Washington: The population and its composition. The population of Washington

The capital of the USA Washington is the 27th largest city in the country. Despite the fact that it is the main administrative center of America, it does not belong to any state, being a separate unit. Washington does not need to be confused with the state of the same name, which has its own big cities. The Americans themselves, to avoid making a mistake, call their capital DC.

Official statistics

Washington is a very noisy city. According to official census data, in 2015 the population of the city of Washington exceeded 600 thousand people. But these are only those people who live directly in the city. A lot of families prefer to settle in small private sectors of the suburbs, and to go to work in the capital. Because of this peculiarity during working hours, Washington's population increases by 71% and exceeds a million. So in the city it's never quiet, except on official days off.

Population growth dynamics

To see how the population of Washington has changed since its inception, it is possible using the following table.

The largest number of residents was registered in 1950 and reached 800 thousand people. This growth is explained very simply. After the great depression of the 1930s, there was little work in the US. And the service in the state apparatus seemed most attractive. This is what attracted thousands of families and forced them to move in search of a better life.

But everything radically changed in the 70's, after the assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968. In the city, riots began one after another. The number of victims was thousands. The guards simply could not keep up with the terrible events that occurred on the streets of the city and warn them. Naturally, such an unstable situation, victims of terror and fear could not but affect the demographic situation. The number of inhabitants decreased until the beginning of the 21st century.

Surprisingly, even in the 90s Washington was considered a very criminal city, and it was dangerous to live here. Now the situation has changed, and the capital is one of the quietest megalopolises, and very cozy and beautiful.

The racial division of the inhabitants

As we have already said, Washington is an independent territory. Its population has a very heterogeneous structure. From time immemorial it happened in America that all possible races and nationalities mixed up here. Even those who consider themselves a true American have mixed roots.

Interestingly, Washington is considered the most liberal capital in relation to sexual minorities. Therefore, there are many same-sex marriages. To see how the racial categories were distributed, the figure below will help.

Since the 50s of the last century, the largest ethnic group was African American. Of course, even now their number is large, but still representatives of the European race are in the lead. There are a lot of black people in the capital, but they try to settle in their neighborhoods at the city's borders or even go to the suburbs in search of a cheaper life.

Washington (its population is large) is famous for the largest Hispanic group of immigrants from El Salvador and other Latin American countries. Recently, the number of Asians has increased. There is immigration of people from Vietnam and China. Over the past few years, the number of refugees from Ethiopia has doubled.

Age distribution of residents of Washington

Americans are very fond of statistics. They lead her on every occasion and in every situation. There are even special research centers dealing with demographic forecasts. So, they were able to derive a formula that counts the population of Washington for the next ten years and even takes into account all age groups. Well, as the "forces were distributed" in 2015, you can find out from the picture below.

As can be seen, the difference in the number of people of different age groups is not high up to 60 years. This indicates that the city is developing dynamically and young people are trying to get here to start a family and have children. Older people and pensioners prefer to leave the center and settle in the suburbs.

Worship

People of what faiths live in a city like Washington? The population adheres to Christian views. This is the religion most accepted and understandable for all. As in all America, it is customary to celebrate Catholic holidays, which are nationwide. According to statistics, the percentage ratio of different religious groups is approximately the same:

1. Christians - more than 50%.

2. Muslims - 10.6%.

3. The Jews - 4,5%.

4. Representatives of other religions - 14%.

5. Atheists - 12.8%.

Surprisingly, Washington is home to the second largest Muslim community in America. This religion is attributed to 2.1% of city residents. They have their own mosque and even 134 restaurants with national cuisine.

Other statistics

The results of the census in 2010 produced stunning results. As it turned out, 33,000 adults in Washington consider themselves to be gay, lesbian and bisexual. And this is 8.1% of the total population of the city. And this is after at the beginning of the same year 2010 the government officially allowed to enter into same-sex marriages in the District of Columbia.

Many residents of the capital remain illiterate, unable to read and write in English. This is explained by the large influx of emigrants from poor countries. But at the same time, studies prove that 85% of the population speaks English and considers it to be their native language. There remains a large proportion of those who are used to expressing themselves in Spanish - 8.8%. And the third place in the rating of the most common languages is French - 1.35%.

Despite the fact that every third illiterate person in the city, Washington (the population as a whole) is considered the most educated. Almost half of the residents have completed higher education with a bachelor's degree. Another third - graduates of specialized schools and technical schools.

As for income, life in the US capital can not be called cheap. Here, very high prices for food, services. The average monthly income of one family is 58,526 dollars. Over the past 10 years, this figure has not changed significantly.