149 million: Number of females in the U.S. as of July 1, 2004

212,000: Total number of active-duty women in the military, as of Sept. 30, 2004

15: Percentage of Armed Forces who were women in 2004

Less than 2: Percentage of women in the Armed Forces in 1950

1.7 million: Number of military veterans who are women

Source: U.S. Census Bureau