Philadelphia

People

In 1990, the population of Philadelphia was 1,586,000, of which 39.9 percent were black, 2.7 percent Asian, and 0.2 percent Native American. Hispanics (both white and black) accounted for 5.6 percent of the population. The population estimate for 1994 was 1,524,249.

The population of the Philadelphia Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area was reported as 4,922,257 in 1990 and estimated at 4,940,653 as of 1997. The region's racial composition was listed by the U.S. Census Bureau in 1996 as 76.9 percent white; 20 percent black; and 2.9 percent Asian/Pacific Islander. The percentage of residents of Hispanic origin (an ethnic rather than a racial designation) was 4.3 percent.