Non-white births now a majority in US

Susan Heavey
Thursday 17 May 2012 15:14 EDT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

For the first time, racial and ethnic minorities account for more than half the children born in the US – the result of decades of heady immigration growth.

However, a recent slowdown in the growth of the Hispanic and Asian populations is prompting a rethink on when non-Hispanic whites are likely to become a minority.

New 2011 census estimates highlight changes in the nation's racial make-up and the prolonged impact of a weak economy, which is now resulting in fewer Hispanics entering the country.

Overall, the minority population rose by 1.9 per cent to 114.1 million, or 36.6 per cent of the total. This was partly the result of earlier waves of immigration that brought in young families and boosted the number of Hispanic women in their prime childbearing years – as reflected in the 2010 count, which showed more Hispanics than expected.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in