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     Did you know that Raleigh, N.C. had the highest rate of population growth in the last decade of any large metropolitan area?

     Metropolitan population growth is just one of more than a thousand topics addressed in the U.S. Census Bureau's Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2011. The Abstract is perennially the federal government's best-selling reference book. When it was first published in 1878, the nation had only 38 states, people usually got around using a horse and buggy, Miami and Las Vegas did not yet exist, and Franklin D. Roosevelt had yet to be born. The Abstract has been published nearly every year since then.

    Contained in the 130th edition are 1,407 tables of social, political and economic facts that collectively describe the state of our nation and the world. Included this year are 65 new tables, covering topics such as insufficient rest or sleep, nursing home occupancy, homeschooling, earthquakes, U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions, organic farmland, honey bee colonies, crashes involving distracted drivers and cities with the highest transit savings.

    The statistics come not only from the Census Bureau but also from other governmental agencies and private organizations. The data generally represent the most recent year or period available by summer 2010. Most are national-level data, but some tables present state- and even city- and metropolitan-level data as well.

    Other highlights (for the U.S. unless otherwise indicated) include:

Carolina in My Mind

• Among the nation's 50 largest metro areas in 2009, Raleigh-Cary, N.C., had the highest rate of population increase between 2000 and 2009, with its population climbing 41 percent. Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., with a 38 percent increase, followed. (Table 21).

Heading to the Polls

• In the 2008 presidential election, 58 percent of the voting-age population nationwide reported casting a ballot. In a couple of states along our border with Canada — Minnesota and Maine — the rate topped 70 percent. (Table 417).

The Trek to Work

• Nationally, 76 percent of workers 16 and older drove alone to work in 2008, with 11 percent carpooling and 5 percent using public transportation. In New York, however, the distribution was far different: 54 percent drove solo, with 27 percent utilizing public transportation and 8 percent carpooling. (Table 1099).

Young and Old Countries

• Of all the countries with total populations of 13 million or more in 2010, Uganda and Niger had the highest percentage of population younger than 15 years old (about 50.0 percent), followed by Mali (47.5 percent) and Zambia (46.7 percent). Conversely, Japan had the highest percentage of population 65 and older (22.6 percent), followed by Germany with 20.4 percent, and Italy with 20.3 percent. In comparison, 20.1 percent of the U.S. population was younger than 15 and 13.0 percent was 65 or older. (Table 1333).

    Every edition of the Statistical Abstract dating back to 1878 is available in PDF or zip files on the Census Bureau's website at <http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/>.

    Printed copies of the 2011 Statistical Abstract may be obtained by calling the U.S. Government Printing Office at 202-512-1800 (ISBN No. 978-0-16-086681-4, $39 for the soft cover edition; and No. 978-0-16-086682-1, $43 for the hard cover edition <http://bookstore.gpo.gov/>).

    Copies are also available by calling the National Technical Information Service at 800-363-2068 or 703-605-6060 (PB2010965301, $43 for the hard cover edition <http://www.ntis.gov/products/statabs.aspx>).

    A CD-ROM version of the Abstract will be available at a later date.