West Virginia - Facts and Figures. GENERAL INFORMATION Capital Statehood Charleston June 20, 1863 the 35th state State nickname Name for residents State motto The Mountain State West Virginians Montani semper liber (Mountaineers are always free) Abbreviation WV LAND Total area 62,755 sq km 24,230 sq mi Rank among states in total area Land area 41st 62,382 sq km 24,086 sq mi Highest point Spruce Knob 1,482 m/4,861 ft Forested land as a share of total area Federally owned land as a share of land area 78.5 percent (2002) 8 percent (2002) PEOPLE Population Rank among states in population Ten-year population growth Population density 1,812,035 (2007 estimate) 37th 0.8 percent (1990-2000) 29 persons per sq km (2006 estimate) 76 persons per sq mi (2006 estimate) Urban population 46.1 percent (2000) Largest cities (by population) Charleston 50,846 (2006) Huntington 49,007 (2006) Parkersburg 31,755 (2006) Wheeling 29,330 (2006) Morgantown 28,654 (2006) Ethnic groups Whites 95 percent (2000) Blacks 3.2 percent (2000) Asians 0.5 percent (2000) Native Americans Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders Mixed heritage or not reporting Hispanics (of any race) 0.2 percent (2000) less than 0.1 percent (2000) 1 percent (2000) 0.7 percent (2000) HEALTH AND EDUCATION Life expectancy Infant mortality rate 74.3 years (1989-1991) 8 deaths per 1,000 live births (2004) Residents per physician 433 people (2005) Residents per hospital bed 252 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 13.5 percent (2006) 14 (2003) $8,936 (2002-2003) 5.4 percent (1999) 81 percent (2006) GOVERNMENT State government Governor Joe Manchin (term ends January, 2009) Legislature Senate, 34 members House of Delegates, 100 members National representation Members of the U.S. Senate 2 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives 3 Electoral votes 5 ECONOMY Gross state product (GSP) Income per capita $56 billion (2006) $25,681 (2004) GSP by economic sector Agriculture, forestry, and fishing 0.5 percent (2004) Industry Construction 4.3 percent (2004) Manufacturing Mining Transportation and utilities Services Finance, insurance, and real estate 11.1 percent (2004) 7 percent (2004) 8.2 percent (2004) 13.3 percent (2004) G overnment Information technology 17 percent (2004) 3 percent (2004) Retail trade 8.2 percent (2004) Wholesale trade 4.8 percent (2004) Other services 23 percent (2004) Employment Number of workers Unemployment rate Share of workers in unions 807,000 (2006 estimate) 4.9 percent (2006 estimate) 14.4 percent (2005) ENERGY, COMMUNICATIONS, AND TRANSPORTATION Electricity production Share from geothermal, solar, and wind 0.2 percent (2005 estimate) Share from hydroelectric 1.5 percent (2005 estimate) Share from nuclear 0 percent (2004) Share from thermal 98.3 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 205 newspapers per 1,000 people (2006 estimate) 47.6 percent (2003 estimate) 4.2 books per person (2002) 59,591 km (2005) 37,028 mi (2005) Length of interstate highways 892 km (2005) 554 mi (2005) Length of railroad tracks 3,634 km (2004) 2,258 mi (2004) Airports 8 (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.
