Arkansas Population & Climate

 According to the 1990 census, Arkansas has 2,350,725 inhabitants, an
increase of 2.8 percent over 1980. The population estimate for 1995 is
2,468,000. The average population density is 17 persons per sq km (44 per
sq mi). Whites constitute 82.7 percent of the population and blacks, 15.9
percent; additional population groups include 12,733 Native Americans
(including Inuit and Aleut) and 12,530 people of Asian or Pacific Island
origin. Nearly 20,000 Arkansas residents are of Hispanic origin. (Hispanics 
may also be counted among other groups.) The largest religious denominations
are Baptist, accounting for 42.2 percent of the population, and Methodist, 
representing 8.8 percent. About 54 percent of the people of Arkansas live in
areas defined as urban. The state's largest cities are Little Rock, Fort
Smith, North Little Rock, Pine Bluff, Jonesboro, and Fayetteville.

 Arkansas has a humid subtropical climate; winters are mild and summers hot, 
particularly in the lowland areas. Average annual temperatures range from 
about 14° C (about 58° F) in the northwest to about 19° C (about 66° F) in
the lowlands. The highest recorded temperature in the state was 49° C (120°
F), at Ozark in 1936; the lowest, -34° C (-29° F), at Gravette in 1905.
Precipitation is well distributed through the year, with a slight concentration
in the spring months. Average annual precipitation ranges from about 1000
mm (about 40 in) in the Ozark Plateau to nearly 1400 mm (about 55 in) in the
southern plains. Occasional droughts may occur in the north and west.