At yearend 2001 nearly as many blacks (2,166,000) as whites (2,203,000) had ever served time in prison; Hispanics numbered about half of either group (997,000). Together, blacks (39%) and Hispanics (18%) constituted a majority of those who had ever served time in prison in 2001. Whites accounted for 39% of all those ever incarcerated in 2001, down from 51% in 1974. Over the 27-year period, the share of those who are black and Hispanic among persons ever incarcerated increased. The number of Hispanics rose nearly 10-fold (up from 102,000 in 1974) and the number of blacks more than tripled (up from 646,000), while the number of whites more than doubled (up from 922,000). As a result, blacks rose from 36% to 39% of all persons ever incarcerated, while Hispanics rose from 6% to 18%. +Nearly 17% of adult black males had ever served time in prison+ In 2001 an estimated 16.6% of adult black males were current or former State or Federal prisoners -- a rate that was twice that of Hispanic males (7.7%), and 6 times that of white males (2.6%) (table 5). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- +Table 5. Percent of adult population ever incarcerated in a State or Federal prison, by gender, race, and Hispanic origin, 1974-2001+ Percent of adult population ever incarcerated in a State or Federal prison 1974 1979 1986 1991 1997 2001 Gender Male 2.3% 2.4% 2.8% 3.4% 4.3% 4.9% Female 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 Race/Hispanic origin White* 0.8% 0.8% 0.9% 1.1% 1.3% 1.4% Male 1.4 1.5 1.7 1.9 2.3 2.6 Female 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.3 Black* 4.5% 4.6% 5.2% 6.2% 7.9% 8.9% Male 8.7 8.9 9.9 12.0 15.0 16.6 Female 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.3 1.7 Hispanic 1.3% 1.4% 2.0% 2.7% 3.8% 4.3% Male 2.3 2.6 3.6 4.9 6.7 7.7 Female 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.6 0.7 Note: Percents were based on intercensal resident population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. See _Methodology_ for data sources. *Excludes persons of Hispanic origin. U.S. adult resident population 1974 1979 1986 1991 1997 2001 Gender Male 69,217,000 76,388,000 83,973,550 90,362,099 95,948,130 101,492,258 Female 76,133,000 84,072,000 91,913,080 97,620,652 103,173,604 108,715,643