America will become a majority-minority country by 2044

By Fusion Staff  |  March 3, 2015 | 7:48pm
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America will become majority minority in 2044, according to new Census data projections.

Today, minorities comprise 38 percent of the total U.S. population.

But the Census says that America’s minority population will nearly double by 2060, while the white population will see a net decline from today.

“While the non-Hispanic white alone population is projected to remain the largest single group, no group will have a majority share of the total and the United States will become a ‘plurality’ of racial and ethnic groups,” it says. “The point at which the non-Hispanic, white-alone population will comprise less than 50 percent of the nation’s total population has been described as the point at which we become a ‘majority-minority’ nation3 According to these projections, the majority-minority crossover will occur in 2044.”

Americans of two or more races are expected to see the fastest growth during the period, at a rate of 218.9 percent.

Next fastest are Asians, at 129.1 percent, followed by Hispanics at 114.8 percent.

The U.S. will also become increasingly reliant on its minority population to keep a steady fertility rate, which is good for the economy.

Right now, whites account for more than half of the U.S. population under 18 years old.

By 2060, the Census says, nearly two thirds of America’s under-18 population will be minority, with young Hispanics accounting for one third of this share.

The research group IHS Economics recently projected that Hispanics will account for over 40 percent of the increase in U.S. employment through 2020, and 75 percent from 2020 to 2034.

Rob covers business, economics and the environment for Fusion. He previously worked at Business Insider. He grew up in Chicago.

 
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