FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                           MONDAY, MARCH 12, 2001

                                
Decennial Media Relations                                     CB01-CN.61
301-457-3691/301-457-3620 (fax)
301-457-1037 (TDD)
e-mail: 2000usa@census.gov

Elizabeth Grieco/Race
301-457-2402

Rachel Cassidy/Hispanic Origin
301-457-2403


                Census 2000 Shows America's Diversity
                                
  Census 2000 results released by the Census Bureau today show a racially
diverse America. However, relatively few about 2.4 percent nationally took
advantage of a first-ever option for respondents to identify themselves as
belonging to more than one race.

  The first of a series of Census 2000 briefs, titled Overview of Race and
Hispanic Origin, showed the following for the 274.6 million people who
reported only one race:

     White                                        75.1  percent
     Black or African American                    12.3  percent
     American Indian and Alaska Native             0.9  percent
     Asian                                         3.6  percent
     Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander    0.1  percent
     Some other race                               5.5  percent

  The Census Bureau also reported that Hispanics, who may be of any race,
totaled 35.3 million, or about 13 percent of the total population. This
information was obtained from a separate question on Hispanic or Latino
origin.

  Of the 6.8 million people who reported more than one race, 93 percent
reported two races.  The most common combinations were:

     White and some other race                    32 percent
     White and American Indian and Alaska Native  16 percent
     White and Asian                              nearly 13 percent
     White and Black or African American          about 11 percent

  Of all respondents who reported more than one race, about 7 percent
indicated three or more races.
 
  Those who reported only one race are described as "alone," those who
selected one or more races as "alone or in combination."  The "alone or in
combination" percentages are shown below:

     White                                        77.1
     Black or African American                    12.9
     American Indian and Alaska Native            1.5
     Asian                                        4.2
     Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander   0.3
     Some other race                              6.6

  Because anyone who reported two or more races is included in the tally
for each of those races when using the "alone or in combination" concept,
the sum of all these groups exceeds 100 percent of the population.

  Nearly 48 percent of Hispanics identified as White alone and about 42
percent reported "Some other race" alone. About 6 percent of all Hispanics
reported two or more races compared with less than 2 percent of
non-Hispanics. Hispanics accounted for 97 percent of those who reported
"Some other race" only.

  The race categories for Census 2000 (except for "some other race," which
the Census Bureau added) and the "two or more races" category were
promulgated in federal race-reporting guidelines by the Office of
Management and Budget in 1997. The changes were designed to
 reflect more accurately the nation's racial diversity.

  The question on race for Census 2000 was different from the race
question used for the 1990 census, making direct comparisons between the
two censuses difficult. The major difference derives from instructing
respondents to mark "one or more races" for the first time in a U.S.
population census. Other differences include splitting the Asian and
Pacific Islander category into two separate race categories in 2000;
combining the three separate identifiers Indian (Amer.), Eskimo, Aleut in
the category "American Indian or Alaska Native population"; and reversing
the order of the questions on race and Hispanic origin, with the one on
Hispanic origin placed first in 2000.

  To view the Census 2000 brief in its entirety, including 11 national-level 
tables, go to http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs.html.

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