This graph shows the population of the U.S. by race and ethnic group from 2000 to 2023. In 2023, there were around 21.39 million people of Asian origin living in the United States. A ranking of the most spoken languages across the world can be accessed here. U.S. populationCurrently, the white population makes up the vast majority of the United States’ population, accounting for some 252.07 million people in 2023. This ethnicity group contributes to the highest share of the population in every region, but is especially noticeable in the Midwestern region. The Black or African American resident population totaled 45.76 million people in the same year. The overall population in the United States is expected to increase annually from 2022, with the 320.92 million people in 2015 expected to rise to 341.69 million people by 2027. Thus, population densities have also increased, totaling 36.3 inhabitants per square kilometer as of 2021. Despite being one of the most populous countries in the world, following China and India, the United States is not even among the top 150 most densely populated countries due to its large land mass. Monaco is the most densely populated country in the world and has a population density of 24,621.5 inhabitants per square kilometer as of 2021. As population numbers in the U.S. continues to grow, the Hispanic population has also seen a similar trend from 35.7 million inhabitants in the country in 2000 to some 62.65 million inhabitants in 2021. This growing population group is a significant source of population growth in the country due to both high immigration and birth rates. The United States is one of the most racially diverse countries in the world.
There were almost 700 thousand slaves in the U.S. in 1790, which equated to approximately 18 percent of the total population, or roughly one in six people. By 1860, the final census taken before the American Civil War, there were four million slaves in the South, compared with less than 500,000 free Black Americans in all of the U.S.. Of the 4.4 million Blacks in the U.S. before the war, almost four million of these people were held as slaves; meaning that for all African Americans living in the US in 1860, there was an 89 percent* chance that they lived in slavery. A brief history Trans-Atlantic slavery began in the early 16th century, when the Portuguese and Spanish forcefully brought enslaved Africans to the New World. The British Empire introduced slavery to North America on a large scale, and the economy of the British colonies there depended on slave labor, particularly regarding cotton, sugar, and tobacco output. In the seventeenth and eighteenth century the number of slaves being brought to the Americas increased exponentially, and at the time of American independence it was legal in all thirteen colonies. Although slavery became increasingly prohibited in the north, the number of slaves remained high during this time as they were simply relocated or sold from the north to the south. It is also important to remember that the children of slaves were also viewed as property, and were overwhelmingly born into a life of slavery. Abolition and the American Civil War In the years that followed independence, the Northern States gradually prohibited slavery, it was officially abolished there by 1805, and the importation of slave labor was prohibited nationwide from 1808 (although both still existed in practice after this). Business owners in the Southern States however depended on slave labor in order to meet the demand of their rapidly expanding industries, and the issue of slavery continued to polarize American society in the decades to come. This culminated in the election of President Abraham Lincoln in 1860, who promised to prohibit slavery in the newly acquired territories to the west, leading to the American Civil War from 1861 to 1865. Although the Confederacy (south) took the upper hand in much of the early stages of the war, the strength in numbers of the northern states including many free, Black men, eventually resulted in a victory for the Union (north), and the nationwide abolishment of slavery with the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865. Legacy In total, an estimated twelve to thirteen million Africans were transported to the Americas as slaves, and this does not include the high number who did not survive the journey (which was as high as 23 percent in some years). In the 150 years since the abolition of slavery in the US, the African-American community have continuously campaigned for equal rights and opportunities that were not afforded to them along with freedom. The most prominent themes have been the Civil Rights Movement, voter suppression, mass incarceration, and the relationship between the police and the African-American community.
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Graph and download economic data for Unemployment Rate - Black or African American (LNS14000006) from Jan 1972 to Aug 2025 about African-American, 16 years +, household survey, unemployment, rate, and USA.
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Graph and download economic data for Population Level - Black or African American (LNU00000006) from Jan 1972 to Aug 2025 about African-American, civilian, population, and USA.
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United States - Population Level - Black or African American was 35818.00000 Thous. of Persons in July of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Population Level - Black or African American reached a record high of 35818.00000 in July of 2025 and a record low of 14332.00000 in January of 1972. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Population Level - Black or African American - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on September of 2025.
