The number of people identifying themselves as "white" in the United States has declined for the first time, according to the last census conducted in 2020, revealing that the country has become "more ethnically diverse" and has more urban populations than it was ten years ago. .
The US Census Bureau said, "The white population remains the largest racial or ethnic group in the United States."
The number of people identifying themselves as “white” fell by 8.6 percent between 2010 and 2020, a first since records began in 1790. The white population reached 204 million last year, representing 61.6 percent, compared to 72.4 percent a decade ago.
"These changes reveal that the American people are much more multiracial" than in the past, said one Census Bureau official, Nicholas Jones.
He added that "improvements" in the statistics forms and a new methodology different from the one that was applied in 2010, affected "to a large extent" the results, along with "some demographic changes."
There has been a significant increase in the category of "whites associated with other groups" such as African Americans or Asians, by 316 percent within ten years. They numbered 235 million people.
In the United States, it is very common for someone to identify themselves with their ethnic origins. The form includes a question about ethnicity specifically.
African Americans currently make up 12.4 percent of the population (41 million), a figure that has been steady for ten years, while the Asian population has risen by 35.5 percent to about 20 million (6 percent of the population).
Indigenous people make up 1.1 percent of the population.
The Hispanic population rose 23 percent to 62 million people, making up 18 percent of the population.
Another official at the Census Bureau said the data also showed that population growth was concentrated "almost exclusively in urban areas".
The decennial census is necessary to determine the electoral division of the 50 US states and to allocate tens of billions of dollars in federal funds, mainly to schools or hospitals.
Its influence on politics can be decisive because it allows, in particular, to determine the number of seats in the House of Representatives that should be allocated to each state.
The census includes all residents in any area, including the homeless, residents of nursing homes, and undocumented migrant workers.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the controversial administration of former President Donald Trump greatly affected this massive operation.
