Minority Babies Now Majority — First Time In U.S. History

For the first time, more than half of United States-born babies are now ethnic or racial minorities, according the the newest census.

The faces of America are changing. More than half of American children under the age of 1 are members of minority groups.

50.4 percent of the nation’s babies born in a 12-month period that ended last July were Hispanic, black, Asian American, or other minority groups, based on the 2011 census data released on May 17. Non-Hispanic whites account for 49.6 percent.

Compared to 2010, minority babies accounted for 49.5 percent of all births.

Birth rates have actually been declining for whites and minorities because parents are postponing to have kids due to the recession, according to the Associated Press. The drop, however, has been larger for whites, falling by 11.4 percent, compared to 3.2 percent for minorities.

“This is the first tipping point. The kids are in the vanguard of the change that’s coming,” reports the Washington Post.

The overall data says that minorities increased 1.9 percent to 114.1 million, or 36.6 percent of the total U.S. population. However, the point when all minorities becoming the majority may not happen as soon as projected — some said 2040 — as the weak economy has resulted in fewer Hispanics coming to the United States, said the report from the Associated Press. The time when non-Hispanic whites become the minority may be pushed back several years.

[Associated Press]

[Washington Post]