North Carolina - Facts and Figures. GENERAL INFORMATION Capital Statehood Raleigh November 21, 1789 the 12th state State nickname Name for residents State motto The Tar Heel State North Carolinians Esse quam videri (To be rather than to seem) Abbreviation NC LAND Total area 139,391 sq km 53,819 sq mi Rank among states in total area Land area 29th 126,181 sq km 48,719 sq mi Highest point Mount Mitchell 2,037 m/6,684 ft Forested land as a share of total area 61.9 percent (2002) Federally owned land as a share of land area 11.1 percent (2002) PEOPLE Population Rank among states in population Ten-year population growth Population density 9,061,032 (2007 estimate) 10th 21.4 percent (1990-2000) 70 persons per sq km (2006 estimate) 182 persons per sq mi (2006 estimate) Urban population 60.2 percent (2000) Largest cities (by population) Charlotte 630,478 (2006) Raleigh 356,321 (2006) Greensboro 236,865 (2006) D urham 209,009 (2006) Winston-Salem 196,990 (2006) Ethnic groups Whites 72.1 percent (2000) Blacks 21.6 percent (2000) Asians 1.4 percent (2000) Native Americans Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders 1.2 percent (2000) less than 0.1 percent (2000) Mixed heritage or not reporting 3.6 percent (2000) Hispanics (of any race) 4.7 percent (2000) HEALTH AND EDUCATION Life expectancy Infant mortality rate 74.5 years (1989-1991) 8 deaths per 1,000 live births (2004) Residents per physician 395 people (2005) Residents per hospital bed 372 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 17.9 percent (2006) 15.1 (2003) $7,529 (2002-2003) 7.5 percent (1999) 82 percent (2006) GOVERNMENT State government Governor Michael Easley (term ends January, 2009) Legislature Senate, 50 members House of Representatives, 120 members National representation Members of the U.S. Senate 2 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives 13 Electoral votes 15 ECONOMY Gross state product (GSP) Income per capita $375 billion (2006) $29,303 (2004) GSP by economic sector Agriculture, forestry, and fishing 1.1 percent (2004) Industry Construction 4.3 percent (2004) Manufacturing 21.5 percent (2004) Mining 0.2 percent (2004) Transportation and utilities 4.3 percent (2004) Services Finance, insurance, and real estate 20 percent (2004) G overnment Information technology 12.8 percent (2004) 3 percent (2004) Retail trade 6.5 percent (2004) Wholesale trade 5.6 percent (2004) Other services 20.6 percent (2004) Employment Number of workers 4,465,000 (2006 estimate) Unemployment rate 4.8 percent (2006 estimate) Share of workers in unions 2.9 percent (2005) ENERGY, COMMUNICATIONS, AND TRANSPORTATION Electricity production Share from geothermal, solar, and wind 1.5 percent (2005 estimate) Share from hydroelectric 4.2 percent (2005 estimate) Share from nuclear 30.8 percent (2005 estimate) Share from thermal 63.4 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 139 newspapers per 1,000 people (2006 estimate) 51.1 percent (2003 estimate) 5.4 books per person (2002) 165,968 km (2005) 103,128 mi (2005) Length of interstate highways 1,743 km (2005) 1,083 mi (2005) Length of railroad tracks 5,230 km (2004) 3,250 mi (2004) Airports 15 (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.
