Study: Whites to be Minority in 2050

Pew Research Center showed Monday that immigration will drive the population in the United States sharply upward between now and 2050. It is projected that increase of immigration will push whites into the minority.

Illegal immigration has become a hot topic for the presidential candidates, especially for Republicans who favor a crackdown. As AFP reports:

"If current trends continue, the population of the United States will rise to 438 million in 2050, from 296 million in 2005," an increase of nearly 50 percent, the study by the Washington-based think-tank said.

The report did warn that possible future changes in immigration policy could dramatically affect the study projections. The increase in population from the year 2005 to the year 2050 is largely due to immigration, more than 80 per cent. The report says that by the year 2050 whites will become a minority (47 per cent), but as of now whites make up two-thirds of the population. The Hispanic population is the largest minority group currently. However, according to this study the Hispanic group will triple in size and double in percentage terms, 14 per cent in 2005 to 29 per cent in 2050. The Asian population is expected to double in percentage terms, from five per cent to nine per cent. While the black population will remain around 13 per cent. These population growths are based on trends from over the past 50 years, in which legal and illegal immigrants have had huge impacts on the increase in population.