Answer:
To outline racial and ethnic groups, demographers depended on the U.S. decennial census and annual Current Population Surveys (CPS). To calculate marriage, fertility, and mortality rates, demographers use the national vital statistics records of births, marriages, and deaths. Estimates of internal migration come from the U.S. Bureau of the Census (USBC), and estimates of international migration come from the Immigration and Naturalization Services and USBC.
Explanation:
Population size is determined by three principal metrics of demography: mortality, fertility, and migration. Racial and ethnic differences in rates of one or more of these metrics cause the racial composition of the nation to change. Recently, international migration and higher fertility rates among some racial and ethnic groups have been the sole contributors to the nation’s population growth and changing composition.
Historical Trends
The racial and ethnic composition of the more than 265 million U.S. residents is 1 percent American Indian, 3 percent Asian, 11 percent Hispanic, 12 percent Black, and 73 percent White (Deardorff and Hollmann, 1997)—quite different than it was 50 years ago, and projected to be different 50 years from now.
