Fourth of July By the Numbers

On this day in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress, setting the 13 colonies on the road to freedom as a sovereign nation. As always, this most American of holidays will be marked by parades, fireworks and backyard barbecues across the country.

2.5 million

In July 1776, the estimated number of people living in the newly independent nation.

 313.9 million

The nation’s estimated population on this July Fourth.

$3.6 million

In 2011, the dollar value of U.S. imports of American flags. The vast majority of this amount

($3.3 million) was for U.S. flags made in China.

 $232.3 million

The value of fireworks imported from China in 2011, representing the bulk of all U.S. fireworks imported ($223.4 million). U.S. exports of fireworks, by comparison, came to just $15.8 million in 2011, with Australia purchasing more than any other country ($4.5 million).

$231.8 million

The value of U.S. manufacturers’ shipments of fireworks and pyrotechnics (including flares, igniters, etc.) in 2007.

The chance that the hot dogs and pork sausages consumed on the Fourth of July originated in Iowa. The Hawkeye State was home to 19.7 million hogs and pigs on March 1, 2012.This estimate represents almost one-third of the nation’s estimated total. North Carolina(8.6 million) and Minnesota (7.6 million) were also homes to large numbers of pigs.

 
7.2 billion pounds    

Total production of cattle and calves in Texas in 2011. Chances are good that the beef hot dogs, steaks and burgers on your backyard grill came from the Lone Star State, which accounted for about one-sixth of the nation’s total production. And if the beef did not come from Texas, it very well may have come from Nebraska (4.6 billion pounds) or Kansas (4.0 billion pounds). 

6                    

Number of states in which the value of broiler chicken production was estimated at $1 billion