Alaska Facts and Figures
| General Information | |
| Capital |
Juneau |
| Statehood |
January 3, 1959 |
|
the 49th state |
|
| State nickname |
The Last Frontier |
| Name for residents | |
| State motto | |
| Abbreviation |
AK |
| Land | |
| Total area |
1,717,854 sq km |
|
663,267 sq mi |
|
| Rank among states in total area |
1st |
| Land area |
1,495,787 sq km |
|
577,527 sq mi |
|
| Highest point | |
|
6,194 m/20,320 ft |
|
| Forested land as a share of total area |
34.3 percent (2002) |
| Federally owned land as a share of land area |
67.7 percent (2002) |
| People | |
| Population |
683,478 (2007 estimate) |
| Rank among states in population |
47th |
| Ten-year population growth |
14 percent (1990-2000) |
| Population density |
0.45 persons per sq km (2006 estimate) |
|
1.17 persons per sq mi (2006 estimate) |
|
| Urban population |
65.6 percent (2000) |
| Largest cities, with population | |
| Anchorage |
275,043 (2005 estimate) |
| Fairbanks |
31,142 (2006) |
| Juneau |
30,987 (2005 estimate) |
| Sitka |
8,986 (2005 estimate) |
| Ketchikan |
7,446 (2006) |
| Ethnic groups | |
| Whites |
69.3 percent (2000) |
| Native Americans |
15.6 percent (2000) |
| Asians |
4 percent (2000) |
| Blacks |
3.5 percent (2000) |
| Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders |
0.5 percent (2000) |
| Mixed heritage or not reporting |
7 percent (2000) |
| Hispanics (of any race) |
4.1 percent (2000) |
| Health and Education | |
| Life expectancy |
Not available |
| Infant mortality rate |
6 deaths per 1,000 live births (2004) |
| Residents per physician |
438 people (2005) |
| Residents per hospital bed |
474 people (2005) |
| Share of population not covered by health insurance |
16.5 percent (2006) |
| Number of students per teacher (K-12) |
17.2 (2003) |
| Government spending per student (K-12) |
$11,896 (2002-2003) |
| Share of students attending private school |
4.6 percent (1999) |
| Share of people over age 25 with high school diploma |
89.7 percent (2006) |
| Government | |
| State government | |
| Governor |
Sarah Palin |
|
(term ends December 2010) |
|
| Legislature |
Senate, 20 members |
|
House of Representatives, 40 members |
|
| National representation | |
| Members of the U.S. Senate |
2 |
| Members of the U.S. House of Representatives |
1 |
| Electoral votes |
3 |
| Economy | |
| Gross state product (GSP) |
$41 billion (2006) |
| Income per capita |
$34,085 (2004) |
| GSP by economic sector | |
| Agriculture, forestry, and fishing |
1 percent (2004) |
| Industry | |
| Construction |
5.1 percent (2004) |
| Manufacturing |
2.1 percent (2004) |
| Mining |
21.5 percent (2004) |
| Transportation and utilities |
10.5 percent (2004) |
| Services | |
| Finance, insurance, and real estate |
12.9 percent (2004) |
| Government |
19.6 percent (2004) |
| Information technology |
3 percent (2004) |
| Retail trade |
5.2 percent (2004) |
| Wholesale trade |
2.1 percent (2004) |
| Other services |
17.3 percent (2004) |
| Employment | |
| Number of workers |
347,000 (2006 estimate) |
| Unemployment rate |
6.7 percent (2006 estimate) |
| Share of workers in unions |
22.8 percent (2005) |
| Energy, Communications, and Transportation | |
| Electricity production | |
| Share from geothermal, solar, and wind |
0.1 percent (2005 estimate) |
| Share from hydroelectric |
22.3 percent (2005 estimate) |
| Share from nuclear |
0 percent (2002) |
| Share from thermal |
77.7 percent (2005 estimate) |
| Daily newspaper circulation per 1,000 people |
154 newspapers per 1,000 people (2006 estimate) |
| Share of households with Internet access |
67.6 percent (2003 estimate) |
| Number of library books circulated per resident |
5.8 books per person (2002) |
| Length of highways |
23,121 km (2005) |
|
14,367 mi (2005) |
|
| Length of interstate highways |
1,740 km (2005) |
|
1,081 mi (2005) |
|
| Length of railroad tracks |
814 km (2004) |
|
506 mi (2004) |
|
| Airports |
28 (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). | |