This statistic shows the population of the United States in the final census year before the American Civil War, shown by race and gender. From the data we can see that there were almost 27 million white people, 4.5 million black people, and eighty thousand classed as 'other'. The proportions of men to women were different for each category, with roughly 700 thousand more white men than women, over 100 thousand more black women than men, and almost three times as many men than women in the 'other' category. The reason for the higher male numbers in the white and other categories is because men migrated to the US at a higher rate than women, while there is no concrete explanation for the statistic regarding black people.
In 2023, ** percent of surveyed Americans said that Black people are treated less fairly than White people in dealing with the police in the United States, while ** percent said that both Black and White people are treated about equally when dealing with the police. In comparison, ** percent of Americans also said that both Black and White are treated about equally when voting in elections.
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Graph and download economic data for Employment-Population Ratio - Black or African American (LNS12300006) from Jan 1972 to Jul 2025 about African-American, employment-population ratio, 16 years +, household survey, population, employment, and USA.
This map shows the percentage of people who identify as something other than non-Hispanic white throughout the US according to the most current American Community Survey. The pattern is shown by states, counties, and Census tracts. Zoom or search for anywhere in the US to see a local pattern. Click on an area to learn more. Filter to your area and save a new version of the map to use for your own mapping purposes.The Arcade expression used was: 100 - B03002_calc_pctNHWhiteE, which is simply 100 minus the percent of population who identifies as non-Hispanic white. The data is from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS). The figures in this map update automatically annually when the newest estimates are released by ACS. For more detailed metadata, visit the ArcGIS Living Atlas Layer: ACS Race and Hispanic Origin Variables - Boundaries.The data on race were derived from answers to the question on race that was asked of individuals in the United States. The Census Bureau collects racial data in accordance with guidelines provided by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and these data are based on self-identification. The racial categories included in the census questionnaire generally reflect a social definition of race recognized in this country and not an attempt to define race biologically, anthropologically, or genetically. The categories represent a social-political construct designed for collecting data on the race and ethnicity of broad population groups in this country, and are not anthropologically or scientifically based. Learn more here.Other maps of interest:American Indian or Alaska Native Population in the US (Current ACS)Asian Population in the US (Current ACS)Black or African American Population in the US (Current ACS)Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander Population in the US (Current ACS)Hispanic or Latino Population in the US (Current ACS) (some people prefer Latinx)Population who are Some Other Race in the US (Current ACS)Population who are Two or More Races in the US (Current ACS) (some people prefer mixed race or multiracial)White Population in the US (Current ACS)Race in the US by Dot DensityWhat is the most common race/ethnicity?
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Graph and download economic data for Unemployment Level - 20 Yrs. & over, Black or African American Men (LNU03000031) from Jan 1972 to Aug 2025 about 20 years +, African-American, males, household survey, unemployment, and USA.
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Graph and download economic data for Labor Force Participation Rate - 20 Yrs. & over, Black or African American Men (LNU01300031) from Jan 1972 to Aug 2025 about 20 years +, African-American, males, participation, civilian, labor force, labor, household survey, rate, and USA.
In 2023, **** percent of Black people living in the United States were living below the poverty line, compared to *** percent of white people. That year, the total poverty rate in the U.S. across all races and ethnicities was **** percent. Poverty in the United States Single people in the United States making less than ****** U.S. dollars a year and families of four making less than ****** U.S. dollars a year are considered to be below the poverty line. Women and children are more likely to suffer from poverty, due to women staying home more often than men to take care of children, and women suffering from the gender wage gap. Not only are women and children more likely to be affected, racial minorities are as well due to the discrimination they face. Poverty data Despite being one of the wealthiest nations in the world, the United States had the third highest poverty rate out of all OECD countries in 2019. However, the United States' poverty rate has been fluctuating since 1990, but has been decreasing since 2014. The average median household income in the U.S. has remained somewhat consistent since 1990, but has recently increased since 2014 until a slight decrease in 2020, potentially due to the pandemic. The state that had the highest number of people living below the poverty line in 2020 was California.
