AS THE POPULATION GROWS - SO DOES THE CRY FOR INDEPENDENCE!
The Honolulu Advertiser
Tuesday, May 18, 2004
Native Hawaiian population rising
By Timothy Hurley - Advertiser Staff Writer
The number of U.S. residents who say they are at least part-Hawaiian or other Pacific islander is approaching 1 million, the U.S. Census Bureau reported yesterday.
The nation's population of Native Hawaiians and Pacific islanders rose by 4 percent to 943,000 in the two years following the 2000 Census, the agency said. A similar growth rate would push the population past 980,000 today.
The Census Bureau yesterday released a variety of Native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander data as part of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
The numbers indicate that the nation's largest Pacific islander group is Native Hawaiians (401,000), while Samoans are No. 2 (133,000).
Hawai'i is home to the largest population (271,000) of Native Hawaiians and other Pacific islanders, and boasts the country's largest proportion, with 22 percent of the population falling into that category.
Honolulu is home to more Native Hawaiians and other Pacific islanders (179,000) than any other county in the nation, while Hawai'i County has the largest proportion (30 percent of its population) among counties of least 100,000 people.
