Despite the name, most of Rhode Island is in fact on the mainland. The name Rhode Island derives from the colonial-era name for what is now known as Aquidneck Island, which now comprises the city of Newport and the towns of Middletown and Portsmouth, the largest of several islands in Narragansett Bay.
Rhode Island was the first of the thirteen original colonies to declare independence from British rule and the last to ratify the United States Constitution.
Rhode Island's official nickname is "The Ocean State", a reference to state's geography, as nearly one tenth of Rhode Island's inland area is covered by salt water. In addition, no resident of the state is more than a thirty-minute drive from the water's edge. Unofficially, and in other parts of the country, Rhode Island is referred to as Little Rhody.
The center of population of Rhode Island is located in Providence County, in the city of Cranston. A corridor of population can be seen from the Providence area, stretching northwest following the Blackstone River to Woonsocket, where nineteenth-century mills drive industry and development. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2005, Rhode Island had an estimated population of 1,076,189, which is a decrease of 3,727, or 0.3%, from the prior year and an increase of 27,870, or 2.7%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 15,220 people (that is 66,973 births minus 51,753 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 14,001 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 18,965 people, and migration within the country produced a net decrease of 4,964 people.
The six largest ancestry groups in Rhode Island are: Italian (19%), Irish (19%), French Canadian (17.3%), English (12%), Hispanic 11% (predominantly Puerto Rican and Dominican, with smaller Central American populations), [1] Portuguese (8.7%).
According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 8.07% of the population aged 5 and older speaks Spanish at home, while 3.80% speaks Portuguese, 1.96% French, and 1.39% Italian [2].
6.1% of Rhode Island's population were reported as under 5, 23.6% under 18, and 14.5% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 52% of the population.
Rhode Island has a higher percentage of Americans of Portuguese ancestry (who dominate Bristol County), including Portuguese Americans and Cape Verdean Americans than any other state in the nation. Additionally, the state also has the highest percentage of Liberian immigrants, with more than 15,000 residing. French Canadians form a large part of northern Providence County whereas Irish Americans have a strong presence in Newport and Kent counties. Yankees of English ancestry still have a presence in the state as well, especially in Washington county, and are often referred to as "Swamp Yankees." African immigrants, including Liberian Americans, Nigerian Americans and Ghanaian Americans, form significant and growing communities in Rhode Island.
The religious affiliations of the people of Rhode Island are:
The largest single Protestant denominations are the Episcopalians with 26,756 and the Baptists with 20,997 adherents. Rhode Island has the highest percentage of Roman Catholics in the nation mainly due to large Italian, Irish, and French Canadian immigration in the past (these 3 groups form roughly 55–60% of the state population); recently, significant Portuguese (though Portuguese communities have existed since the mid 19th century) and various Hispanic communities (these 2 groups form roughly 20% of the state population) have also been established in the state. Though it has the highest overall Catholic percentage of any state, none of Rhode Island's individual counties ranks among the ten most Catholic in the United States, as Catholics are very evenly spread throughout the state. Rhode Island and Utah are the only two states in which a majority of the population are members of a single religious body.
The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA), which has its hub in downtown Providence manages local bus transit for the state, serving 38 out of 39 Rhode Island communities. RIPTA has 58 bus lines, 2 tourist trolley lines known as LINK, and a seasonal ferry to Newport. The southern terminus of the MBTA commuter rail Providence/Stoughton Line is also in downtown Providence and connects to Boston. Ferry services link Block Island, Prudence Island, and Hog Island to the Rhode Island mainland.
The major airport is T. F. Green Airport in Warwick, though Logan International Airport in Boston is also used. The commuter rail is in the process of being extended to the airport, which will link by rail T.F. Green to Providence and Boston.
Interstate 95 runs diagonally across the state connecting major population centers, while the auxiliary interstate 295 provides a bypass around Providence. Narragansett Bay has a number of suspension bridge crossings connecting Aquidneck Island and Conanicut Island to the mainland, most notably the Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge and the Jamestown-Verrazano Bridge.