Hispanic American

Hispanic and Latino Americans
Total population
c. 56,592,793 (17.61% of the population)
Regions with significant populations
Across the country, especially in the Southwestern United States as well as in urban areas.
Languages
American English, and Spanish.
Religion
Predominantly Roman Catholic; minority of Protestants. Minorities in numerous other religions.
Related ethnic groups
Latin Americans, White Latin Americans, American Indians, Afro-Latin Americans, Asian Latin Americans, Mestizos, Mulattoes, Pardos, Castizos, Tejanos, Chicanos, Nuyoricans,

Hispanic Americans and Latino Americans (Spanish: hispanos [isˈpanos]), are Americans who are descendants of the peoples of Spain, Portugal, or the Spanish- or Portuguese-speaking countries of Latin America. More generally, it includes all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino, whether of full or partial ancestry. For the 2010 United States Census, people counted as "Hispanic" or "Latino" were those who identified as one of the specific Hispanic or Latino categories listed on the census questionnaire ("Mexican," "Puerto Rican," or "Cuban") as well as those who indicated that they were "other Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino." The national origins classified as Hispanic or Latino by the United States Census Bureau are the following: Spanish, Argentine, Cuban, Colombian, Puerto Rican, Mexican, Dominican, Costa Rican, Guatemalan, Honduran, Nicaraguan, Panamanian, Salvadoran, Bolivian, Chilean, Ecuadorian, Paraguayan, Peruvian, Uruguayan, and Venezuelan. Other U.S. government agencies have slightly different definitions of the term, including Brazilians and other Portuguese-speaking groups. The Census Bureau uses the terms Hispanic and Latino interchangeably.