ABOUT THE DATA

Global North Carolina Heat Map

The Center for International Understanding’s (Center) mission is to make North Carolina the most globally engaged state in the nation.  The Center’s programs inspire solutions by creating global connections among education, policy and business leaders. Founded in 1979, the Center is an affiliate of the University of North Carolina system. Generous support from the following sponsors made the Global North Carolina Heat Map possible: SAS, the Moise and Vera Khayrallah Fund of the Triangle Community Foundation, the Local Government Federal Credit Union, and Quintiles.  Additionally,  the North Carolina Department of Commerce provided valuable assistance with this project.

About Our Sponsors

SAS is the leader in business analytics software and services and the largest independent vendor in the business intelligence market. www.sas.com

The Moise and Vera Khayrallah Fund is a donor-advised fund created by the Khayrallahs at the Triangle Community Foundation, a nonprofit organization that manages $145 million in funds established by individuals, businesses and families. The Foundation gives grants to nonprofit organizations and administers a variety of programs for the community’s benefit.  The Khayrallah Fund’s goal is to assist multicultural and global programs in their efforts to bring people together and highlight cultural commonalities. www.trianglecf.org

Local Government Federal Credit Union serves North Carolina’s local government employees, elected/appointed officials, volunteers and their families. The $1.1 billion federally chartered credit union is a cooperative of more than 200,000 members associated with various facets of local government in North Carolina’s 100 counties and 546 cities, towns and villages. www.lgfcu.com

Quintiles is the only fully integrated biopharmaceutical services company offering clinical, commercial, consulting and capital solutions. With 25,000 employees in 60 countries and global headquarters in Durham, North Carolina, Quintiles helps biopharmaceutical companies bring new medicines to patients around the world. For more information, please visit www.quintiles.com

Background

In 2008, with a grant from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Center for International Understanding convened a public-private leadership group to strategize about positioning North Carolina to take advantage of global opportunities.   The resulting bi-partisan International Business and Trade Caucus of the N.C. General Assembly was organized in 2008.  It focuses on the state’s current level of international activity and explores ways to strategically increase global engagement to foster economic development.  The Center convened a Global Engagement Summit in early 2009 and brought together legislators with members of the business and education communities to strategize about increasing North Carolina’s level of international engagement.   The Center, in conjunction with Southern Growth Policies Board, collected a variety of statewide global indicators from multiple sources, in the areas of trade, economic development, higher education, agriculture, tourism and K-12 education.  These indicators are included in the report “Engaging North Carolina to Engage the World,” found on the Center’s website: http://ciu.northcarolina.edu/

This heat map is an extension of the Center’s mission to make North Carolina the most globally engaged state in the nation.  It displays global data that is important to the state, broken out county by county.  Because data can change frequently, Heat Map information  should be viewed as a “snapshot” of what is global about each county.  Plans are to update the data annually, adding new data sets where possible.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did the Center for International Understanding decide to break out this data at the county level?  Statewide statistics of international indicators are currently available from various sources.  However, this is the first time that multiple data sources been pulled together in one place, providing a visual analysis of global data at the county level.  North Carolina policymakers frequently request international indicator data at a local, county level.  This database is an attempt to provide a statewide snapshot as well as a “global snapshot” for each county. 

What are the sources for this data?  Data was obtained from various government, research and economic development sources – there is a specific reference under each category below.

Some of the data comes from the American Community Survey.  What is this survey?

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the American Community Survey (ACS) is an ongoing survey that provides data every year – with detailed questions about age, sex, race, family and relationships, income and benefits and more.  This survey, conducted every year, is sent to a small percentage of the population on a rotating basis.  The data is presented as 1-year, 3-year and 5-year estimates.  Five-year estimates have been used for this database.  For some of the data elements, the data was aggregated for presentation and has been noted as such.

Who created this map?

The heat map was developed by SAS and uses its fourth-generation programming language to access and transform the data for presentation by the SAS web-based, interactive visualization components.  The heat map delivers highly effective visuals to gain a quick understanding of international activity in North Carolina.

How often will the data in the Global North Carolina Heat Map be updated?  The Center plans to update this data annually.

Who should I contact if I want more information about the data?  A contact person is provided for each data element in this “About the Data” document. Please refer to the specific category in which you have an interest for the best contact.

May I use this data in presentations or printed materials?  Yes. Please include a reference to the UNC Center for International Understanding, along with the website address (http://ciu.northcarolina.edu/) when using information from the Global North Carolina Heat Map in  presentations or printed collateral.

Disclosure:  All data included in the Global North Carolina Heat Map was obtained from secondary sources, and references are noted.  Because the data is obtained from secondary sources, the UNC Center for International Understanding (Center) does not control and cannot guarantee the relevance, timeliness, or accuracy of these outside materials.  The Center makes every effort to provide accurate and complete information; however, certain data points were estimated where noted, and various data may change prior to updating.  The Center provides no warranty, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, reliability or completeness of furnished data.

