|
Demographics |
| Blacks or African Americans are people having origins in any of the
black racial groups of Africa.1 |
| Those who identify only as African American
constitute approximately
12 percent of the American population -- almost 35 million individuals,
according to the 2000 U.S. Census. |
| The
Census Bureau projects that by the year 2035 there will be more than 50
million African American individuals in the United States,
comprising 14.3 percent of the population. |
| The African American population is represented
throughout the country, with the greatest concentrations in the
Southeast
and mid-Atlantic regions, especially Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama,
Georgia, South Carolina, and Maryland.2 |
| African Americans have a long history in the United States.
Some African American families have been in the United States for many
generations; others are recent immigrants
from places such as Africa, the Caribbean, or the West Indies. |
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Statistics |
|
The Black Population,
2000 (pdf) US Census Bureau Brief |
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The Black Population in the United States, US Census Bureau |
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10 Leading Causes of Death
African American
Population,
U.S., 2005 |
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Statistics |
Leading Causes of Death by Race/Ethnicity (pdf)
Health,
U.S., 2007, Table 31 |
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Other
High Prevalence Health Issues |
| In addition, Blacks or African Americans
have disproportionately high prevalence of the following conditions and
risk factors: |
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Health
Disparities |
| The
health disparities between African Americans and other racial groups are
striking and are apparent in life expectancy, infant
mortality, and other measures of health status.
|
| For
example, in 1999 the average
American could expect to live 77.8 years,
the average African American
could only expect to live 73.1
years.3 |
| Factors contributing to poor health outcomes among
African Americans include discrimination, cultural barriers, and lack of access to health
care.4 |
| For more information on
some of the health disparities faced by the African American
community, see Highlight
on African Americans and click below for brochures, slides and
statistics on that topic. |
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Statistics |
|
Mortality Rates by Race/Ethnicity, (pdf) Health,
U.S., 2006, Table 29 |
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Mid Course Review, Healthy People 2010 |
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Data 2010, Healthy People 2010 |
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Brochures & Handouts |
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Main Menu |
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African American Brochure
(pdf) |
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African American Handout
(pdf) |
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Slides |
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Slides showing Disparity (ppt)
PowerPoint Presentation on the Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities
(OMHD) containing data slides (beginning with slide 21) comparing U.S. incidence
or mortality rates by race/ethnicity.
To view these slides in PDF format, see Slides
(PDF) |
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Health Statistics |
| CDC's National Center
for Health Statistics (NCHS) |
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Health of Black or African American Population, Fast Stats |
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Health Data for All Ages |
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Health, United States, 2006 |
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Black or African American Population |
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Mortality Rates by Race/Ethnicity, (pdf) Table 29 |
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Leading
Causes of Death by Race/Ethnicity, (pdf) Table 31 |
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Healthy People 2010 |
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Data 2010 |
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Mid Course Review |
| HHS Office of Minority
Health Resource Center |
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African American Profile |
| U.S. Census Bureau |
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The Black Population,
Brief, 2000 (pdf) |
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The Black Population in the United States |
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African-American History Month,
50 Years of Change, February 2004 |
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Government Resources |
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CDC |
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Black or African American NEWS Page
MMWR and other articles related to the topics of African Americans and
Health Disparities. |
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National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention
(NCHSTP) |
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Office of Health Disparities, NCHSTP |
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Division of HIV/AIDS
Prevention |
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HIV and African
Americans |
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HIV/AIDS among African Americans Fact Sheet |
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On the
Front Lines: Fighting HIV/AIDS in African American Communities
(pdf) |
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National Center for
Chronic Disease Prevention and
Health Promotion (NCCDPHP) |
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National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
(NCIPC) |
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National Immunization
Program (NIP) |
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National Institutes of Health (NIH) |
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African American Health
Medline Plus |
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Blacks or African Americans
Healthfinder |
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Cancer Health Disparities National Cancer
Institute (NCI) |
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National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and
Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) |
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National Institute of Neurological Disorders and
Stroke (NINDS) |
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SAMHSA (Mental Health) |
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African American Mental Health Fact Sheet
SAMHSA Surgeon General's Report |
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African American Culturally Specific Mental Health Resources |
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Non-Government Resources |
| Please Note:
Links to non-Federal organizations found at this site are provided
solely as a service to our users. These links do not constitute an
endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the
Federal Government, and none should be inferred. The CDC is not
responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages
found at these links. |
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American Cancer Society (ACS) |
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African Americans & Diabetes
American Diabetes Association (ADA) |
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American Heart Association
(AHA) |
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American Lung Association (ALA) |
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National Black Women’s Health Project (NBWHP) |
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National SIDS Resource Center
(NSRC) |
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Funding |
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CDC Funding Opportunities |
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Sources |
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1
Census
Bureau, Census 2000 Brief: Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin,
2000.(pdf) |
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2
The Black Population,
2000 (pdf) US Census Bureau Brief |
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3 National Center for Health
Statistics (NCHS), Health U.S., 2006,
Table 27.(pdf) |
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4 The Health Care Challenge:
Acknowledging Disparity, Confronting Discrimination, and Ensuring
Equality. United States
Commission on Civil Rights, Sept. 1999. |
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Notes |
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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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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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