Population estimates for July 1, 2006, show that people who claimed Asian ancestry alone or in combination with other races accounted for 55.6 percent of the state's population, down from 58.2 percent in 2000.

The population of Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders (alone or in combination) was 21.4 percent of Hawai'i's total population, down from 23.4 percent in 2000. The largest decline in the Hawaiian/Pacific Islander population was on O'ahu, which lost 12,623 members of that Census classification during that period, according to the Census Bureau.

The other counties showed a net increase in the Hawaiian/Pacific Islander population, but the Honolulu loss was enough to overcome the Neighbor Island gains, and the state as a whole showed a loss of 8,664 Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders from 2000 to 2006.

However, researchers who study the Native Hawaiian community have long disputed Census Bureau methods and say there are plenty of signs the population is actually growing.

Meanwhile, the white population (alone or in combination) accounted for 42.6 of the state's total population in July 2006, up from the 40.3 percent in 2000.

The white-alone population increased to 28.6 percent, or an average of 9,227 persons a year from 2000 to 2006, said Eugene Tian, a research and statistics officer with the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, who provided analysis of the Census data.

The sum of percentages exceeds 100 percent because a person can be counted more than once, depending on how many races they claim. So someone who claims Hawaiian-Asian ancestry will be counted in both the Asian and Hawaiian categories.

In national rankings, Honolulu led the nation with a population that was 59 percent Asian. The only other U.S. county with an Asian majority was Kaua'i.

In terms of numbers, Honolulu County had the largest population of Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders (177,000), and Los Angeles County was second (59,000).

The Census Bureau also released age and gender data for the nation's counties and states.

Hawai'i's 65-and-older population accounted for 14 percent of total residents, while those 85 and older were 2.1 percent of the population. Both figures have grown since 2000.

Tian said that the elderly population rose 1.8 percent a year from 2000 to 2006, while the state's total population increased 1 percent annually during the same period.

The Census data also shows a slight gender gap in Hawai'i, with 100.2 males per 100 females in 2006. As noted in previous annual Census reports, there were more females than males among Asians, but among other races, there were more males than females.

Of the state's four major counties, Honolulu had the highest percentage of children younger than 5 in the population (7 percent) and the highest percentage of residents 65 and older (14.4 percent).

The under-5 bunch comprised 6.3 percent of the Big Island's population, 6.4 percent of Kaua'i's population and 6.6 percent of Maui's population. By comparison, 13.1 percent of the population of Webb County, Texas, was younger than 5, putting it at the top of the list nationally in that category.

The 65-and-older crowd made up 13.3 percent of the Big Island's residents, 14.2 percent of Kaua'i population, and only 11.7 percent of Maui residents. By comparison, Charlotte County, Fla., led the nation with the highest proportion of people 65 and older at 31.2 percent.

Kaua'i residents had the oldest median age at 39.6 years, followed by Maui at 38 years, the Big Island at 37.7 years and Honolulu at 36.9 years. In each county, the median age for females was 2 to 3 years older than for males.

Population estimates for July 2006 show Honolulu at 909,863, the Big Island at 171,191, Maui at 141,320, and Kaua'i at 63,004.

The Big Island saw the largest percentage increase in population with 15.1 percent growth from 2000 to 2006, followed by Maui (10.3 percent), Kaua'i (7.8 percent) and Honolulu (3.8 percent).

The state's population increased an estimated 6.1 percent from 2000 to 2006, to 1.285 million.