The Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated each year in the United States as a recognition of the contributions that the Hispanic Americans have made for the development of our Nation.
What started in 1968 as a one-week celebration, nowadays is a full month from September 15th thru October 15th. The selection of these specific dates are because seven Latin American countries celebrate their Independence days during that period: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua on September 15th, Mexico on the 16th and Chile on the 18th. Also Columbus Day or the Discovery of the Americas is on October 12th.
According to the US Census Bureau, Hispanics or Latinos are “Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race” and in 2012 all these cultures will be united under the Hispanic Heritage Month theme Diversity United, Building America’s Future Today.
The following are some facts about the Hispanic in the United States that will help you understand how important has been the impact of the Latino community in this country.
15 Cool and Interesting Facts About Hispanics in the United States
1. 52.0 MILLION OR 16.7% The Hispanic population of the US as of July 1, 2011, making people of Hispanic origin the nation’s largest ethnic or race minority. In addition, there are 3.7 million residents of Puerto Rico, a US territory.
2. GARCÍA, RODRÍGUEZ, MARTÍNEZ & HERNÁNDEZ are the most common Hispanic surnames in the US in the year 2000. The year 2000 was the first time that a Hispanic surname reached the top 15 in the nation during a census.
3. 2ND is the ranking of the US Hispanic population worldwide, as of 2010 with 50.5 million. Only Mexico’s population with 112 million is larger than the US. – Source: International Data Base
4. 37.0 MILLION OR 12.8% is the number of US residents 5 and older who spoke Spanish at home in 2010. More than half of these Spanish speakers spoke English “very well.”
5. 1.2 MILLION is the number of Hispanics or Latinos 18 and older who are veterans of the US armed forces.
6. 67.8% is the percentage of Hispanics or Latinos 16 and older who were in the civilian labor force in 2010.
7. 1.1 MILLION is the number of Hispanics 25 and older with advanced degrees in 2010 (like Master’s, Professional or Doctorate).
8. 25 is the number of states in which Hispanics were the largest minority group. These states were Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wyoming.
9. $350.7 BILLION receipts generated by Hispanic-owned businesses in 2007. Up 58.0% from 2002.
10. 132.8 MILLION is the projected Hispanic population of the United States on July 1, 2050. That is 30% of the US population by that date.
11. MORE THAN 50% is the percent of all the Hispanic population that lives in California, Florida, and Texas as of July 1, 2011.
12. 10.7 MILLION is the number of Hispanic family households in the United States in 2011.
13. 2.3 MILLION is the number of Hispanic-owned businesses in 2007, up 43.6 percent from 2002.
14. 63% is the percentage of Hispanic-origin people in the United States who were of Mexican background in 2010. Another 9.2% were of Puerto Rican background, 3.5% Cuban, 3.3% Salvadoran and 2.8% Dominican. The remainder was of some other Central American, South American or other Hispanic/Latino origin.
15. 1 IN 4 is the amount of counties in which Hispanics doubled their population since 2000.
Source: Facts for Features from the United States Census Bureau
All these facts are pinnables!
Follow the the Speaking Latino Hispanic Heritage Month Pinterest board that includes pinnable images for all these facts:
Check out these other articles about the Spanish Language.
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