The overseas American community is a large and diverse microcosm of American society in the United States. The size, ubiquity, and important roles being played by overseas Americans in many fields in more than 200 countries and territories explains why organization such as American Citizens Abroad (ACA) have been created to give them a more effective form of representation.
 

This paper seeks to demonstrate the unique dimensions of this American national resource. It is built around four sets of tables which are included at the end of this paper. These tables:
 

§ Show where overseas Americans are living today by country (Table 1) .
 

§ Compare the population of the overseas American community with the populations of the individual States of the United States today (Table 2).
 

§ Compare the population of the overseas American community today with the size of the entire population of the United States in 1790 when the first Census was taken (Table 3).
 

§ Compare the population of the overseas American community today with both the populations of the member countries of the United Nations, and other non-UN member countries and territories of the world (Table 4).
 
 

TABLE 1. WHERE OVERSEAS AMERICANS LIVE TODAY

Each year, the U.S. State Department estimates the size of the overseas American community by Consular post abroad. According to data published on the State Department website in July 1999, more than 4 million U.S. citizens were living abroad in the 167 countries where there was a Consular presence. No estimates are available for the number of Americans living in other countries or territories where there is no such official presence. Table 1 at the end of this paper shows these estimates by country. The contents of Table 1 are summarized below.
 

Half of all overseas Americans live in 31 countries of the Americas. More than a quarter live in 42 countries of Europe. An eighth live in 33 countries of Asia, and the rest are scattered in 12 countries of the Middle East and 49 countries of Africa.
 

In 1999, the State Department operated 231 Consular posts overseas. These posts are not allocated in any direct proportion to the numbers of Americans living abroad in these same locations.
 
 

TABLE 2. IF OVERSEAS AMERICANS WERE A STATE
 

Table 2 shows the size of the total overseas American community in 1999 in comparison with the estimated populations of the individual States of the United States that same year.
 

If the overseas Americans were a State, they would rank 24^th by population among the 50 States of the United States.
 

The overseas American community is just smaller in size than the population of Alabama (4.4 million), but ahead of Colorado (3.7 million), ahead of 25 other smaller States, and also ahead of the four Territories and the District of Columbia which have already been granted their own directly elected representation in the Congress.
 

The overseas American community, if granted representation in the Congress in proportion to its size, would be eligible for a delegation which would include 2 Senators and 6 Members of the House of Representatives.
 
 
 
 

TABLE 3. COMPARING OVERSEAS AMERICANS IN 1999 TO THE TOTAL U.S. POPULATION IN THE 1790 CENSUS
 

Table 3 compares the size of the overseas American community in 1999 with the results of the first national census in 1790.
 

The number of Americans living overseas today is greater than the entire population of the United States in 1790.
 

The table also shows that more Americans were living in Mexico in 1999, than were counted in Virginia, the largest State in the 1790 Census.
 

Finally, more Americans were living in each of nineteen different foreign countries in 1999 than were counted in Tennessee, the smallest of the Territories counted in the 1790 Census.
 
 

TABLE 4. IF OVERSEAS AMERICANS WERE A COUNTRY
 

Table 4 compares the size of the overseas American community in 1999 with the populations of all of the world's major countries and territories.
 

If the overseas American community were a country, it would rank 115th among the 188 members of the United Nations today.
 

The overseas American community in 1999 was larger than 74 Member countries of the United Nations.
 

The overseas American community would also rank 4^th by population among the 35 other countries, territories and former colonies that are not yet members of the United Nations.