ATLANTA (Reuters) May 17,
2007 The number of people in the United States from ethnic or racial
minorities has risen to more than 100 million, or around one third of the
population, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report on Thursday.
The minorities figure
stood at 100.7 million, up from 98.3 million a year earlier. Within that, the
Hispanic population was the fastest growing at a rate of 3.4 percent between
July 2005 and July 2006.
Hispanics were also the
largest minority group, accounting for 44.3 million people on July 1, 2006, or
14.8 percent of the overall U.S. population which, according to census data
released in October 2006, stood at more than 300 million.
The United States prides
itself as a country built on successive waves of immigration, with the Statue of
Liberty in New York a powerful symbol of the welcome to immigrants. But the
country remains divided over the subject.
President Bush supports a
comprehensive approach to immigration reform but an attempt to pass legislation
failed last year.
Struggle over
legislation
Members of a bipartisan
group of senators are pushing to reach agreement on immigration reform that
would offer some illegal immigrants a chance to become citizens.
Lawmakers have been
struggling to come up with a formula providing tougher border and workplace
enforcement while addressing the status of some 11 million illegal immigrants
who live and work in the shadows.
About one in three U.S.
residents is a minority, said Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon.
There are more
minorities in this country today than there were people in the United States in
2010. In fact, the minority population in the U.S. is larger than the total
population of all but 11 countries on the planet.
The black population grew
1.3 percent in the year from July 2005 and reached 40.2 million in 2006, the
census said, while the number of native Hawaiians and members of other Pacific
islander groups reached 1 million.
Asians were the second
fastest-growing minority group at a rate of 3.2 percent, with their numbers
standing at 14.9 million.
The population of
non-Hispanic whites who indicated no other race grew 0.3 percent during the
one-year period.
New York state had the
largest black population with 3.5 million people, followed by Florida at 3
million and Texas at 2.9 million. The median age of African Americans was 30.1
years, lower than the 36.4 for the whole population.
Four states and the
District of Columbia now have more minorities than members of the majority white
population.
Hawaii has a population
that was 75 percent minority in 2006. The District of Columbia stood at 68
percent, with New Mexico at 57 percent, California at 57 percent and Texas at
52.
