Pew Research Center Staff

Just more than four-in-ten Americans say they are interested in what happens at the Democratic convention, down from about six-in-ten in 2008.

The number of Hispanics enrolled in college continued to grow in 2011 and reached a record share of all college enrollments.

Most middle class Americans say it is more difficult today than 10 years ago for those in the middle class to maintain their standard of living.

A plurality of independents (42%) rate Mitt Romney’s choice of Rep. Paul Ryan as his running mate “only fair” or “poor,” but even more rate Joe Biden’s performance negatively.

Four years ago, 56% of the public watched at least some of the GOP convention and 46% watched at least some of the Democratic gathering.

About four-in-ten (43%) of Asian-Americans are satisfied with the direction of the country, double that of the general public.

More than nine-in-ten (92%) Chinese believe their standard of living is better than it was for their parents at the same age.

Just 33% of Americans have a favorable opinion of the federal government, the lowest positive rating in 15 years.

A majority of U.S. Muslims (57%) say Islam can be understood in more than one way; globally, views among Muslims trend in the opposite direction.

Among the nation’s 10 largest metro areas, Houston has the highest score – 61 out of 200 -- on an index used to measure residential segregation by income.