Generations of Diversity: Latinos in The United States

Population Bulletin, Vol. 52, No. 3, October 1997

by Jorge del Pinal and Audrey Singer

Introduction

Early in the 21st century, Hispanic Americans will become the nation's largest ethnic minority. High immigration rates and relatively high birth rates have boosted the growth rate of the Hispanic population above that of any other major U.S. racial or ethnic group except Asians. The Hispanic, or Latino, population is projected to swell from 28 million in 1996 to about 100 million in 2050, and is projected to outnumber African Americans by 2005.

Latinos already compose about 40 percent of the school-age population in California, and are projected to form a majority of that state's public school enrollment by 2006.

The history of Americans of Spanish heritage predates the founding of the United States. However, in the 1990s, about two-thirds of the U.S. residents who identify themselves as Hispanics or Latinos are immigrants or the children of immigrants. Less than one-third are the U.S.-born children of U.S.-born parents. Nevertheless, this population of newcomers is heir to a long, and at times turbulent, history of relations between the ethnic majority — non-Hispanic whites — and the peoples of Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America. Latinos are a product of one of the most important migration streams of the second half of the 20th century: people moving from Latin America to the United States.

The sheer number of Latinos makes them an important and visible segment of the U.S. population, but many other factors keep them in the news and high on public policy agendas. Latinos are concentrated geographically in a handful of states and cities. They share a common Spanish-language heritage, a disadvantaged minority status, and a public image as newcomers who are welcomed by some and resented by others. Their socioeconomic and demographic characteristics are transforming contemporary America.

Hispanics are an ethnic group, not a racial group, according to U.S. government guidelines, but this distinction escapes most Americans. Hispanics can be of any race. Most classify themselves as white, a minority classify themselves as black, and an increasing share identify their race as "other," which underscores the ambiguity of race and ethnic-group definitions in the United States.

Hispanic is the term used to describe the group in most U.S. government publications, yet the term has no firm historical link to the people it describes. It was chosen by U.S. government agencies as a convenient, inoffensive label that could be applied to all people from the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America and from Spain. The term Latino is also gaining acceptance among the general public. (Latino and Hispanic are used interchangeably in this Population Bulletin to refer to U.S. residents who trace their origins to the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America and to Spain.)

The full text of this Population Bulletin is available in print only. Please visit our online store to order. Listed below are all the sections of this Bulletin.

Introduction

Latino Roots

Where Latinos Live

Growing Numbers

Sources of Growth

Immigration

Fertility

Hispanics in U.S. Society

Latinos and America's Future

References

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