the question on hispanic or latino origin is separate from the question on race. hispanic and latino americans have ethnic origins in the countries of latin america and the iberian peninsula. latin american countries are, like the united states, racially diverse. consequently, no separate racial category exists for hispanic and latino americans, as they do not constitute a race, nor a national group. when responding to the race question on the census form, each person is asked to choose from among the same racial categories as all americans, and are included in the numbers reported for those races.