Countdown to the Minority Majority: 2013

The diversity of the American population continues to grow. As of July 1, 2013, only 62.6 percent of the nation's population was non-Hispanic white, down from 63.0 percent a year earlier and 63.8 percent in 2010. During the past 12 months, the non-Hispanic white population grew by a minuscule 0.07 percent. This compares with a 1.2 percent increase in the black (alone or in combination) population, a 2.1 percent increase in the Hispanic population, and a 2.9 percent increase in the Asian (alone or in combination) population.

One factor behind the shrinking non-Hispanic white share of the population is negative natural increase. Between 2012 and 2013, for the second year in a row, there were more deaths than births among non-Hispanic whites. Immigration alone prevented the number of non-Hispanic whites from declining. The non-Hispanic white share of the U.S. population will fall below 50 percent in 2043, according to Census Bureau projections.

Number (and percent distribution) of the population by race and Hispanic origin in 2013

Total: 316,128,839 (100.0%)

Asian: 19,437,463 (6.1%)

Black: 45,003,665 (14.2%)

Hispanic: 54,071,370 (17.1%)

Non-Hispanic white: 197,836,231 (62.6%)

Source: Census Bureau, National Characteristics: Vintage 2013