New Census Bureau Report Analyzes Nation’s Linguistic Diversity
Population Speaking a Language Other than English at Home Increases by 140 Percent in Past Three Decades
The number of people 5 and older who spoke a language other than English at home has more than doubled in the last three decades and at a pace four times greater than the nation’s population growth, according to a new U.S. Census Bureau report analyzing data from the 2007 American Community Survey and over a time period from 1980 – 2007. In that time frame, the percentage of speakers of non-English languages grew by 140 percent while the nation’s overall population grew by 34 percent.
Spanish speakers accounted for the largest numeric increase — nationwide, there were 23.4 million more speakers in 2007 than in 1980 representing a 211 percent increase. The Vietnamese-speaking population accounted for the largest percentage increase of 511 percent (1.0 million speakers) over the same timeframe.
For the complete information and report visit: http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/american_community_survey_acs/014737.html
