Spain and the United States - Real Instituto Elcano

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SPAIN AND THE UNITED STATES
According to the 2000 census, the Hispanic population is very significant in
some large metropolitan areas: 57% in Miami, 51% in San Antonio, 45% in
Los Angeles and 25% in New York. Half of the 100 largest metropolitan areas
in the United States have experienced explosive growth in their initially small
Hispanic populations. For example, Atlanta’s Hispanic population rose from
24,550 in the 1980 census (1% of the total) to 268,851 in the 2000 census (7%),
a rise of 995%. Hispanics represent more than 14% of the total population, but
close to 25% of the labour force because it is a much younger population. The
median age of Hispanics is 26.9 years, compared with 35.3 years for the
broader US population and around 40 for non-Hispanic whites.
Exhibit 5.3 Main US States with Hispanics (number and % of US total)*
There are two drivers behind the surge in this population: (1) the large
number of Hispanic immigrants who arrive in the United States every year; and
(2) Hispanics’ fertility rates, which are far higher than those of all other ethnic
minorities (2.9 children per female versus 1.8 among white, non-Hispanics).
Unlike other migrations, which came to an end (for example the European
ones – Germans, Irish, English, Italians, French, Poles, Scandinavians – from
the 19 th century to the mid-20 th century), the one from Latin America,
principally Mexico, is constantly evolving. The Hispanic community consists
of people of many different national origins, united by a common language but
by little else. Its members are also integrated into US society to varying
degrees, depending on which generation they belong to. The first generation is
largely Spanish-speaking and economically the weakest; a substantial part of