About the Data

The 2010 U.S. Census credited North Carolina with a population of 9,535,483 -- an 18.5% jump from 2000.  Not only has the number of foreign-born citizens increased, but North Carolina’s economic dependence on tobacco and furniture has transitioned to a more diversified economy with biotechnology, pharmaceutical, energy and even gaming sectors.  

In a global economy, international engagement at all levels is essential for promoting economic growth and providing jobs.  Every day, legislators and local leaders are confronted with policy challenges that require international insight.  Business leaders from companies large and small collaborate and compete with entrepreneurs all over the world.  And our education institutions are charged with developing and inspiring a citizenry and workforce capable of thriving in this increasingly interdependent world. 

The Center for International Understanding created this Global North Carolina Heat Map to assist its leaders and citizens with gaining a better understanding of what is happening globally at the local level.  Looking at the data for each of the 100 counties shows that there is something “global” going on in every corner of our state. 

POPULATION DEMOGRAPHICS

The purpose of the Population Demographic dataset is to provide general context and show the relative changes in population in general, as well as changes in the foreign born population.

Much of the data was obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau (www.census.gov) and the American Community Survey (www.census.gov/acs), described by the Census Bureau as an ongoing survey that provides data every year -- giving communities the current information they need to plan investments and services. Information from the survey generates data that help determine how more than $400 billion in federal and state funds are distributed each year.

Population Demographics

1990 Total Population, 2000 Total Population, 2010 Total Population, 1990 – 2000 Percent Change in Population, 2000-2010 Percent Change in Population, 1990-2010 Percent Change in Population – from the 2010 Census Data.  Source: www.factfinder2.census.gov

Foreign Born Population refers to people who were not U.S. citizens at birth.  Foreign Born Population, 2010 Percent Foreign Born Population.  

Source: 2005-2009 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates: Selected Social Characteristics in the United States: 2005-2009.

In-Migration from Foreign Countries, Out-Migration to Foreign Countries: This data is from public IRS tax return data.  It captures the number of people (as of April 15 of the given year) who lived abroad for part of the year and were North Carolina residents for the other part of the year 2007-2008.  Information may be accessed through North Carolina’s Economic Development Intelligence System (http://accessnc.commerce.state.nc.us)

Place of Birth

The World Region of Birth for Foreign Born data was obtained from the 2005-2009 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates: Selected Social Characteristics in the United States: 2005-2009.

For reference, the countries included in each World Region are noted below.

Europe: United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, Austria, France, Germany, Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia.

Asia: Eastern Asia, including China (including Hong Kong, Taiwan), Japan, and Korea; South Central Asia, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Iran, and Pakistan; South Eastern Asia, including Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam; Western Asia, including  Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Armenia.

Africa: Eastern Africa, including Ethiopia; Middle Africa’ Southern Africa, including South Africa; Western Africa, including Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

Oceania: Australia, New Zealand, Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia.

Latin America includes Central and South America: Caribbean (including Barbados, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago), Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela.

North America: Canada

Ancestry

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Ancestry refers to a person’s ethnic origin or descent, "roots," or heritage, or the place of birth of the person or the person’s parents or ancestors before their arrival in the United States. 

In this category, data is provided for the largest ancestry groups only.  For reference the following countries are included in each subset.

Middle Eastern (Arab)

European (Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, French- except Basque, French Canadian, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Scotch-Irish, Scottish, Slovak, Swedish, Swiss, Ukrainian, Welsh)

Russian (Russian)

African (Sub-Saharan African)

Hispanic or Latino Ancestry - According to the American Community Survey, Hispanic ancestry is not included as a choice in the question on Ancestry (“What is this person’s ancestry or ethnic origin?”).  This data is obtained in a specific question (“Is Person of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin?”)  This data has been incorporated here under the Ancestry segment.

Asian Ancestry – Asian is included in the question: What is the person’s race?  Respondents may choose, Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Native Hawaiian, Guamanian or Chamorro, Samoan, Other Pacific Islander or other Asian.  This data has been incorporated here under the Ancestry segment.

EDUCATION AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Languages Spoken at Home

This data refers to how many people speak a language other than English at home.  Source:  U.S. Census, American Community Survey.  While the Census Bureau codes 382 individual languages and language groups, only the most prevalent in North Carolina are displayed in  the dataset.

What are other Indo-European Languages?  The Indo-European languages include languages as diverse as Latin, Greek, English, Spanish, French, and Russian. Indo-European languages are spoken throughout the world.

What are Asian and Pacific Islander Languages?  Asian languages include Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Cambodian and more.  Pacific Islander languages include Native Hawaiian, Samoan, Fijian and more.

Enrollment in Foreign Languages

K-12 Enrollment in Foreign Language Immersion Programs

The Center obtained this data by contacting either the district foreign language coordinator, or individual schools in the 20 counties that had programs in 2011. Eighteen of the 20 counties responded. Because of incomplete responses, some schools with immersion programs are not included in this dataset.

