In 1970, the Hispanic population of the United States was 4.7%. In 2010, the Hispanic population was estimated to have increased to 15.5%, and it is projected that by 2050 will be 24.4% of our nation's population. From the year, 2000 to 2006 Hispanics accounted for one-half of the nation's population growth and three times the growth rate of total US population. On average Hispanics have, 2.23 children per household were as combined all races in the US average only 1.75 children per household.
These statistics from the U.S. Census lead me to believe that it's just a matter of time before Hispanics become the majority in the United States.
For the charts and graphs, that I used to come to this conclusion go to
http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hispanic/files/Internet_Hispanic_in_US_2006.pdf
I'm not sure if I agree that the Hispanics will become the majority of the US. Although their population continues to grown in the US, I think they will come close to being even with American's in number populations. Our country seems to be becoming more and more bilingual. Everything has options for Spanish and English.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with you EKL. I don't think that Hispanics are going to become the majority because there are many other races to consider. African America, Latina, Asian, Native America, Eskimo, Pacific Islander, etc.
ReplyDeleteI think more of the case is that eventually one day our "melting pot" of a society with eventually become just that and everyone in the United States will be a mix of different races. This may seem to be extreme but look at other parts of the world and what happens when they are invaded and taken over by a foreign nation.
I looked at the graph and breakdown on Wikipedia for my own curiosity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_States
I looked at the Wikipedia web site and here is a quote that proves my point.
ReplyDelete"Hispanic and Latino Americans accounted for almost half (1.4 million) of the national population growth of 2.9 million between July 1, 2005, and July 1 , 2006. [18] Immigrants and their U.S.-born descendants are expected to provide most of the U.S. population gains in the decades ahead. [19]"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_States
It's definitely a tough call at this point. The numbers show that indeed in the year 2050 that the Hispanic community will indeed be the majority. This is very possible but who is to say that another variable might arise that prevents this. Like Virginia said above about a takeover or it could another race that rises and becomes the majority. What can be said is if there is no unseen variable that the Hispanic community will be the majority. (But what are the odds that everything will stay the same and no variable will show up)
ReplyDeleteI also believe it is a tough call at this point. The numbers do show that the Hispanic population is increasing at this point. I grew up in Lee, MA and the population of Hispanics have been increasing pretty rapidly over the years in this area. The statistics are showing that it is likely that Hispanics could become the majority. However, anything could happen. It's possible that something could stop Hispanic immigrants from coming to the United States, or something could happen that will cause another ethnicity to increase in population. I do believe that Nazario made a good prediction based on the statistics that we have now.
ReplyDeleteThere is potential that the Hispanic population could become the majority, but as others have said, we do not know what other variables will arise. Maybe another population will rise higher above the Hispanic population, which would change the outcome of the numbers in 2050. We have to take into account all of the different ethnicities in this world and how the numbers in their populations could change as well. If all of the numbers stay at the same increase and decrease as they are now, then the Hispanic population probably will be the majority. It is very interesting to see the different increases and decreases in the different ethnic populations in different parts of the world. Good topic!
ReplyDeleteNazario,
ReplyDeleteI liked how you pointed out the statistics on children in the hispanic households. It is interesting how the hispanic households have 2.23 children whereas all of the other races combined in the U.S only have 1.75 children per household as you have said. It is also amazing to see such an increase in hispanics in the U.S. I can't predict whether or not they will become the majority, but at that rate of increase anything is possible. Nice job!
Nazario, I like where you are headed with this idea but I have to agree with some of my classmates and disagree. I do ,however, think that we are becoming a more DIVERSE country and thus the statistics of each group population change will look different. Not just one group seems to be out populating the next.
ReplyDeletethe CIA states:
"white 79.96%, black 12.85%, Asian 4.43%, Amerindian and Alaska native 0.97%, native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0.18%, two or more races 1.61% (July 2007 estimate)
note:a separate listing for Hispanic is not included because the US Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean persons of Spanish/Hispanic/Latino origin including those of Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican Republic, Spanish, and Central or South American origin living in the US who may be of any race or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc.); about 15.1% of the total US population is Hispanic"
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html
Based solely on the statistics that we have today, it is a good prediction that the Hispanic population will continue to increase and may one day no longer be considered a minority in the US. I knew that the Hispanic population has been increasing, but I was not aware that it accounts for about 1/2 of the population growth. It is interesting that the US Census Bureau, as Jen pointed out, does not have a separate classification for Hispanic. It seems that on many different forms that ask for racial classification Hispanic is included on there, and there is also usually a question following it that asks if you are Hispanic, yes or no. Most things are available in this country in both English and Spanish, especially telephone calls to 800 numbers. I have even seen a Western Union ATM that was only in Spanish, no English option available.
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