Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 23, Number 4, 1 April 2006 — Hawaiian population projected to grow [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Hawaiian population projected to grow

Study also suggests percentage of Hawaiians living on the continent will continue to increase

By Sterling Kini Weng Publicatiūns Editūr

The number of Native Hawaiians in the United States is estimated to double over the next 50 years, topping 1 million sometime in 2050, according to a Kamehameha Schools study. The findings in the "Laupa'i Kānaka: Native Hawaiian Population Forecasts for 2000 to

2050" study seem to conflict with recent U.S. Census Bureau reports that showed the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander population in Hawai'i dropping slightly from April 2000 to Iuly 2004. In the Kamehameha Schools' study, researcher Nolan Malone notes that the differences in the two studies stem from "methodologieal and demographic forces that cloud the interpretations of the estimates." Both studies, however, seem to indicate continued migration of Native Hawaiians from Hawai'i to the continental U.S. The Kamehameha Schools' report noted that the populahon of Hawaiians living on the eontinent will grow slightly faster than the population of Hawaiians residing in Hawai'i. Moreover, the report points out that if migration

rates remain steady, of all Native Hawaiians living in the U.S. in 2050, only 54.4 percent will be residing in Hawai'i - a five percent drop from 2000. The Kamehameha report also

predicts that the largest growth in the Hawaiian populahon will be in children under the age of five (a 167-percent increase from 2000 to 2050), whieh indicates that more emphasis needs to be placed on

early childhood programs. To view the "Laupa'i Kānaka" study, visit Kamehameha Schools' PASE website at www.ksbe.edu/ pase/reports.php, and eliek on the 2004-05 reports link. S

NŪ HOU • NEWS

Graph taken from the Kamehameha Schools study "Laupa'i Kanaka: Native Hawaiian Populahon Forecasts for 2000 to 2050."