Alabama Landscapes
Race and Ethnicity
According to the US Census Bureau, in 2000 26% of Alabama's population were Black, 0.7% were Asian, 0.9% were American Indian, quite different from the nation as a whole (Table P2 and Figure P3). With whites being 71% of the population (compared with 75% for the USA), Alabama has a higher percentage of whites than its two southern neighbors, Georgia and Mississippi.
Table P2. 2000 Alabama Census data by race and ethnicity (U.S. Census Bureau)
|
Persons |
Total Persons |
Non-Hispanic Persons |
Hispanic Persons |
|
Total |
4,447,100 |
4,371,270 |
75,830 |
|
White Alone |
3,162,808 |
3,125,819 |
36,989 |
|
Black or African American Alone |
1,155,930 |
1,150,076 |
5,854 |
|
American Indian and Alaska Native Alone |
22,430 |
21,618 |
812 |
|
Asian Alone |
31,346 |
30,989 |
357 |
|
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander Alone |
1,409 |
1,059 |
350 |
|
Some Other Race Alone |
28,998 |
2,623 |
26,375 |
|
Two or More Races |
44,179 |
39,086 |
5,093 |
Source:
US Census 2000
Figure P3. Minority populations by race. (US Census 2000)
One point seven percent of Alabama residents claim Hispanic ethnicity, significantly smaller than the nation as a whole (12.5%) and lower than all neighboring states except Mississippi.
The largest minority, Blacks or African Americans, are not distributed uniformly over the state.
As shown in Figure P4, in 2004 blacks were a majority or a significant majority in 24 counties, most of which occur in the Coastal Plain area.
Figure P4. Distribution of Blacks or African Americans by County. The four black circles are from N to S Huntsville, Birmingham, Montgomery and Mobile. (Cartographic Research Laboratory, Dept. of Geography, University of Alabama)