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Populations

Population Items

2018 and newer

Trends in Correctional Control by Race and Sex

American prison populations have long been characterized by racial and ethnic disparities. U.S. Census Bureau data on incarcerated persons from 1870 through 1980 show that black incarceration rates ranged from three to nine times those of whites, depending upon the decade and region of the country. According to Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) reports over the past 40 years, black imprisonment rates ranged from about six to about eight times those of whites.

Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2020

Can it really be true that most people in jail are being held before trial? And how much of mass incarceration is a result of the war on drugs? These questions are harder to answer than you might think, because our country’s systems of confinement are so fragmented. The various government agencies involved in the justice system collect a lot of critical data, but it is not designed to help policymakers or the public understand what’s going on.

Correctional Populations in the United States, 2017-2018

This report is the 23rd in a series that began in 1985. It provides statistics on populations supervised by adult correctional systems in the United States, including persons held in prisons or jails and those supervised in the community on probation or parole. It provides statistics on the size of the correctional populations at year-end 2017 and year-end 2018, and changes in populations over time.

Highlights

2020 Census Apportionment Results

Apportionment is the process of dividing the 435 memberships, or seats, in the U.S. House of Representatives among the 50 states. At the conclusion of each decennial census, the results are used to calculate the number of seats to which each state is entitled. Each of the 50 states is entitled to a minimum of one seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Quick Facts on Native American Offenders

This information sheet offers a number of quick facts about Native American offenders in the United States.

Jail Inmates in 2018

This report is the 32nd in a series that began in 1982. It provides statistics based on BJS's Annual Survey of Jails and Census of Jail Inmates. It describes the number of inmates held in local jails, jail incarceration rates, demographic characteristics of jail inmates, number of admissions to jail, jail capacity, inmate turnover rates, and staff employed in local jails.

Highlights

U.S. and World Population Clock

The U.S. population clock is based on a series of short-term projections for the resident population of the United States. This includes people whose usual residence is in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. These projections do not include members of the Armed Forces overseas, their dependents, or other U.S. citizens residing outside the United States.

The projections are based on a monthly series of population estimates starting with the April 1, 2010 resident population from the 2010 Census.

Probation and Parole in the United States, 2017-2018

This report is the 27th in a series that began in 1980. It provides national data on the adult population on probation or parole in 2017 and 2018. It describes trends in the overall community-supervision population and annual changes in probation and parole populations.

Highlights

Prisoners in 2019

This report is the 94th in a series that began in 1926. It provides counts of prisoners under the jurisdiction of state and federal correctional authorities in 2019 and includes findings on admissions, releases, and imprisonment rates. It describes demographic and offense characteristics of state and federal prisoners.

Highlights

Quick Facts on Illegal Reentry Offenses

This information sheet offers a number of quick facts about Illegal Reentry offenders in the United States.

The World Factbook

This entry gives an estimate from the US Bureau of the Census based on statistics from population censuses, vital statistics registration systems, or sample surveys pertaining to the recent past and on assumptions about future trends. The total population presents one overall measure of the potential impact of the country on the world and within its region. Note: Starting with the 1993 Factbook, demographic estimates for some countries (mostly African) have explicitly taken into account the effects of the growing impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Demographic Turning Points for the United States: Population Projections for 2020 to 2060

The year 2030 marks a demographic turning point for the United States. Beginning that year, all baby boomers will be older than 65 years of age. This will expand the size of the older population so that one in every five Americans is projected to be of retirement age. Later that decade, by 2034, we project that older adults will outnumber children for the first time in U.S. history. The year 2030 marks another demographic first for the United States.

Worldometers - World population clock

The chart illustrates how world population has changed throughout history. View the full tabulated data.

At the dawn of agriculture, about 8000 B.C., the population of the world was approximately 5 million. Over the 8,000-year period up to 1 A.D. it grew to 200 million (some estimate 300 million or even 600, suggesting how imprecise population estimates of early historical periods can be), with a growth rate of under 0.05% per year.

