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In September 1968, Congress authorized President Lyndon B. Johnson to proclaim National Hispanic Heritage Week, observed during the week that included Sept. 15 and Sept. 16. In 1989, Congress expanded the observance to a month long celebration (Sept. 15-Oct. 15) of the culture and traditions of those who trace their roots to Spain, Mexico and the Spanish-speaking nations of Central America, South America and the Caribbean.
Sept. 15 is the starting point for the celebration because it is the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on Sept. 16 and Sept. 18, respectively.
The following facts are made possible by the invaluable cooperation of the public to the U.S. Census Bureau’s surveys. We appreciate the information shared by each respondent as we continuously measure America’s people, places and economy.
The Hispanic population of the United States as of July 1, 2017, making people of Hispanic origin the nation’s largest ethnic or racial minority. Hispanics constituted 18.1 percent of the nation’s total population.
Source:
The number of states with a population of 1 million or more Hispanic residents in 2017 — Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York and Texas.
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See a detailed profile on the Hispanic population from the 2016 American Community Survey. Statistics include:
The following is a list of observances typically covered by the Census Bureau’s Facts for Features series:
Black (African American) History Month (February) Women's History Month (March) Irish-American Heritage Month (March) Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month (May) The Fourth of July (July 4) Anniversary of Americans With Disabilities Act (July 26) Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15) Halloween (Oct. 31) American Indian/Alaska Native Heritage Month (November) Veterans Day (Nov. 11) Thanksgiving Day/Holiday Season (November-December) |
Editor’s note: The preceding data were collected from a variety of sources and may be subject to sampling variability and other sources of error. Facts for Features are customarily released about two months before an observance in order to accommodate magazine production timelines. Questions or comments should be directed to the Census Bureau’s Public Information Office: telephone: 301-763-3030; or e-mail: pio@census.gov.
Profile America's Facts for Features provides statistics related to observances and holidays not covered by Stats for Stories. For observances not listed below, visit our Stats for Stories web page.
Profile America's Stats for Stories provides links to timely story ideas highlighting the Census Bureau's newsworthy statistics that relate to current events, observances, holidays, and anniversaries. The story ideas are intended to assist the media in story mining and producing content for their respective audiences.
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