Serious Crime Rate Drops, Led by Large Decline in Murder Rate

Serious crime fell 3 percent in 1996, led by a precipitous 11 percent drop in the murder rate and a 7 percent decline in violent crime nationwide. The homicide rate fell to its lowest level since 1969, with the decline in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Detroit, Boston, St. Louis, and Chicago accounting for a quarter of the total reduction.

Crime has fallen steadily in the last six years, after having risen sharply between 1986 and 1991.

According to the FBI, some of the factors that may have accounted for the decline include tougher federal gun control laws, stabilization of the drug trade, the aging of the baby boomers, innovative policing by many cities, neighborhood volunteer efforts to change juvenile behavior, and a huge increase in the number of people in prison.

Despite the decline, the murder rate in the United States remains very high compared with other Western countries. The rate of murder per 100,000 population is 0.6 in Japan, 0.7 in Britain, 1.0 in Germany, 1.1 in France, and 7.2 in the United States.

The population of the United States will change dramatically in the next half century, with the percentage of non-Hispanic whites falling and the percentage of other groups growing. According to a new report by the U.S. Census Bureau, only 52.8 percent of the population will be non-Hispanic whites by 2050, compared with 73.1 percent in 1996. Hispanics will comprise 25 percent of the population by the middle of the next century, up from 10.7 percent in 1996.

The study also forecasts a large increase in the number of older people, with the percentage of people over 85 surging from 1.4 percent of the population in 1995 to 4.6 percent in 2050.

The United States population as a whole is projected to increase by 50 percent, growing from263 million in 1995 to 394 million in 2050.

As a result of improvements in American nutrition, average height has risen steadily in this century, and it will continue to rise into the next: by 2050 the average height will be 6900 for men and 5970 for women, up from 59100 for men and 594.50 for women in 1997.

1. How will population of the United States change by the year 2050?
2. What is the projected size of the U.S. population in 2050?