This report provides an overview of American children based on the first data released from the 2000 Census. Overall, at 72.3 million in 2000, the number of children recorded in the 2000 Census was the largest in U.S. history. There was a substantial increase in the number of children during the 1990s as the under-18 population grew 8.7 million over the past decade. Minority children accounted for 98 percent of the growth in the child population during the 1990s. State-level changes in the number of children ranged from a 72 percent increase in Nevada to a 9 percent decrease in West Virginia. Besides West Virginia, four other states and the District of Columbia also saw a decrease in the number of children over the decade. Racial diversity among children is increasing at a fast pace. Minority children accounted for 39 percent of the population under age 18 years in 2000, compared with 31 percent in 1990. Racial and Hispanic minorities accounted for a significantly larger share of children than of adults. In 2000, about 39 percent of children were minorities compared with 28 percent of adults. (SM)