The changing demography of latino immigrants in the united states  (Page 7/8)

Educational attainment among recent immigrants

Latino immigrants have traditionally had low levels of education, particularly in the case of Mexican immigrants. This is still the case. For example, among recent immigrants (those immigrating between 1990 and 2000) only about 38 % of Latino recent immigrants and 29 % of Mexican recent immigrants had a high school diploma in 2000 (Figure 7). However, with each succeeding census, there has been a noticeable increase in the percentage of recent arrivals that have a high school diploma. Mexican immigrants in particular have shown a significant improvement in their educational attainment levels between 1980 and 2000.

Poverty among recent immigrants

Low levels of education among immigrants are associated with high levels of poverty. Approximately three of every ten Latino and Mexican immigrants who immigrated to the United States between 1990 and 2000 had incomes that were considered below the poverty level in 1999 (the last full year in the case of the 2000 census which took place on April 1, 2000) (Figure 8). Data for the last three censuses show that the level of poverty among recent arrivals (those immigrating to the United States in the last ten years of each respective census) increased between 1979 and 1989 and then decreased in 1999.

Conclusions

We have provided a demographic profile of the Latino population alongside the Mexican population, the largest segment of the Latino population. The Latino population, due to this group’s young age structure, high levels of fertility, low mortality levels, and large volume of immigration, has driven the growth of the U.S. population disproportionately. Given the demographic profile of the Latino population, Latinos will continue to be the engine of the nation’s population growth in the 21 ^st century.

Population projections show the demographic trend of the “Latinozation” (reflecting the growth of the overall Latino population including Mexicans) in the United States over the coming decades. Latinos accounted for about 13% of the U.S. population in 2000. The Latino percentage share of the nation’s population is projected to increase progressively over the coming decades. Latinos are expected to comprise one-fifth of the U.S. population by 2030 and nearly one-fourth by 2050. Indeed, over the 2000-2050 period, Latinos are projected to nearly triple (188% projected increase), while the White population is projected to increase by a mere 7%. The changing face of the United States will be increasingly Latino, especially in the young and working-age categories. In contrast, as the Baby Boom generation (born in 1946 to 1964) reaches retirement age beginning in 2011, the elderly population is likely to be disproportionately White.