Infants from the racial and ethnic minority groups now make up the new majority of baby Americans, a recent study by Pew Research Center found.
The findings, a first in U.S. history, was based on U.S. Census Bureau estimates that showed 50.2% of infants less than a year old before July 1 are minorities. Actual numbers from the data released Thursday revealed that there are 1,995,102 minority babies and 1,982,936 white babies who are under a year old.
According to the report, immigration of non-whites have contributed greatly to the figure. The recent years have also seen a spike in minorities’ birth rates.
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Relative to a similar report done by National Center for Health Statistics, which indicate that white babies still account for 54% of American infants, the Census Bureau publishes data about children of multiple races using a more comprehensive approach.
“Census Bureau uses available information about the father’s race or Hispanic origin, as well as the mother’s, to determine the baby’s race and ethnic categories, while the health-statistics center reports only the mother’s race and ethnic origin,” read Pew Research’s study.
Overall, whites remain as the major racial group across age groups in the country at 77%, according to 2015 U.S. Census figures. For the minorities, people who identify themselves as Black are 13% of Americans. Latinos constitute 17%, Asians, 5.6%, Native Americans 1.2% and some, who identify as two or more races, are 2.6%.
The trend, which experts believe will continue, could transform the U.S. into a country with no racial majority in the near future. In fact, based on Pew Research Center projections, whites will no longer be the majority group by by 2055, or by 2044, according to Census Bureau projections.
