A Statistical Overview of Americans Abroad

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to present contem porary statistical facts about 1.5 million resident Americans abroad. To the extent that the data permit, an exposition is presented along demographic-economic lines. This special seg ment of American nationality differs quite significantly from the territorial population of the United States in many ways. Its age and sex distributions, as well as its occupational, edu cational, and marital characteristics set it apart from the rest of America. It is, nevertheless, a significant population in its own right. For the main part it consists of Americans volun tarily living outside United States territory. This group is the United States abroad, even though it be small and not sta tistically representative of the American people. Perhaps it is because of this that more and better data are needed about these people.