The U.S. Census Bureau today released its 2010 Demographic Analysis estimates at a news conference at George Washington University – the first of three major Census Bureau releases in December. The data involve five series of national-level estimates of the population by age, sex, two race groups (black and non-black) and Hispanic origin (for under age 20). Demographic Analysis attempts to estimate the national population of 2010 but uses a very different technique than is used for the 2010 Census. Demographic Analysis estimates are developed from historical vital statistics and estimates of international migration. Separate from 2010 Census counts, these estimates provide one way of measuring the size of the U.S. population and will be used to analyze the 2010 Census results coming later this month.

On Dec. 14, the Census Bureau will also release American Community Survey (ACS) data for the 5-year period from 2005 to 2009. The ACS is a sample survey sent to 3 million households every year that provides vital social, economic, housing and demographic characteristics about our country. This is the first set of 5-year estimates for the ACS, which every year will produce more than 11 billion pieces of data covering some 670,000 geographical areas, including every county and community in the country.

Finally, by Dec. 31 as required by law, the Census Bureau will report the first set of data from the 2010 Census: the national and state populations as well as the apportionment of seats to each state in the U.S. House of Representatives. See today’s Demographic Analysis press release and the complete Demographic Analysis tables. Visit http://www.census.gov/ to learn more about upcoming Census releases.