US Hispanic and Asian population to triple by 2050

The number of Hispanic and Asian Americans will triple over the next 50 years, leaving non-Hispanic whites representing around half the total US population by 2050, the Census Bureau said
 
A census report said the Asian population would grow 213 percent in the first half of the 21st century, from 10.7 million to 33.4 million. The proportion of Asian-Americans in the total population would more than double, from 3.8 percent to 8.0 percent.

Showing almost the same growth will be Americans of Hispanic origin, whose number will increase by nearly 67 million people to 102.6 million by 2050. The Hispanic share of the population will nearly double to 24.4 percent.

The projections suggest that whites who are not Hispanic -- the dominant group for more than two centuries -- will see their share of the population drop sharply from 69 percent in 2000 to 50 percent in 2050. In 1950, that share was 90 percent.

The overall US population will increase from 282.1 million in 2000 to 419.9 million in 2050, although the growth rate is expected to fall off after 2030 as the size of the "baby boom" generation continues to decline, the bureau said.

The number of blacks is projected to rise from 35.8 million to 61.4 million in 2050, an increase of 71 percent.