Among democracies, U.S. stands out in how it chooses its head of state
No other democratic nation fills its top job quite the way the U.S. does, and only a handful are even similar.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Race and Ethnicity
-
-
On Election Day, most voters use electronic or optical-scan ballots
The great majority of Americans who vote on Election Day will use one of two basic technologies: “fill-in-the-bubble” and other optical-scan ballots, or touch-screen computers and other direct recording electronic systems.
-
Size of U.S. Unauthorized Immigrant Workforce Stable After the Great Recession
There were 8 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. working or looking for work in 2014, making up 5% of the civilian labor force.
-
Just how does the general election exit poll work, anyway?
The firm that runs the presidential exit poll expects to interview about 100,000 voters across the country by the time the polls close on election night.
-
Child marriage is rare in the U.S., though this varies by state
About 57,800 minors in the U.S. ages 15 to 17 are married – or five of every 1,000 in that age group. But the rate of child marriage varies widely between states.
-
U.S. electoral system ranks high – but not highest – in global comparisons
Though many Americans say they’re concerned about possible election fraud, the U.S. electoral system generally ranks high in cross-national comparisons.
-
Jobs requiring preparation, social skills or both expected to grow most
Much of U.S. job growth over the past 25 years has been in occupations that require higher levels of education, training and experience – a trend that seems likely to continue, based on our analysis of official government job-growth projections.
-
Support for marijuana legalization continues to rise
Today, 57% of U.S. adults say use of marijuana should be made legal, while 37% say it should be illegal. A decade ago, opinion was nearly the reverse.
-
Perceptions and realities of recycling vary widely from place to place
The rules, practices and norms around recycling vary considerably from place to place – contributing to dramatically different local recycling levels and rates at which different materials are recovered.
