The 2020 Census report, released on Thursday, revealed a decline in the number of white people in the U.S. for the first time in history.

According to the data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the white population fell by 8.6% since 2010. At the same time, a significant growth among minority groups was seen over the last decade, The Guardian reported. 

The Hispanic and Latino population grew by 23% while the Asian population went up by over 35%. For the Black population, the data revealed an increase of more than 5.6%. 

“The U.S. population is much more multiracial and much more racially and ethnically diverse than we have measured in the past,” said Nicholas Jones, a Census Bureau official.

William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, said the decline of the white population is partially attributed to the opioid epidemic and lower birth rates among millennials. 

“The country is changing dramatically,” Frey said. 

According to The Washington Post, the latest data will play a critical role as most state legislatures and local governments redraw political districts for the next 10 years. Minorities are still at risk of facing a disadvantage because Republicans will likely attempt to draw districts that will heavily advantage GOP candidates, as they did in 2010, The Guardian reported. 

The bureau’s diversity index identified Hawaii, California, Nevada, Texas, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey and New York as the most diverse states. 

America’s overall population grew by 7.4% over the last decade — the second slowest growth in U.S. history. Marc Perry, a senior demographer at the bureau, said smaller counties lost population while the more populous counties tended to grow. 

Phoenix, whose population increased by 11.2% over the last decade, is identified as the fastest growing major city in America. The Arizona city is now the fifth largest in the country. New York City, which is home to 8.8 million people, is still the largest city.

“Many counties within metro areas saw growth, especially those in the south and west. However, as we’ve been seeing in our annual population estimates, our nation is growing slower than it used to,” Perry said. “This decline is evident at the local level where around 52% of the counties in the United States saw their 2020 census populations decrease from their 2010 census populations.”