Baxter Oliphant

Understanding error bars in charts Error bars illustrate the margin of error for a survey estimate by showing how precise that estimate is. Here are some answers to common questions that might help you better understand charts with error bars.

In our charts, we sometimes illustrate the margin of error through error bars, also called confidence intervals. But what do they mean? How should they be interpreted?

Here are some answers to common questions that might help you better understand charts with error bars.

Chart that shows that countries where more people feel good about the economy also have greater satisfaction with democracy

Countries where large shares of the public say the economy is in good shape also tend to have large shares who are satisfied with democracy. www.pewresearch.org/...

Congrats to you both!

How Changes in Turnout and Vote Choice Powered Trump’s Victory in 2024 In this interactive feature, explore how changes between the 2020 and 2024 elections in how – and whether – people voted helped to return President Trump to office.

this year, we produced a visual tour of turnout and vote switching between the last two presidential elections.

check out our illustration of the flow of voters and nonvoters between 2020 and 2024 here:

www.pewresearch.org/feature/how-...

Screenshot from a Pew Research Center article showing that public opinion about same-sex marriage in the United States changed dramatically between 2004 and 2023.

On today's 10th anniversary of the Obergefell ruling, it's worth noting that same-sex marriage is among a small number of issues to see a complete reversal of public opinion in a relatively short span: 60% opposed it in 2004; 63% favored it by 2023. www.pewresearch.org/2024/09/13/h...

Screenshot of a Pew Research Center analysis about Medicaid.

Quite a stat: Medicaid paid for 4 out of every 10 births in the United States in 2023. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

A bar chart showing the percentage of U.S. adults, Rep/Lean Rep and Dem/Lean Dem who say it would be acceptable for three actions to happen regarding federal deportation efforts Title: Wide partisan divisions over what is acceptable regarding federal deportation efforts Subtitle: % who say that each of the following would be *acceptable* Item 1: A church or other religious organization not helping with federal efforts to deport people in their communities who are in the U.S. illegally. 56% acceptable among U.S. adults, 41% among Rep/Lean Rep and 73% among Dem/Lean Dem Item 2: A city or state not helping with federal efforts to deport people in their communities who are in the U.S. illegally. 43% acceptable among U.S. adults, 19% among Rep/Lean Rep and 66% among Dem/Lean Dem Item 3: Deporting an immigrant in the U.S. illegally to a different country if they cannot return to their home country. 56% acceptable among U.S. adults, 41% among Rep/Lean Rep and 73% among Dem/Lean Dem

A June 2025 Pew Research Center survey found that 55% of Republicans (incl. leaners) say it would be acceptable to deport immigrants to a different country if they cannot return to their home country.

By comparison, 13% of Democrats say this would be acceptable.

pewrsr.ch/446QJwe

Modeling the Future of Religion in America Since the 1990s, large numbers of Americans have left Christianity to join the growing ranks of U.S. adults who describe their religious identity as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular.” If re...

My team at @pewresearch.org studies the global size and demographic characteristics of religious groups, including the religiously unaffiliated.

Some recent reports:
Modeling the Future of Religion in America www.pewresearch.org/religion/202...

How Much Discrimination Do Americans Say Groups Face in the U.S.? Republicans are less likely than in 2024 to say there is discrimination against Black, Hispanic, Asian and White people.

New from @pewresearch.org

"How Much Discrimination Do Americans Say Groups Face in the U.S.?"

Link: pewrsr.ch/4jcI40H

Believing in Spirits and Life After Death Is Common Around the World Belief in an afterlife, God and spirits in nature is widespread globally. Older adults are more likely than younger adults to believe in God. Pew Research Center.

NEW REPORT: Believing in Spirits and Life After Death Is Common Around the World

Line chart from The Wall Street Journal showing the cumulative number of executive orders signed by each recent president through the first 100 days of their tenure. Donald Trump has issued far more executive orders than any other recent president at this stage in his presidency.

Striking chart from @wsj.com shows the cumulative number of executive orders by each recent president through their first 100 days: www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

In a new @pewresearch.org survey, 51% of Americans say Trump is doing too much by executive order: www.pewresearch.org/politics/202...

