A new report claims white Americans aren't procreating like they used to.
For the first time in U.S history, the number of white people in the nation is expected to show a decline when racial breakdowns of the 2020 Census are reported this week.
The data, set to be released on August 12, will reveal just how much the ethnic and racial make up of the nation has shifted over the past decade, according to preliminary data seen by The Washington Post.
'Twenty years ago if you told people this was going to be the case, they wouldn't have believed you,' said William Frey, demographer at the Brookings Institution. 'The country is changing dramatically.'
For five years now, updates from the U.S. Census Bureau have estimated that the white population was shirking and that all population growth has been from minorities, the Post reports.
White people accounted for about 60% of the population in 2019, but Frey said that the opioid epidemic and lower-than-anticipated birthrates among millennials after the Great Recession has accelerated the white population's decline.
The largest and most steady gains were seen among Hispanics, who have doubled their share of the population over the last 30 years to almost 20%.
They are believed to be responsible for half of the nations growth since 20110.
The Black population stayed steady at around 12.5%, and the Asian population is expected to be around 6%, about double what it was in the 1990s.
For the first time ever, the portion of White people living in the U.S. could dip below 60%, while the majority of the under-18 population is likely to be made up of people of color.
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