Alaska - Facts and Figures. GENERAL INFORMATION Capital Statehood Juneau January 3, 1959 the 49th state State nickname Name for residents State motto Abbreviation The Last Frontier Alaskans North to the future AK LAND Total area 1,717,854 sq km 663,267 sq mi Rank among states in total area Land area 1st 1,495,787 sq km 577,527 sq mi Highest point Mount McKinley 6,194 m/20,320 ft Forested land as a share of total area 34.3 percent (2002) Federally owned land as a share of land area 67.7 percent (2002) PEOPLE Population Rank among states in population Ten-year population growth Population density 683,478 (2007 estimate) 47th 14 percent (1990-2000) 0.45 persons per sq km (2006 estimate) 1.17 persons per sq mi (2006 estimate) Urban population Largest cities, with population A nchorage Fairbanks J uneau Sitka Ketchikan 65.6 percent (2000) 275,043 (2005 estimate) 31,142 (2006) 30,987 (2005 estimate) 8,986 (2005 estimate) 7,446 (2006) Ethnic groups Whites 69.3 percent (2000) Native Americans 15.6 percent (2000) Asians 4 percent (2000) Blacks 3.5 percent (2000) Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders Mixed heritage or not reporting Hispanics (of any race) 0.5 percent (2000) 7 percent (2000) 4.1 percent (2000) HEALTH AND EDUCATION Life expectancy Infant mortality rate Not available 6 deaths per 1,000 live births (2004) Residents per physician 438 people (2005) Residents per hospital bed 474 people (2005) Share of population not covered by health insurance Number of students per teacher (K-12) Government spending per student (K-12) Share of students attending private school Share of people over age 25 with high school diploma 16.5 percent (2006) 17.2 (2003) $11,896 (2002-2003) 4.6 percent (1999) 89.7 percent (2006) GOVERNMENT State government Governor Sarah Palin (term ends December 2010) Legislature Senate, 20 members House of Representatives, 40 members National representation Members of the U.S. Senate 2 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives 1 Electoral votes 3 ECONOMY Gross state product (GSP) Income per capita GSP by economic sector Agriculture, forestry, and fishing $41 billion (2006) $34,085 (2004) 1 percent (2004) Industry Construction 5.1 percent (2004) Manufacturing 2.1 percent (2004) Mining 21.5 percent (2004) Transportation and utilities 10.5 percent (2004) Services Finance, insurance, and real estate 12.9 percent (2004) G overnment 19.6 percent (2004) Information technology 3 percent (2004) Retail trade 5.2 percent (2004) Wholesale trade 2.1 percent (2004) Other services Employment Number of workers Unemployment rate Share of workers in unions 17.3 percent (2004) 347,000 (2006 estimate) 6.7 percent (2006 estimate) 22.8 percent (2005) ENERGY, COMMUNICATIONS, AND TRANSPORTATION Electricity production Share from geothermal, solar, and wind Share from hydroelectric 0.1 percent (2005 estimate) 22.3 percent (2005 estimate) Share from nuclear 0 percent (2002) Share from thermal 77.7 percent (2005 estimate) Daily newspaper circulation per 1,000 people Share of households with Internet access Number of library books circulated per resident Length of highways 154 newspapers per 1,000 people (2006 estimate) 67.6 percent (2003 estimate) 5.8 books per person (2002) 23,121 km (2005) 14,367 mi (2005) Length of interstate highways 1,740 km (2005) 1,081 mi (2005) Length of railroad tracks 814 km (2004) 506 mi (2004) Airports 28 (2007) SOURCES The Association of American Railroads (www.aar.org), Bureau of Economic Analysis (www.bea.doc.gov), Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov), Census Bureau (www.census.gov), Energy Information Administration (www.eia.doe.gov), Federal Aviation Administration (www.faa.gov), Federal Highway Administration (www.fhwa.dot.gov), Forest Service (www.fs.fed.us), General Services Administration (www.gsa.gov), National Agricultural Statistics Service (www.usda.gov/nass), National Center for Education Statistics (nces.ed.gov), National Center for Health Statistics (www.cdc.gov/nchs), National Telecommunications and Information Administration (www.ntia.doc.gov). Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
