The number of inhabitants defined as “White” in the United States fell for the first time, according to the last census of 2020, explained Thursday, August 12, officials of the US Census Bureau (Census Bureau).
“These changes reveal that the American population is much more multiracial” than in the past, said one of its managers, Nicholas Jones, during a presentation.
The population defining itself as « blanche » only decreased by 8.6% between 2010 and 2020, a first since the first surveys, in 1790. It represented 204 million inhabitants last year, or 61.6% of the population against 72.4% a decade earlier. “The white population remains the largest racial or ethnic group in the United States”, recalls the US Census Bureau.
A new methodology
In addition to demographic changes, Nicholas Jones believes that the refinement of questions on these topics, as well as a new methodology compared to 2010, has also “Widely” influenced these results. Thus, the category of “Whites in conjunction with another group”, for example African-American or Asian, has exploded, with + 316% in ten years, to 235 million people.
In the United States, it is very common to define oneself by one’s ethnic origins and the census specifically asks respondents what « race » they belong.
African Americans now make up 12.4% of the population (41 million), a stable percentage over ten years, while the Asian population has jumped 35.5%, to around 20 million (6%). The Hispanic population also jumped 23%, to 62 million (18% of the population). The Amerindians represent 1.1% of the population.
The data also shows that population growth has been concentrated “Almost exclusively in metropolitan areas”, said another official, Mark Perry.
Political and financial impact
The decennial census, which must count the entire population present in the territory – including the homeless, residents of retirement homes, undocumented immigrant workers – is essential to determine the electoral division of the 50 American states and the allocation of tens of billions of dollars of federal funds intended in particular for schools or hospitals.
Its impact in politics can be decisive, since it allows in particular to decide how many seats in the House of Representatives to allocate to each state.
This titanic operation was doubly impacted in 2020 by the Covid-19 pandemic and the controversial management of former President Donald Trump.
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