number of Americans 85 and older surged 37% during the 1990s, when the nation's total population rose just 13%, according to Census Bureau figures being issued today.

With the release of the Census Bureau's preliminary 1990 population count, Democrats feel the electoral noose tightening around their necks. Although the numbers could still change in the final tally, the figures show a clear trend away from the Northeast and Midwest and toward the South and West. And that points to more difficulty for the Democrats.

19 congressional seats will change hands, with eight states gaining and 13 states losing representatives. Here's where the battles will be most intense over redrawing of district lines: CALIFORNIA: Republicans, still smarting from the congressional redistricting imposed by Democrats 10 years ago, are positioned to do better with Pete Wilson holding the governorship. Democrats still control the Legislature but are unlikely to match their gain of six U.S. House seats after the 1980 census.

Newcomers from the Indian subcontinent shifted the balance of the nation's Asian population in the 1990s, as intermarriage and lower birth rates shrank the Japanese American community, new 2000 census data show. The population of Asians overall grew by a robust 48% in the decade, dispersing into previously unfamiliar regions and outpacing all racial and ethnic groups except Latinos. Within the sprawling, heterogenous Asian category, however, all members did not fare equally.

Most Americans have heard about California's unique population situation--where ethnic and racial minorities make up a majority of the state's residents--and they generally think it is a good thing for the country, a new survey shows. In a poll of 1,202 adults, the Pew Research Center found that about two-thirds of Americans are aware that blacks, Latinos and people of Asian descent have made California the first "minority-majority" state.