Tag: demographics

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News

US foreign-born population closes in on 37 million

From Docuticker:

“The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 36.7 million of the nation’s population (12 percent) were foreign-born, and another 33 million (11 percent) were native-born with at least one foreign-born parent in 2009, making one in five people either first or second generation U.S. residents. The second generation were more likely than the foreign born to be better educated and have higher earnings and less likely to be in poverty. In 2009, 59 percent of the native-born 25 and older with at least one foreign-born parent had some college education and 33 percent had a bachelor’s degree. That compares with 45 percent of the foreign-born who had some college and 29 percent who had a bachelor’s degree. “– Docuticker

You can read the news release from the  US Census Bureau here. Detailed tables can be found here.

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Subscription Database

Canadian Statistics: How to find them

Ever needed trustworthy statistics to back up your research?  Not surprisingly, Statistics Canada is your “go-to” source for Canadian stats, but you may not be sure where to find what you need.  The major issue for most people is deciding which of the two main databases that UBC Library subscribes to will have the information that is needed.

First, let’s look at the Census of Canada.   It aims to count the nation’s population and collects  some basic information about the inhabitants of each dwelling, such as their relationships to one another, mother tongue, marital status, gender and age. One in five households get a longer form which covers additional topics including income & earnings; immigration status; ethnic origins; and educational attainment.

Key things to know about Census data:

  • The sample is large – either 100% or 20% – so the accuracy of your data is high.
  • The data in the Census is based solely on the questions asked – if the data you need cannot be sourced from the questions on the Census, then this is not the right place to look.
  • The questions on the Census can change over time or be eliminated.  Consult the Census Dictionary for the relevant Census year to see how long the questions have been asked and whether they have changed over time.
  • Click here to see the questions asked on the 2006 Census.
  • Click here to access topic-based data from the 2006 Census

The other major database from Statistics Canada that we subscribe to is called CANSIM – the Canadian Socioeconomic Information Management Database.  It disseminates the statistics gathered by StatsCan which come from all the other surveys conducted by the agency.  You can find some links to some Census data within Cansim, but as a general rule this is where you want to go for topics not covered on the Census.

Key things to know about Cansim:

  • typically, the sample is smaller than what you’ll get from the Census
  • Cansim is available from two different providers: StatsCan itself, via its user-friendly E-Stat database or through the University of Toronto via CHASS.  E-Stat is updated once a year in July, while CHASS is updated weekly.
  • CANSIM topics include Economic Accounts, Crime & Justice, Labour, Manufacturing, Construction, Trade, Agriculture, Finance, Demographics, Health, Transportation, and Education & Training. Selected data on population estimates and vital statistics are also available.
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Online Resource (Free)

American Community Survey Data 2006 – 2008

The US Census Bureau has just released new data:

“on a wide range of socioeconomic, housing and demographic characteristics for communities across the nation, part of an ongoing statistical portrait of America.

Among dozens of topics covered in the survey are educational attainment, commute times, housing characteristics, occupation, language ability and various other social, economic and housing topics.”

The data are available from the American FactFinder website at http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DatasetMainPageServlet?_program=ACS&_submenuId=&_lang=en&_ts=

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Online Resource (Free)

All about Europe

The wonderful librarians  at Intute found two new online documents – both covering the EU.

1) Financial Management in the European Union is a report that was published by the UK House of Commons Public Accounts Committee  with the aim of assessing “the financial management and performance of the EU.  It covers efficiency, anti-fraud measures in EU accounting and future reforms required.”

Excerpts from the Conclusions and Recommendations:

  • “There remains an unacceptably high level of error in some key budget areas and consequently, for the fourteenth successive year, the European Court of Auditors has not provided a positive overall Statement of Assurance on the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions.”
  • “In 2005, we highlighted the inherent complexity of some European programmes as a major factor leading to error, but this complexity persists, as do the resultant errors.”
  • “Ongoing problems with controls over Cohesion policy expenditure are, in effect, condemning the European Union accounts to qualification for many years to come.”

Yikes! There’s loads more so if you are interested in accountability, public spending, fraud and the EU you know where to go!

2) ESF Demography Report 2008. This is a free report that is published by the European Commission every two years.  “The 2008 version reports on the aging society and changing family and households in EU countries….(and focuses on) fertility rates, life expectancy, migration, marriage and composition of households.”

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Online Resource (Free)

International Demography stats from US Census Bureau

It’s always exciting to discover a reliable source of international statistics!  The US Census bureau has a great database of demographic indicators for “countries and areas of the world with a population of 5,000 or more.”  Indicators are:

  • Birth, death, and growth rates, migration rates, infant mortality, and life expectancy
  • Fertility rates
  • Total population and population by age and sex

And, always vital when dealing with sources of international statistics – the Census Bureau evaluate national census/survey results and accurately date them to ensure consistent  data across countries.   Data is currently available in table format; after July 1, 2009 you can also generate “population pyramids!”

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