text: what is the religious breakdown for the population of the united states?   the united states is a very racially diverse country. according to the 2000 census, it has 31 ethnic groups with at least one million members each, and numerous others represented in smaller amounts.  the majority of americans descend from white european immigrants who arrived at the establishment of the first colonies (most after reconstruction). this majority--69.1% in 2000--decreases each year, and is expected to become a plurality within a few decades. the most frequently stated european ancestries are german (15.2%), irish (10.8%), english (8.7%), italian (5.6%) and scandinavian (3.7%). many immigrants also hail from slavic countries such as poland and russia. other significant immigrant populations came from eastern and southern europe and french canada. top ancestries in 2000. enlarge top ancestries in 2000.  hispanics from mexico and south and central america are the largest minority group in the country, comprising 12.5% of the population (2000 census). people of mexican descent made up 7.3% of the population in the 2000 census, and this proportion is expected to increase significantly in the coming decades.  about 12.3% (2000 census) of the american people are african americans (blacks). african americans are spread throughout the country, but their presence is largest in the south.  asian americans--including native hawaiians and pacific islanders--are a third significant minority (3.7% of the population in 2000). most asian americans are concentrated on the west coast and hawaii. the largest groups are immigrants or descendants of emigrants from the philippines, china, india, vietnam, south korea, and japan.