A set of line charts showing that Democrats are much more concerned than Republicans about various Russia-Ukraine war scenarios

47% of Americans are extremely or very concerned about Russia invading other countries, and 43% are concerned about Russia defeating and taking over Ukraine. Republicans have become less concerned about both possibilities in recent months, while Democrats have become more so.

Now that @pewresearch.org on Bluesky is a thing, I'll try to post new data from our Global Attitudes research!

First up today, timely data on how Americans view trade between the U.S. and China, Canada and Mexico. Includes public opinion and trade data!

www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

Hey there, Bluesky!

We are excited to share our data and insights here with you, and so are our researchers: go.bsky.app/3QzdR9p

What would you like to see from us? Drop suggestions below!

What Americans think about President Trump’s immigration actions early in his second term.
(@baxteroliphant.bsky.social Joseph Copeland @pewresearch.org)
More, via Opinion Today:
opiniontoday.substack.com/p/250209

Public Anticipates Changes With Trump but Is Split Over Whether They Will Be Good or Bad As Trump returns to the White House, Republicans are upbeat about Trump’s actions and agenda, but Democrats find little to like.

New from Pew Research Center

www.pewresearch.org/politics/202...

Faith on the Hill Christians will make up 87% of voting members in the Senate and House of Representatives, combined, in the 2025-27 congressional session.

NEW from @pewresearch.org:

Faith on the Hill: The religious composition of the 119th Congress

Line chart showing that a steady majority of Americans say they consume alcoholic beverages.

Line chart showing that alcohol consumption among Americans has ticked up in recent years.

Area chart showing that Americans are drinking less beer and more wine than they used to.

Map of the United States showing per-capita alcohol consumption by state.

10 facts about Americans and alcohol as ‘Dry January’ begins: www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

Screenshot of a Pew Research Center article titled, "Slim majorities have become more common in the U.S. House and Senate"

NEW: House Republicans will be working with the narrowest majority in modern history when the 119th Congress begins in January. They'll have a five-seat edge, but even that small advantage will get smaller amid several expected vacancies. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

Chart showing that in the 2016, 2020 and 2024 presidential elections, the vast majority of voters made up their mind about who to vote for before September. Far fewer voters made up their minds in September, October or in the last week before the election.

Chart: When in a presidential campaign do voters make their decision? www.pewresearch.org/politics/202...

Voters Broadly Positive About How Elections Were Conducted, in Sharp Contrast to 2020 Trump voters’ skepticism about election administration and the counting of mail-in ballots declined sharply with their candidate’s win.

New today from Pew Research Center

pewrsr.ch/3OFBG5m

New from @gabrielborelli.bsky.social

After Trump’s victory, Democrats are more pessimistic about their party’s future The partisan gap in Republican and Democratic views of their parties’ futures (35 percentage points) is much larger than after any recent election.

New from Pew Research Center:

After Trump’s victory, Democrats are more pessimistic about their party’s future

49% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are pessimistic about the future of their party; just 13% of Rep/Lean Rep say the same

www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

We've all been there! Looking forward to seeing more about the book

Very interesting data

Panel C has Republicans higher on disapproval? Is it possible the labels are reversed?

Line chart showing that women in the United States have long outpaced men in college graduation. As of 2024, 47% of women ages 25 to 34 have a bachelor's degree, compared with 37% of men in the same age group.

Four small line charts showing that women are outpacing men in college graduation in each of the four major racial and ethnic groups in the United States.

NEW: Women in the US have long outpaced men in college graduation, as the chart on the left shows. But it's now happening in each major racial and ethnic group, too, as the chart on the right shows. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

Disney owns both The Muppets and Star Wars, and the fact they are not making a Muppet version of all nine main-series Star Wars movies is only explained by the fact that they secretly hate making money.

How U.S. Public Opinion Has Changed in 20 Years of Our Surveys We took a closer look at how Americans’ views and experiences have evolved on a variety of topics over the last 20 years.

NEW: To mark 20 years of the Pew Research Center, we took a look back at some of the biggest changes in US public opinion during that time. Of note: Complete reversals on same-sex marriage and marijuana legalization, and the emergence of China as a perceived threat.

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