Demographics

Fertility Rate in the U.S. Reached an All-Time Low in 2024, CDC Data Reveals

There were 53.8 births per 1,000 females ages 15 to 44, a new low for the country.

Snapchat Is Trying to Make It Easier for Gen Z to Run for Political Office

Will campaigning in the future be as easy as keeping up a Snapchat streak with your 300 million closest friends? Tough to say.

We’re Not as Doomed as We Think, Ecologists Argue

It’s hard to talk to ecologists these days without drowning in doom. But a new review paper from members of the Wildlife Conservation Society suggests that amidst all the bad news, there’s still an opportunity to avert a sixth mass extinction and allow huge swaths of degraded land to recover. The trick is to make…

Why the Human Lifespan Ends at 122

The oldest human to have ever lived died at the age of 122—and that was nearly 20 years ago. A recent analysis of global demographic data suggests this may very well be the maximum age attainable by humans, and that it’s extremely unlikely anyone will ever live much beyond this advanced age. That is, unless…

Before-and-After Images Reveal Astounding Urban Growth in China

Since 1988, the population along China’s Pearl River Delta has grown by a whopping 32 million people. Now boasting a total population of 42 million, it’s the largest urban area on the planet. To put it into perspective, 42 million people is more than the population of Canada, Australia, or Argentina. Just 27 years ago,…

A Map Showing The “Most Distinctive” Causes Of Death By State

For the most part, the things that kill Americans are fairly consistent from state to state. But as this new map by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention clearly shows, not all states are equal when it comes to certain risks. Heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes are among the leading causes of…

Chinese Food On Christmas Is No Longer Solely A Jewish Tradition

This is the time of year when, for American Jews such as myself, visions of Chinese plum sauce dance in my head. It’s a trend that dates back decades—the Chinese food Christmas meal has been whimsically described as a sacred Jewish tradition. But, recent research reveals that it’s become popular among non-Jews as well. The…

Can You Guess The Drunkest Day Of 2014?

Hint: It wasn’t Superbowl Sunday. Recently, the company behind BACtrack portable breathalyzers released a report based on anonymized data collected from its users. The analysis offers some fascinating insights into patterns of alcohol consumption in the U.S. – including the days of the year when Americans were most drunk. According to the report, Americans consume…

Pretty Much Every U.S. Demographic Group Believes Torture Is Justified

The good news: For those who are worried that the nation is more divided than ever, there’s finally one contentious issue that a majority of Americans agree upon. The bad news: Most people are okay with the CIA torturing suspected terrorists. According to a new poll conducted by the Washington Post and ABC News, 58%…

​Among Millennials, Support For Obama Is Divided By Race

Several polls show that support for President Obama among the millennial generation has plummeted. Analysts have offered several reasons, including disenchantment with his healthcare initiative and declining trust in government. But one study says the actual fault-line among millennials is a familiar one: race. Depending upon which poll you read, Obama’s most recent overall approval…

Is This the Single Most Important Statistic About Millennials?

The U.S. Council of Economic Advisers just released a fascinating report about Millennials, packed with statistics about their demographics and economic prospects. It charts a lot of differences between Gen X and Millennials, but there’s one statistic that reveals a true generation gap. What you can see in this simple pie chart comparison, above, is…

Life expectancy in the U.S. has never been higher. Americans born in 2012 can expect to live for 78.8 years (up 0.1 from 2011). But the gender gap hasn’t changed; life expectancy for men is 76.4 years and 81.2 for women. From 2011-12, death rates declined for 8 of 10 leading causes, but suicides increased…

Are Millennials Compatible With U.S. Military Culture?

An editorial in a magazine published by the U.S. Naval Institute grouses about the behavior of Millennials: their constant texting ignores the chain of command and they’re way too laid back to serve in the military. A Millennial naval officer has responded online—and he blew those complaints out of the water. The opening salvo in…

Did China’s one-child policy actually reduce population growth?

China made huge headlines late last month when it decided to ease its famous “one-child policy” after more than three decades. The policy, requring most couples to have only one child, stands as one of the most famous social experiments of the past century. But how successful was it? Top image: Adrian Zwegers/Flickr. A lot…

These maps show U.S. migration patterns for the past six decades

Millions of Americans move to different counties each year. Tracking who is moving and where they’re going can be difficult to quantify and visualize, but these gloriously detailed interactive maps from the University of Wisconsin manage the task with ease. Top map: Total Net Migration Rate during the 2000s. Legend for all maps: Quite incredibly,…

Counting the Dead: 92,901 Killed In Syrian Uprising

Syria’s violent crackdown on the uprising has already claimed 92,901 lives, and that very specific number was reached by human rights groups collecting the actual names of those killed from family and friends in Syria since fighting began two years ago. Still, analysts admit the real number is much higher.

Porn Star Demographics, Visualized

Jon Millward deosn’t watch porn like the average man: instead, he sees it as a heaving data set to analyze and graph. No, really. That’s why he’s visualized porn star demographics to work out what the typical, ahem, actress look like. Having scraped the Internet Adult Film Database for physical attributes—hair color, race, sizes, and…

The Unintended Consequences Of China’s One-child Policy

It has been 34 years since the People’s Republic of China introduced their one-child policy, a population control measure that restricts the reproductive practices of married couples. But as the Chinese government continues to proclaim the policy as being a tremendous success, the one-child rule has also introduced a slew of unforeseen problems, ranging from…

A Few Requests, Now That Ladies Are Tech’s New Target Demographic

A few requests, tech world, now that I know I’m your target demographic: • Please, no more pink phones/camera/power tools • Let’s cool it with the sexist ads • Credit where credit is due • If they’re the new target demo, there’s even less reason not to have more women in executive positions • No…

What was the world’s population when you were born?

The Guardian is currently featuring a great interactive applet that pumps out population metrics (including the total number of Earth’s human residents) for the year you were born. The app really throws humanity’s explosive population growth (which is set to break the 7-billion-person mark this month) into perspective — even if it doesn’t work for…