- NEW YORK -- The ingredients
of the melting pot that is the United States are set to change dramatically
over the coming decades, according to new projections for the US Census
Bureau. And the resulting broth will look a lot less white than it does
today.
-
- The new report suggests that by 2005 American whites
will barely be the majority in the country, with the so-called minority
groups catching up fast. Leading the race are Hispanics and Asians, which
are expected to triple in size.
-
- Today, those designated as non-Hispanic whites in the
US constitute about 69 per cent of the population. Hence, everyone else
by default belongs to an ethnic minority. But according to these latest
figures, their share will fall to 50.1 per cent in 2005.
-
- A striking feature of the study is the expected explosion
of the Hispanic component of American society. For now, Hispanics make
up about 12 per cent of the US population. But their numbers will increase
dramatically by 2005 to take up 24 per cent of the pie.
-
- "This kind of data pushes us to think about the
country in different ways, and how we define America," said Sonia
Perez, the vice president of research for the National Council of La Raza,
the nation's largest advocacy group for Hispanics.
-
- The new picture will have a growing impact on the politics
of the country. Hispanic groups will expect to gain greater representation
in government and more attention from the country's leaders.
-
- More than half of the Hispanics in America were born
in the country and speak English as their first language so, insome ways,
the projections are based on assumptions that are more complicated than
they appear. Some experts pointed out, for example, that among the English-speaking
Hispanics, there may be a large number who will no longer consider themselves
as such but rather see themselves as simply white.
-
- Altogether, meanwhile, Americans can expect more crowded
conditions in their land. Over the same period, the country's population
is expected to balloon by 50 per cent, to reach 450 million by the middle
of the century.
-
- At the same time, the US is set to become considerably
more grey. By 2050, 5 per cent of the country will be 85 or older, compared
with 1.5 per cent now. And 21 per cent of the country will be 65 or older,
compared with 12 per cent today.
-
- "This poses interesting challenges. Institutions
are going to be transformed - and Social Security is the obvious one,"
commented Dr Martha Farnsworth Riche, a former Census Bureau director.
She pointed to education and health care as other affected areas.
-
- © 2004 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd
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- http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=502768
-
-
- Comment
From Dave Jackson
3-20-4
-
- Hi,
-
- I think there is a major typo in this article. There's
no way in tarnations that the hispanic population will double in one year.
Even with illegal immigration, it's just not realistic:
-
- "Hispanics make up about 12 per cent of the US population.
But their numbers will increase dramatically by 2005 to take up 24 per
cent of the pie."
-
- Besides that one, there are numerous references in this
article referring to 2005:
-
- "But according to these latest figures, their share
will fall to 50.1 per cent in 2005."
-
- http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=502768
-
- Whereas other articles put the same figure happening
around 2050:
-
- "Whites now represent 69 percent of the population,
but their growth is slowing because of low rates of birth and immigration.
Their total will grow 7 percent to 210 million, or 50.1 percent of the
population, in 2050."
-
- http://www.tcpalm.com/tcp/nation_world_news/article/0,1651,TCP_1022_2738230,00.html
-
- Regards,
Dave Jackson
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