More than six-in-ten Hispanics in the U.S. self-identify as being of Mexican origin. Nine of the other ten largest Hispanic origin groups—Puerto Rican, Cuban, Salvadoran, Dominican, Guatemalan, Colombian, Honduran, Ecuadorian and Peruvian—account for about a third of the U.S. Hispanic population. There are differences across these ten population groups in the share of each that is foreign born, citizen (by birth or naturalization), and proficient in English. They are also of varying age, tend to live in different areas within the U.S, and have varying levels of education, homeownership rates, and poverty rates. These and other characteristics are explored in ten fact sheets, one for each country-of-origin group. Each population is also compared with all Hispanics and the U.S. population overall.

Latino youths (ages 16 to 25) are more likely to be in school or in the workforce now than their counterparts had been in 1970, but significant gaps remain, not only between the educational attainment of Latino and white youths, but between the high value that Latino youths place on a college education and their more modest aspirations to get a college degree themselves.

These are among the key findings of two separate Pew Hispanic Center reports: "Latinos and Education: Explaining the Attainment Gap," which is based on a new nationwide Pew Hispanic Center survey of Latinos, and "The Changing Pathways of Latino Youths Into Adulthood," which is based on the Center's analysis of Census Bureau data from 1970 to the present.

Six-in-ten Hispanic adults in the U.S. who are neither citizens nor legal permanent residents lack health insurance. That is more than twice as high as the rate among Hispanic adults who are citizens or legal permanent residents and more than three times the rate for the adult U.S. population. Almost all adult Hispanic immigrants who are neither citizens nor legal permanent residents are estimated to be undocumented. This group is also more likely than other Hispanic adults to lack a usual health care provider and seek services at a clinic or health center. About one-in-three of those without a usual provider report finances are a factor but the majority say they do not need one.

The flow of immigrants from Mexico to the United States has declined sharply since mid-decade, but there is no evidence of an increase in Mexican-born migrants returning home from the U.S.

Survey data from the U.S. and Mexico reveal a large flow of migrants back to Mexico, but the size of the return flow appears to be stable since 2006. As for immigration to the U.S. from Mexico, surveys from both countries attest to recent substantial decreases in the number of new arrivals, reinforced by U.S. Border Patrol data showing markedly reduced apprehensions of Mexicans trying to cross into the United States illegally.

Is Judge Sonia Sotomayor the first Hispanic ever nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court, or does that distinction belong to Justice Benjamin Cardozo, who served on the court from 1932-38 and whose family tree apparently had some roots in Portugal? The question of who's Hispanic -- and who isn't -- turns out to be pretty complicated.

The number of Hispanic children has nearly tripled since 1980 and their demographic profile has changed. More than half of the nation's 16 million Hispanic children are now "second generation," meaning they are the U.S.-born sons or daughters of at least one foreign-born parent. In 1980, a majority of Hispanic children were third or higher generation -- the U.S.-born sons or daughters of U.S.-born parents. This report also looks at the differences in the socio-economic profile and legal status of Hispanic children by generation.

During the housing boom of 1995-2005, the nation's minority groups experienced greater gains than whites in homeownership rates. But in the market meltdown since then, homeownership rates have fallen more steeply for most minorities than for whites. Through both boom and bust, Hispanics and blacks have been far more likely than whites to receive higher-priced loans and carry higher debt relative to their incomes. Meantime, while immigrants have a substantially lower homeownership rate than the native born, they also have experienced a smaller decline in the rate during the market bust. The report also examines how demographic patterns are related to foreclosure rates across the nation's 3,141 counties.

The electorate in last year's presidential election was the most racially and ethnically diverse in U.S. history, with nearly one-in-four votes cast by non-whites. The nation's three biggest minority groups--blacks, Hispanics and Asians--each accounted for unprecedented shares of the presidential vote. Additionally, the levels of participation by black, Hispanic and Asian eligible voters all increased from 2004 to 2008, reducing the gap between themselves and white eligible voters. This was particularly true for black eligible voters. Their voter turnout rate increased 4.9 percentage points, from 60.3% in 2004 to 65.2% in 2008, nearly matching the voter turnout rate of white eligible voters (66.1%).

The nation's 11.9 million unauthorized immigrants are more geographically dispersed than in the past, according to a new Pew Hispanic Center demographic and geographic analysis of this group that includes population and labor force estimates for each state. Undocumented immigrants also are more likely than either U.S. born residents or legal immigrants to live in a household with children, a growing share of whom--73%--are U.S. born citizens. The new report also finds that the recent rapid growth in the undocumented immigrant labor force has come to a halt, and estimates that the nation's 8.3 million unauthorized immigrant workers in March 2008 made up 5.4% of the labor force.

See Also: Mexican Immigrants in the United States, 2008

Latinos' confidence in the U.S. criminal justice system is closer to the relatively low levels expressed by blacks than to the higher levels expressed by whites, according to a pair of nationwide surveys by the Pew Research Center. Six-in-ten (61%) Hispanics say they have a great deal or a fair amount of confidence that the police in their communities will do a good job enforcing the law, compared with 78% of whites and 55% of blacks. Fewer than half of Latinos say they are confident that Hispanics will be treated fairly by the courts (49%) and police officers (45%).

See Also: A Rising Share: Hispanics and Federal Crime