By Amy Roberts (CNN.com)
Because of their growing numbers and presence in some of the key battleground states, Latinos are expected to play a prominent role in this year’s battle for the White House between President Barack Obama and presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney.
By the numbers, here’s a look at Latino voters:
50.5 million – Latinos in the United States (out of 308.7 million people)
16 – Percentage of the total U.S. population in 2010 that was Latino.
43 – Percent increase since the 2000 census of the Latino population in the United States, according to the 2010 census.
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29 – Projected percentage of the U.S. population that will be Latino in 2050.
131 million – Total number of voters in the 2008 presidential election.
59.4 – Percent of Latinos who were registered voters in 2008.
49.9 – Percent who voted in the 2008 presidential election.
42.7 – Percent of the Latino population that is eligible to vote.
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22.4 – Percent of Latinos in the U.S. who are of voting age but who are not citizens.
63 – Percent of the Latino population in the U.S. from Mexican origins.
82 – Percent population growth of Latinos in Nevada from 2000 to 2010.
67 – Percentage of Latino voters who voted for Barack Obama in the 2008 election.
31 – Percentage who voted for John McCain.
68 – Percent of registered Latino voters surveyed in 2011 who said they would support President Obama over Mitt Romney in a presidential match-up in 2012.
23 – Percent who answered that they would support Mitt Romney.
38.6 – Percent of eligible voters in New Mexico who are Latino, the most of any state.
3 – Number of states tying for lowest number of eligible voters who are Latino, 0.7%: Kentucky, South Carolina and West Virginia. See racial and ethnic breakdown for all 50 states and D.C.
82 – Counties with a Latino population majority, out of 3,143 total.
Sources for these statistics come from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Pew Hispanic Center and the Brookings Institution.
