According to projections released yesterday by the US Census bureau, the racial makeup and age distribution of America’s population is about to undergo some important changes.
The study reports that by the year 2042 minority groups in the US will outnumber the population of white Americans, and will represent more than 50% of the population by 2050 (when the US population is expected be nearly 440 million.)
From an article in the Washington Post:
The shift will happen sooner among children, 44 percent of whom are minority. By 2023, more than half are expected to be minority, and by 2050, the proportion will be 62 percent.
The largest share of children, 39 percent, is projected to be Hispanic, followed by non-Hispanic whites (38 percent), African Americans (11 percent) and Asians (6 percent).
Hispanics, including immigrants and their descendants as well as U.S.-born residents whose American roots stretch back generations, are expected to account for the most growth among minorities. That population is expected to nearly triple by 2050, growing from about one in six residents to one in three.
In addition to the change in racial distribution, the study predicts that the population will be older on average. The percentage of Americans 85 years and older in the population will double from it’s present value of 2% to 4% by 2050.
The article in the post goes on to discuss the challenges to the US economy and infrastructure that these changes will bring. But there’s little discussion of the effect they’ll have on denominational life.