“The U.S. Diversity Index for 2006 is 58.9, up from 54.6 in 2000. For example, the diversity score of 58.9 for the United States means there is a 58.9 percent probability that two people randomly chosen from the U.S. population would belong to different races or ethnic groups. The Hispanic population now stands at 45 million, growing at approximately 4 percent per year since 2000. Asian and multiple racial groups are also growing at significant annual rates of 3.8 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively, while the non-Hispanic white population is growing at a rate of less than 0.5 percent per year.”

http://www.esri.com/news/arcnews/winter0607articles/the-changing-face.html

Although the term culture can have different definitions, it is obvious that throughout the world, different regions hold different cultures. Culture identities can be examined by: 1) cultural patterns 2) beliefs, values, and norms 3) Hall’s three levels of identity and 4) cultural communication. This paper will examine the United States of America, its cultural diversity and the countries overall cultural identity. Statistics of the United States (US) will provide an important perspective to be used as comparison data. The land currently known as the USA was first inhabited by Indians or what they are now known as Native Americans. But the dominant cultural values, that are still influential, come primarily from the Europeans settlers that colonized the land. Since this time, diversity in the US has greatly increased. The diversity index by Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) shows that “The U.S. Diversity Index for 2006 is 58.9, up from 54.6 in 2000. For example, the diversity score of 58.9 for the United States means there is a 58.9 percent probability that two people randomly chosen from the U.S. population would belong to different races or ethnic groups.” The continually