Hispanic Americans

The terms Hispanic and Latino are used by the U.S. government to describe a person whose origin or ancestry comes from a Spanish [Page 697]culture, including countries such as Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the countries of Central and South America. The term Hispanic will be used in this entry. Hispanic is a cultural or ethnic designation rather than a racial description, and a Hispanic person can be of any race. As of July 2013, about 54 million Hispanics lived in the United States, comprising 17 percent of the total U.S. population. By 2060, the U.S. Hispanic population is projected to increase to 128.8 million people, comprising 31 percent of the U.S. population. The United States has the second-largest population of Hispanic people of any ...