Minorities Now Account for More Than Half of Births in U.S.

Posted on May 17, 2012

herkie (CC BY-SA 2.0)

As immigration into the U.S. slows, the 2010 census shows that birthrates of racial and ethnic minorities are overtaking those of whites, with nonwhites making up more than half of all births today. —ARK

Associated Press via The Guardian:

As a whole, America’s minority ethnic population continues to rise, following a higher than expected levels of Hispanic people in the 2010 census. Minority ethnic populations increased 1.9% to 114.1 million, or 36.6% of the total population, lifted by prior waves of immigration that brought in young families and boosted the number of Hispanic women in their prime childbearing years.

But a recent slowdown in the growth of the Hispanic and Asian populations is shifting forecasts of when non-Hispanic white people are likely to become a minority. With 2010 census results suggesting this could happen as early as 2040, demographers now believe the pivotal moment may be pushed back several years in the light of new projections to be released in December.

The annual growth rates for Hispanic and Asian populations fell sharply last year to just over 2%, roughly half the rates in 2000 and the lowest in more than a decade. Among black people, the growth rate stayed flat at 1%.

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