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.

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 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.

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

Top of Page

Top of Page

Top of Page

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.

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

Top of Page

Top of Page

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

HHS, Office of Minority Health (OMH)

African American Profile

Campaigns & Initiatives for African Americans

Colleges & Universities

U.S. Census Bureau

Facts for Features: Black (African-American History) Month

The Black Population: 2010

Top of Page

• CDC
• CDC Feature: African American History
• African American History Month Observance
• Black or African American NEWS Page
• CDC Health Disparities & Inequalities Report (CHDIR)


• National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP)
  • Division of Adult & Community Health (DACH)
    • Preventive Health & Health Services Block Grant
    • Promoting Health Equity
      
    • Racial & Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH)
    • Racial & Ethnic Health Disparities Action Institute (REHDAI)
  • Division of Cancer Prevention & Control (DCPC)
    • Health Disparities in Cancer | Cancer Disparities Feature
    • National Breast & Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP)
    • Prostate Cancer | Prostate Cancer Feature
  • Division of Diabetes Translation
    • Groups Especially Affected | Feature
  • Division for Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention
    • Heart Disease Feature
  • Division of Reproductive Health
    • Teen Pregnancy Prevention Feature
  • National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) Asthma
    • Asthma Feature
  • Health Equity
  • Office on Smoking & Health
    • Smoking & Tobacco Use - Health Disparities
    • 2010 Surgeon Gerneral's Report: How Tobocco Smoke Causes Disease
    • Pathways to Freedom: Winning the Fight Against Tobacco
      


• National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHSTP)
  • Disparities in HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STDs, and TB
    • African Americans / Blacks
      • Viral Hepatitis
      • STD Rates by Race or Ethnicity | Community Approaches to Reducing STDs
      • Tuberculosis (TB), African-American Community
  • Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention (DHAP)
    • Increasing HIV/AIDS Awareness Among Blacks/African Americans
    • HIV/AIDS among African Americans Fact Sheet
    • What CDC is Doing | Resources | Links


• African-American Media Resources
• Immigrant and Refugee Health
  
• National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC)
• National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD)
  • Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) | Sickel Cell Feature
• National Immunization Program (NIP)
  • Racial and Ethnic Populations


• National Institutes of Health (NIH)
• African American Health Medline Plus
• African American Health Healthfinder
• Cancer Health Disparities National Cancer Institute (NCI)
• National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)


• SAMHSA (Mental Health)
• Take Action in Your Community
• Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General

Top of Page

Please Note: Links to non-Federal organizations found at this site are provided solely as a service to our users. These links do not constitute an endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. The CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at these links.

• American Cancer Society (ACS)
• Project POWER - African Americans & Diabetes, American Diabetes Association (ADA)
• American Heart Association (AHA)
• American Lung Association (ALA)
• National SUID/SIDS Resource Center (NSSRC)

Top of Page

Each year, the CDC awards approximately $7 billion in over 14,000 separate grant and contract actions, including simplified acquisitions.

CDC's Procurement and Grants Office (PGO) website provides information on grants and business opportunities with the CDC.

Top of Page