The Hispanic Population in the United States: March 1986 and 1987 INTRODUCTION This report presents demographic, social, and economic characteristics of the Hispanic population' in the United States based on the March 1986 and 1987 Current Population Surveys (CPS).2 The estimates of Hispanics were developed using a revised procedure which includes an allowance for net undocumented immigration and an increase in the estimate of emigration by legal residents. See appendix A for a discussion of the methodology used in developing current independent estimates of the total Hispanic population. The report contains information about the total Hispanic population, as well as its subgroups-Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central and South American, and other Spanish origin.3 Comparable data for the total United States and the non-Hispanic population also are included. The social and economic characteristics presented include age, sex, marital status, educational attainment, school enrollment, fertility, voting and registration, employment status, family composition and size, income, and poverty status. HIGHLIGHTS • The Hispanic civilian noninstitutional population increased by 4.3 million (or 30 percent) from 1980 to 1987. • The educational attainment of Hispanics has improved since 1982, but lags behind that of non-Hispanics. • The proportion of Hispanics 18 to 21 years old who were high school dropouts decreased from 34 percent (± 3.7 percentage points)4 in October 1982 to 29 percent (± 3.5) in October 1985. 'The terms "Hispanic" and "Spanish" are used interchangeably in this report. 2The population universes in the March 1986 and 1987 CPS's are the civilian noninstitutional populations of the United States and members of the Armed Forces in the United States living off post or with their families on post, but exclude all other members of the Armed Forces. "Unless otherwise noted, persons reporting "Other Spanish" origin are those whose origins are from Spain, or those identifying themselves generally as Spanish, Spanish-American, Hispano, Latino, etc. "The number in parenthesis is equal to 1.6 times the standard error of the estimate. This gives the 90-percent confidence interval when added to and subtracted from the estimate. A complete discussion of confidence intervals and standard errors is given in appendix C, "Source and Reliability of the Estimates." • The voter turnout rate for eligible Hispanics was 36 percent (± 2.7) in the November 1986 Congressional election, lower than the 49 percent (± 0.4) voter turnout rate for non-Hispanics. • The June 1986 survey showed that Hispanic women 18 to 44 years old were more likely to have borne children than non-Hispanic women, and generally had more children per woman than non-Hispanic women. • The poverty rate of Spanish origin families in 1986 was almost three times as high as that of nonHispanic families. POPULATION CHANGE AND COMPOSITION In March 1987, there were 18.8 million Hispanics in the civilian noninstitutional population of the United States, or about 700,000 more than in 1986. The Hispanic population increased by 30 percent between the 1980 census and the March 1987 CPS, compared with 6 percent for the non-Hispanic population (table A). In March 1987, the Hispanic civilian noninstitutional population of the United States included the following subgroups: Mexican origin Central and South American origin...... Other Hispanic origin..... .11.8 million (±141,000) .2.3 million (± 104,000) .1.0 million (± 72,000) ..2.1 million (± 101,000) ........1.6 million (± 89,000) (The estimates of the Puerto Rican and Central and South American populations shown above are not statistically different.) Among Hispanic groups, the highest rate of growth between 1982 and 1987 was experienced by the Central and South American population,5 40 percent (4.4); followed by Other Hispanics, 33 percent (4.4); and Mexicans, 22 percent (1.1). Puerto Ricans, 11 percent (± 1.8), and Cubans, 7 percent (2.1), experienced the smallest growth during the period (table B). 5The March 1982 CPS is used as the base year for calculating percent change among the Hispanic subgroups since data for the individual groups, Central and South American and Other Hispanic. are not readily available from the 1980 census. Table A. Change in the Total and Hispanic Populations, by Type of Origin: April 1980 to March 1987 (For the United States. Numbers in thousands) 2In the 1980 census, the "Other Spanish" category included persons from Spain, the Spanish-speaking countries of Central and South America, and Hispanic persons who identified themselves generally as Latino, Spanish-American, Spanish, etc. In the CPS, the category "Central and South American" is listed as a separate origin. Table B. Persons of Hispanic Origin, by Type of Origin: March 1987 and 1982 CPS's and 1980 Census (For the United States. Numbers in thousands) 'Estimates from the March 1987 and 1982 CPS's reflect the civilian noninstitutional population of the United States and members of the Armed Forces in the United States living off post or with their families on post, but excludes all other members of the Armed Forces. 2Data from the 1980 census are based on the civilian noninstitutional population. In the 1980 census, the "Other Spanish" category included persons from Spain, the Spanish-speaking countries of Central and South America, and Hispanic persons who identified themselves generally as Latino, Spanish-American, Spanish, etc. In the CPS, the category "Central or South American" is listed as a separate origin. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS Educational attainment. Hispanics showed gains in educational levels between 1982 and 1987. Specifically, the proportion of Hispanic persons 25 years old and over who had completed 4 years of high school or more was 51 percent (± 1.3) in 1987, up from 45 percent (± 1.5) in 1982. The proportion of Hispanics 25 years old and over who completed 4 or more years of college, however, did not change significantly-9 percent (± 0.7) in 1987 and 8 percent (± 0.8) in 1982. For non-Hispanics, a comparable change was evident for those completing 4 years of high school or more. Furthermore, non-Hispanics made gains in the proportion completing 4 or more years of college (table C). School enrollment. In addition to showing gains in educational attainment levels, the proportion of Hispanic persons 18 to 21 years old who were high school dropouts decreased from 34 percent (± 3.7) in October 1982 to 29 percent (± 3.5) in October 1985. The proportion of Hispanics who were high school dropouts in 1985, however, was more than twice as high as that of non-Hispanics. The October 1985 CPS showed that 29 percent (± 3.5) of Hispanics 18 to 21 years old were high school dropouts compared to only 13 percent (± 0.7) of non-Hispanics. College enrollment of Hispanics 18 to 21 years old did not change significantly between October 1982 and 1985. In 1985, the proportion of Hispanics enrolled in college, 22 percent (± 3.2), was much lower than that for non-Hispanics, 38 percent (1.0) (figure 1 and table 9). Voting and registration. Voting information published in other Current Population Reports is based on all persons 18 years old and over regardless of citizenship status. However, 33 percent (± 2.1) of the voting-age Hispanic population were not citizens of the United States, and therefore not eligible to vote. Thus, in this report, only citizens of the United States who are 18 years old and over are considered. U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports, Series P-20, No. 414, Voting and Registration in the Election of November 1986. |