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Racial and ethnic minority populations
are defined as American Indian and Alaska Native,
Asian, black or African American, Hispanic or Latino,
and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander.
Click
here for the full Office of Management and Budget (OMB) report. |
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American Indian & Alaska Native
(AI/AN) Populations |
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People having origins in any of the
original peoples of North and South America (including Central
America), and who maintain tribal affiliation or community
attachment. |
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Asian American Populations |
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People having origins in any of the
original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian
subcontinent. |
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Black or African American Populations |
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People having origins in any of the black
racial groups of Africa. |
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Hispanic or Latino
Populations |
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A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican,
South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin,
regardless of race. |
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Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander
(NHOPI) Populations |
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People having origins in any of the
original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands. |
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Multiracial Populations |
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People having origins in two or more of
the federally designated racial categories. |
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Note: Though
OMB and Census 2000 use "two or more races," we use the term
"multiracial" because it is the term most widely used and accepted
by advocacy groups and state laws. |
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White Populations |
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People having origins in any of the
original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North
Africa. |
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Back to the Racial & Ethnic Populations Home Page |
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Back to the All Populations
Definitions Page |
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For more information link to the
US Census 2000 Briefs & Special Reports. |
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Sources |
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Census
Bureau, Census 2000 Brief: Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin, 2001. |
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Census Bureau Glossary of Terms: Race, 2000. |
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Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Provisional Guidance on the
Implementation of the 1997 Standards for Federal Data on Race and
Ethnicity, 2000. |
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Office of Management and Budget Recommendations from the Interagency
Committee for the Review of the Racial and Ethnic Standards to the
Office of Management and Budget Concerning Changes to the Standards
for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity, 1997. |
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Note |
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Census 2000 adheres to the federal
standards for collecting and presenting data on race and Hispanic
origin as established by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
in October 1997 and subsequent guidelines.
One of the most important changes for Census 2000 was the revision
of the questions on race and Hispanic origin to better reflect the
country’s growing diversity. The federal government considers race
and Hispanic origin to be two separate and distinct concepts.
In addition, Asian Americans and Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific
Islanders are counted as two separate and distinct racial groups.
Because of these changes, the Census 2000 data on race are not
directly comparable with data from the 1990 census or earlier
censuses. Caution must be used when interpreting changes in the
racial composition of the U.S. population over time. |
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