Last week, the U.S. Census released its 2007 Statistical Abstract of the United States. A press release offers some highlights, including:
Our armed forces are smaller: Active-duty strength in 2005 included 493,000 in the Army, 354,000 in the Air Force, 363,000 in the Navy and 180,000 Marines. The nearly 1.4 million men and women in uniform compares to 3 million-plus members in 1970.
Federal employees are fewer as well: There was an overall 13.4% drop in civilian employees of the federal government from 1990 to 2005.
We drink more bottled water: Americans drank 23.2 gallons of bottled water per capita in 2004, compared to 2.7 gallons per capita in 1980.
An increasing number of students are "straight-A": Nearly half (47 percent) of college freshmen enrolled in 2005 had earned an average grade of A in high school, compared to only 20 percent in 1970.