(A website for information on these language immersion programs can be found at http://seclang.ncwiseowl.org/resources/dual_language__immersion_programs/ )

K-12 Enrollment in Spanish Language Courses

K-12 Enrollment in Chinese Language Courses

K-12 Enrollment in Other Foreign Language Courses

This data represents the number of K-12 public school students taking a foreign language in school and was obtained from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction (DPI).  Breakouts for both Spanish and Chinese are included.  The category “Other Foreign Languages” includes Latin, German, French, Russian, Arabic, Japanese, and Korean.

For more information on K-12 data, contact Karl Pond (karl.pond@dpi.nc.gov)

08-09 Foreign Language Degrees Awarded at N.C. Independent Colleges

08-09 Foreign Language Degrees Awarded at UNC System Colleges

08-09 Foreign Language Degrees Awarded at N.C. Community Colleges

This data represents the number of graduates completing a degree in any foreign language offered at these institutions.  The data totals were included in the county in which the educational institution is located.  For example, data from Guilford College and UNC-Greensboro was included in Guilford County totals.

Sources for this data include:

US Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds

International Students in N.C. Colleges

International Students at N.C. Independent Colleges

International Students at UNC System Colleges

International Students at N.C. Community Colleges

This data represents foreign students enrolled in all degree programs in the independent colleges, University of North Carolina  system colleges or North Carolina community colleges. It does not include specific data on the home countries of these students.

For more information, contact: Frances Fontaine, Director of Research and Collaborative Programs, N.C. Independent Colleges and Universities (NCICU) fontaine@ncicu.org

For more information, contact Bonnie B. Derr, International Programs Coordinator – UNC-General Administration, bbderr@northcarolina.edu

For more information, contact Megen Hoenk, Director of Marketing and External Affairs – NCCC, hoenkm@nccommunitycolleges.edu

International Sister Cities in N.C.

Sister Cities International describes its mission this way: “promotes peace through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation by focusing exchanges and public programs on sustainable and economic development, youth and education, arts and culture, and humanitarian assistance.” More information about Sister Cities International can be found at www.sister-cities.org.  This data shows the number of official Sisters Cities in a given North Carolina county as of June 2011.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DATA

International data were collected with the assistance of the Policy, Research and Strategic Planning Division of the North Carolina Department of Commerce.

North Carolina Importers and Exporters

This data represents the number of companies in any given county importing or exporting goods as of January 2012.

Data source: PIERS Global Trade Database (http://www.piers.com/) Note: this database is not publicly available.

*Note:  this data does not include service exports and imports, or goods not shipped by water-borne vessels.

Estimated Value of Imports and Exports by County

Data source: PIERS Prospects ™ (http://www.piers.com/) Export value by county is generated based on the total (estimated) export value of exporters in the county.  Some exporters have no export value because they have not exported in the 12-month period reflected in the dataset (February 2011 to January 2012) or they did not provide the data.  Import value is generated in the same method.

# Foreign Owned Company Sites

This data provides information on businesses that have sites in North Carolina and are foreign-owned.  Data is from the Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) and UniWorld firm directories and was pulled in August 2011.  Firms do not pay to be listed in these databases.  The firm databases may not reflect current company information and may not represent a comprehensive listing of all foreign companies in North Carolina.

D&B uses a variety of sources, including public records, trade references, newspapers and publications, telephone interviews and others.  For more information about D&B, visit http:/www.dnb.com

UniWorld’s primary sources of information are the parent company annual reports, telephone surveys, press releases and other public and private sources.  For more information about UniWorld, visit http://www.uniworldbp.com

Estimated Number of N.C. Employees at Foreign Company Sites

This data provides estimates on the number of employees at the foreign-owned company sites in North Carolina counties. 

Source: Dun & Bradstreet firm database.  The number of company employees is estimated by D&B and may not represent exact number of employees.

International Companies with U.S. headquarters in N.C.

This data provides estimates of the number of international businesses with sites in other countries and a U.S. headquarters in North Carolina.  The parent company is international.

Data sources are Dun & Bradstreet (www.dnb.com) and UniWorld (www.uniworldbp.com) business databases.  Companies do not pay to be listed in these databases.  The firm databases may not represent a comprehensive listing of all foreign companies with headquarters in North Carolina.  D&B uses a variety of sources, including public records, trade references, newspaper and publications, telephone interviews and others.  UniWorld’s primary sources of information are the parent company annual reports, telephone surveys, news releases and other public and private sources.

North Carolina’s Economic Development Intelligence System provides additional business data: http://accessnc.commerce.state.nc.us

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For general information about the database or the work of the Center, contact Adam Hartzell the Center for International Understanding (aghartzell@northcarolina.edu) or visit the Center’s  website: http://ciu.northcarolina.edu/