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Show POPULATION BY RACE/ETHNICITY Race and ethnicity are factors usually associated with differences in health status (For example, see Infant Mortality by Race/Ethnicity, p. 21). When minority populations are small in numbers, small changes in the frequency of illness or death often result in large fluctuations of rates from year to year. This tends to exaggerate or underestimate the differences in health among population sub-groups. In 1980 the proportion of Utah's population classified as White was 94.6%, which decreased to 93.8% in 1990. In contrast, the U.S. proportion of population classified as White was 83.1% in 1980 and 80.3% in 1990. For both Utah and the nation, the proportion of people from Asian/Pacific Islander origin increased more than for other races between 1980 and 1990 (Table 7, Figure 9). Utah has more American Indians as a proportion of its population than does the nation. This category increased from 1.3% of the total population in 1980 to 1.4% in 1990. The proportion of the population which the census classifies as Black is much lower in Utah than the nation. In assessing Hispanic origin the U.S. Census asks the question, "Is this person of Spanish/Hispanic origin?" Those who do report being Hispanic can be of any race. The percentage of persons reporting Hispanic origin increased in both Utah and the U.S. Table 7 Population by Race/Ethnicity (Percentages) American Asian or Pacific White Bla< :k Hispanic* Indian, Eskimo, Islan der Other or Aleut Year Utah U. S. Utah U. S. Utah U.S. Utah U.S. Utah U.S. Utah U .S. 1980 94.6 83 .1 0.6 11 .7 4.1 6.4 1.3 0.6 1.0 1.5 2.4 3 .0 1990 93.8 80 .3 0.7 12 .1 4.9 9.0 1.4 0.8 1.9 2.9 2.2 3 .9 *Those who report Hispanic origin can be of any race. Figure 9 Comparison of Population by Race/Ethnicity White (U.S.) ^^fe^^sM?......-^......KA.......¦......».:::¦*.....'.......:m::v. >r¦¦;¦¦¦¦¦¦:, , ¦.. -¦¦,-¦ - - ~^1 SU.3 183. 1 White (Utah) 1 C) \86 ¦l t Black (U.S.) -------------,1 12.1 11.7 Black (Utah) Hispanic (U.S.) Hispanic (Utah) 3£? Asian/Islander (U.S.) ?i¥ Asian/Islander (Utah) Pi1-9 Indian (U.S.) 0.8 0.6 ¦ 1990 Indian (Utah) 3H H 1980 Other (\ IP 3.y Other (Utah) " in, C 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Utah's Health: An Annual Review 1994 |