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Replication files for "Reassessing the Contributions of Black Inventors to the Golden Age of Innovation" by Michael J. Andrews and Jonathan T. Rothwell, Essays in Economic and Business History 2023. During the Second Industrial Revolution and subsequently, it is widely believed that Black Americans contributed disproportionately little to the economic development of the United States, especially in comparison to European Americans and immigrants from Europe. Yet, Black Americans tended to live in entirely different institutional environments than other Americans, particularly in the South under Jim Crow laws. Using a new database that matches inventors to census records, we find that patenting rates for Black Americans living in the North were very similar to patenting rates for White Americans from 1870 to 1940; in some decades and states, Northern Black patenting rates exceeded the patenting rate for White Americans. In the South, patenting rates were low for both Black and White Americans, while patenting rates for Northern Black residents were far higher than those for Southern White residents. We additionally find that Black Americans from all regions were responsible for more patents than immigrants from all but two countries (Germany and England). In total, we estimate that African Americans invented more than 50,000 patents over the period. Thus, when freed of extreme political oppression, Black Americans demonstrated a level of inventiveness that matched the most inventive groups in US history.
The statistic shows the share of U.S. population, by race and Hispanic origin, in 2016 and a projection for 2060. As of 2016, about 17.79 percent of the U.S. population was of Hispanic origin. Race and ethnicity in the U.S. For decades, America was a melting pot of the racial and ethnical diversity of its population. The number of people of different ethnic groups in the United States has been growing steadily over the last decade, as has the population in total. For example, 35.81 million Black or African Americans were counted in the U.S. in 2000, while 43.5 million Black or African Americans were counted in 2017.
The median annual family income in the United States in 2017 earned by Black families was about 50,870 U.S. dollars, while the average family income earned by the Asian population was about 92,784 U.S. dollars. This is more than 15,000 U.S. dollars higher than the U.S. average family income, which was 75,938 U.S. dollars.
The unemployment rate varies by ethnicity as well. In 2018, about 6.5 percent of the Black or African American population in the United States were unemployed. In contrast to that, only three percent of the population with Asian origin was unemployed.
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Graph and download economic data for Consumer Unit Characteristics: Percent Men Reference Persons by Race: Black or African American (CXU980210LB0905M) from 1984 to 2023 about consumer unit, African-American, males, percent, personal, and USA.
The graph depicts the leading music genres among African Americans in the United States as of November 2018. During the survey, ** percent of respondents stated that R&B was one of their top three genres of music.
This dataset represents the popular last names in the United States for Black.
The percentage of persons, out of the total number of persons living in an area, self-identifying as racially Black or African American (and ethnically non-Hispanic). “Black or African American” refers to a person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa. This indicator includes people who identified their race as “Black”. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey Years Available: 2010, 2011-2015, 2012-2016, 2013-2017, 2014-2018, 2015-2019, 2020, 2017-2021, 2018-2022, 2019-2023
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This dataset is about news. It has 1 row and is filtered where the keywords includes Black people-Race identity-United States-History. It features 10 columns including source, publication date, section, and news link.
This statistics shows the leading metropolitan areas with the highest percentage of Black population in the United States in 2023. Among the 81 largest metropolitan areas, Memphis, Tennessee was ranked first with ** percent of residents reporting as Black or African-Americans in 2023.
This graph shows the population of the U.S. by race and ethnic group from 2000 to 2023. In 2023, there were around 21.39 million people of Asian origin living in the United States. A ranking of the most spoken languages across the world can be accessed here. U.S. populationCurrently, the white population makes up the vast majority of the United States’ population, accounting for some 252.07 million people in 2023. This ethnicity group contributes to the highest share of the population in every region, but is especially noticeable in the Midwestern region. The Black or African American resident population totaled 45.76 million people in the same year. The overall population in the United States is expected to increase annually from 2022, with the 320.92 million people in 2015 expected to rise to 341.69 million people by 2027. Thus, population densities have also increased, totaling 36.3 inhabitants per square kilometer as of 2021. Despite being one of the most populous countries in the world, following China and India, the United States is not even among the top 150 most densely populated countries due to its large land mass. Monaco is the most densely populated country in the world and has a population density of 24,621.5 inhabitants per square kilometer as of 2021. As population numbers in the U.S. continues to grow, the Hispanic population has also seen a similar trend from 35.7 million inhabitants in the country in 2000 to some 62.65 million inhabitants in 2021. This growing population group is a significant source of population growth in the country due to both high immigration and birth rates. The United States is one of the most racially diverse countries in the world.