Black or African American Populations

Blacks or African Americans are people having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. It includes people who indicated their race(s) as “Black, African Am., or Negro” or reported entries such as African American; Sub-Saharan African entries, such as Kenyan and Nigerian; and Afro-Caribbean entries such as Haitian and Jamaican.

Demographics

In 2010, the population of African Americans including those of more than one race, was estimated at over 42 million, making up 13.6 percent of the total U.S. population.

Those who identify only as African American constitute approximately 12.6 percent of the Amercian population - almost 39 million individuals.

The Census Bureau projects that by the year 2050, there will be more than 65.7 million African American individuals in the United States, comprising 15 percent of the total U.S. population.

The African American population is represented throughout the country, with the largest concentrations in the South, where 55% of those who reported Black (alone or in combination) on their census form lived.

States with the largest percentage of Blacks per total population in 2010 were: Mississippi(38%), Louisiana(33%), Georgia(32 %), Maryland(31%), South Carolina(29%), and Alabama(27%).

States with the largest Black populations in 2010 were: New York(3.3million), Florida(3.2 million), Texas(3.2 million), Georgia(3.1 million), California(2.7 million), and North Carolina(2.2 million).

African American Family

African Americans have a long history in the United States. Some African American families have been in the United States for many generations; others are recent immigrants from places such as Africa, the Caribbean, or the West Indies.

African American elders For more information, See:

US Census Bureau, 2012 Facts for Features,
Black (African-American) History Month: February 2012

US Census Bureau, 2010 Census Briefs,
The Black Population 2010 issued September, 2011

US Census Bureau, Race Data,
Black Population Annual Social & Economic (ASEC) Supplement

US Census Bureau, 2010 Census Briefs,
Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin: 2010

US Office of Managment and Budget (OMB),
OMB Bulletin Guidance on Aggregation and Allocation of Data on Race

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10 Leading Causes of Death

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Other High Prevalence Health Issues

In addition, Blacks or African Americans have disproportionately high prevalence of the following conditions and risk factors:
Hypertension
Factsheet
Fast Stats

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Health Disparities

The health disparities between African Americans and other racial groups are striking and are apparent in life expectancy, death rates, infant mortality, and other measures of health status.

African American Family For example:

In 2007, the average American could expect to live 77.9 years, while the average African American could only expect to live 73.6 years, compared with 78.4 years for the average White American. Health, US, 2010 Table 22

Compared with any other population from 2005-2007, African Americans had the largest age-adjusted death rate for all causes and for specific death rates due to heart disease, stroke or cancer.

The U.S. infant mortality rate for mothers of all races was 6.8 deaths per 1,000 live births. while the rate for white mothers was only 5.6 deaths per 1,000 live births, the rate for African American mothers was 13.2 deaths per 1,000 live births. Health, US, 2010 Table 17

Factors contributing to poor health outcomes among African Americans include discrimination, cultural barriers, and lack of access to health care.

For more information on some of the health disparities faced by the African-American community see the African-American History Month Observance, and click below for brochures, slides and statistics on that topic.

For more information, See:

Mortality Rates by Race/Ethnicity, Health, U.S., 2010, Table 24

Healthy People

NCHS HealthyPeople 2010 Snapshot for the non-Hispanic black Population:
Progress toward targets, size of disparities, and changes in disparities
NCHS HealthyPeople 2010 Final Review (2010)
CDC Wonder, Data 2010, the Healthy People 2010 Database
Healthy People 2020
Healthy People 2020 Brochure
NCHS HealthyPeople 2020 Summary

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OMHHE Slides

Presentation on CDC's Office of Minority Health & Health Disparities (OMHHE).

PPT Version

CDC Health Disparities & Inequalities Report, 2011 (CHDIR)

CHDIR, 2011

CHDIR Slides

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Health Statistics

Additional Resources from CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)

NCHS Health of Black or African American non-Hispanic Population,
Fast Stats

Health Data Interactive

Health, United States, 2010

Black or African American Population

Leading Causes of Death by Race/Ethnicity Table 26

Other Resources

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