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Maps and Demographics
As of 2007, Virginia had an estimated population of 7,712,091 which is an increase of 69,213, or just under one percent, from the prior year and an increase of 633,067, or nine percent, since the year 2000. This includes an increase from net migration of 276,292 people into the commonwealth. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 151,748 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 124,544 people. The center of population is located in Goochland County.
English was passed as the commonwealth's official language by statutes in 1981 and again in 1996, though the status is not mandated by the Constitution of Virginia. English is the only language spoken by 6,245,517 (86.7%) Virginians, though it is spoken very well by an additional 570,638 (7.9%) for a total of 94.6% of the Commonwealth which speaks English. Spanish has the most speakers of other languages, with 424,381 (5.9%). 226,911 (3.2%) speak Asian and Pacific Islander languages, including Vietnamese and Filipino.
As of 2000, the five largest reported ancestry groups in Virginia are: African (19.6%), German (11.7%), unspecified American (11.4%), English (11.1%), and Irish (9.8%). Because of more recent immigration in the late 20th century and early 21st century, there are rapidly growing populations of Hispanics, particularly Central Americans, and Asians. As of 2007, 6.5% of Virginians are Hispanic, 5.4% are Asian, and 0.9% are American Indian/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander. The Hispanic population of the state tripled from 1990 to 2006, with two-thirds of Hispanics living in Northern Virginia. Hispanics in Virginia have higher median household incomes and educational attainment than the general United States or Virginia population.
Most African-American Virginians are descendants of enslaved Africans who worked on tobacco, cotton, and hemp plantations. These men and women were brought from west central Africa, primarily from Angola and Igbo areas of the Niger Delta region. The twentieth century Great Migration of blacks from the rural South to the North reduced Virginia's black population; however, in the past forty years there has been a reverse migration of blacks returning to Virginia and the rest of the South. The western mountains have many settlements founded by Scotch-Irish immigrants before the Revolution. There are also sizable numbers of people of German descent in the northwestern mountains and Shenandoah Valley. People of English heritage settled throughout the state during the colonial period, and others of British and Irish heritage have migrated there through the decades for work.
Northern Virginia has the largest Vietnamese population on the East Coast, with about 48,745 Vietnamese statewide as of 2007. Their major wave of immigration followed the Vietnam War. Due to their ties to the U.S. Navy, Hampton Roads has a sizable Filipino population, numbering about 45,000 in the area. Virginia also continues to be home to eight Native American tribes recognized by the state, though all lack federal recognition status. Most Native American groups are located in the Tidewater region.
Virginia is predominantly Christian and Protestant, while Baptists are the largest single group with twenty-seven percent of the population as of 2008. Baptist denominational groups in Virginia include the Baptist General Association of Virginia, with about 1,400 member churches, which supports both the Southern Baptist Convention and the moderate Cooperative Baptist Fellowship; and the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia with over five-hundred affiliated churches, which supports the Southern Baptist Convention. Roman Catholics are the second-largest religious group, and the group which grew the most in the 1990s.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington includes most of Northern Virginia's Catholic churches, while the Diocese of Richmond covers the rest. The Virginia Conference is the regional body of the United Methodist Church. The Virginia Synod is responsible for the congregations of the Lutheran Church. The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, Southern Virginia, and Southwestern Virginia support the various Episcopal churches. In November 2006, fifteen conservative Episcopal churches in the Diocese of Virginia voted to split from the diocese over the issue of sexuality and the ordination of openly gay bishops and clergy; these churches continue to claim affiliation with the larger Anglican Communion through other bodies outside the United States. Virginia law allows parishioners to determine their church's affiliation. The resulting property law case is a test for Episcopal churches nationwide, as the diocese claims the church properties of those congregations that want to secede.
Presbyterians, Pentecostals, Congregationalists, and Episcopalians each composed between one and three percent of the population as of 2001. Among other religions, adherents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints constitute 1.1% of the population, with 188 congregations in Virginia as of 2008. Fairfax Station is home to the Ekoji Buddhist Temple, of the Jodo Shinshu school, and the Hindu Durga Temple. While a small population in terms of the state overall, organized Jewish sites date to 1789 with Congregation Beth Ahabah. Muslims are a rapidly growing religious group throughout the state. Megachurches in the state include Thomas Road Baptist Church, Immanuel Bible Church and McLean Bible Church, which operates the youth focused Frontline ministry.
As of 2007, the Virginia state government owns and operates 84.6% of roads in the state, instead of the local city or county authority. 57,867 miles (93,128 km) of the total 68,428 miles (110,124 km) are run by the Virginia Department of Transportation, making it the third largest state highway system in the United States. Virginia's road system is ranked as the sixteenth best in the nation. While the Washington Metropolitan Area has the second worst traffic in the nation, Virginia as a whole has the twenty-first lowest congestion and the average commute time is 26.9 minutes. With low disbursements for both roads and bridges, and a low road fatality rate, Virginia has a good system with a tight budget.
Virginia has Amtrak passenger rail service along several corridors, and Virginia Railway Express maintains two commuter lines into Washington, D.C. from Fredericksburg and Manassas. The Washington Metro rapid transit system currently serves Northern Virginia as far west as Fairfax County, although expansion plans call for Metro to reach Dulles Airport in Loudoun County by 2015. Commuter buses include the Fairfax Connector and the Shenandoah Valley Commuter Bus. The Virginia Department of Transportation operates several free ferries throughout Virginia, the most notable being the Jamestown-Scotland ferry which crosses the James River in Surry County.
Virginia has five major airports: Washington Dulles International, Reagan Washington National, Richmond International, Norfolk International and Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport. Sixty-six public airports serve the state's aviation needs. The Virginia Port Authority's main seaports are those in Hampton Roads, which carried 17,726,251 short tons (16,080,984 t) of bulk cargo in 2007, the sixth most of United States ports. Northern Virginia company Space Adventures is currently the only company in the world offering space tourism.