Hispanics are the fastest growing minority group. The U.S. Hispanic population, which was 35.3 million in 2000, grew 46.3% over the last ten years. The 2010 Census counted 50.5 million Hispanics in the United States. In the last decade, from 2000 to 2010, the growth of the Hispanic population accounted for 56% of the nation’s population growth, and currently accounts for 16.3% of the total U.S. population. The Hispanic purchasing power is nearly $992 billion dollars, and it is projected to reach as much as $1.4 trillion by 2015.
Hispanics are the largest and youngest minority group in the United States. One- in-five schoolchildren is Hispanic. One-in-four newborns is Hispanic. A growing number of young Hispanic-Americans identify with both Hispanic and American cultures equally. Never before in the history of the U. S., a single ethnic youth made up such a large share of the American youth. These young Hispanics will help shape the kind of society America becomes in the 21st century.