The 2020 Census: Our Growing Nation

Today the U.S. Census Bureau is releasing results from the 2020 Census, marking the 24th time the nation’s population has been counted since the first census in 1790, when there were just 3.9 million people living in the United States.

The first census helped build the foundation of our democracy, and the census continues to be a cornerstone for our growing nation.

According to the 2020 Census, there were 331,449,281 people living in the United States as of April 1, 2020, which represents a growth of 7.4% since 2010. In the last 100 years, our nation has tripled in size.

<p>Under Trump, The Federal Prison Population Continued Its Recent Decline

The federal prison population, which declined for the first time in decades under President Barack Obama, fell further during the administration of President Donald Trump.

The number of federal prisoners sentenced to more than a year behind bars decreased by 5% (or 7,607 inmates) between 2017, Trump’s first year in office, and the end of 2019, the most recent year for which final data is available from the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Black Imprisonment Rate In the U.S. Has Fallen By a Third Since 2006

The nation’s imprisonment rate is at its lowest level in more than two decades. The greatest decline has come among black Americans, whose imprisonment rate has decreased 34% since 2006.

Key Findings About U.S. Immigrants

The United States has more immigrants than any other country in the world. Today, more than 40 million people living in the U.S. were born in another country, accounting for about one-fifth of the world’s migrants. The population of immigrants is also very diverse, with just about every country in the world represented among U.S. immigrants.

Global population as of mid-2020, by age

The statistic shows the global population as of mid-2020, sorted by age. In mid-2020, approximately 23.7 percent of the global population were aged between 10 and 24 years.

World Population Ageing 2020 Highlights: Living arrangements of older persons

The world continues to experience an unprecedented and sustained change in the age structure of the global population, driven by increasing levels of life expectancy and decreasing levels of fertility. People are living longer lives, and both the share and the number of older persons in the total population are growing rapidly. Globally, there were 727 million persons aged 65 years or over in 2020. Since women live longer than men, on average, they comprise the majority of older persons, especially at advanced ages.

Global Migration, By the Numbers: Who Migrates, Where They Go and Why

  • There are an estimated 272 million international migrants – 3.5% of the world’s population.
  • While most people leave their home countries for work, millions have been driven away due to conflict, violence
  • and climate change.
  • Most migrants come from India; the United States is the primary destination.

There are an estimated 272 million international migrants around the world. And while that equals just 3.5% of the world’s population, it already surpasses some projections for 2050.

How Many People Have Ever Lived on Earth?

Given a current global population of about 7.8 billion, the revised estimate means those alive in 2020 represent nearly 7% of the total number of people who have ever lived.

Living Longer: Historical and Projected Life Expectancy in the United States, 1960 to 2060

Throughout this report, we use the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2017 National Population Projections to examine potential mortality and life expectancy changes in the coming decades. To provide historical context, we draw extensively on life expectancy data from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). The report includes projections of life expectancy from 2017 to 2060 and explores projected differences in mortality for men and women and for different race and Hispanic origin groups in the United States.

States Can Shorten Probation and Protect Public Safety

More than 3.5 million, or 1 in 72, adults were on probation in the United States at the end of 2018—the most recent year for which U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) data is available—more than triple the number in 1980. Nationwide, on any given day, more people are on probation than in prisons and jails and on parole combined.

Probation and Parole in the United States, 2020

An estimated 3,890,400 adults were under community supervision at yearend 2020, which was a 6.6% decline from the 4,167,100 who were supervised in the community on January 1, 2020. This decline was solely driven by a reduction in people on probation, who made up the majority (79%) of the community supervision population. During 2020, the number of people on probation decreased from 3,330,200 to 3,053,700 (down 8.3%), the largest annual decline since the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) began the probation collection in 1980.

Check out previous Environmental Scans

The National Institute of Corrections publishes this compilation of resources each year as an overview of what research indicates to be the trends in the corrections industry each year.
Accession Number: (2018) 033176, (2019) 033431, (2020) 033563, (2021) 033670, (2022) 033086, (2023) 033087