According to the Census Bureau, the number of minority-owned businesses increased by 45.6 percent between 2002 and 2007, more than double the national average of 18.0 percent for all U.S. businesses. The number of women-owned businesses also surpassed the national average with a 20.1 percent increase.

These new data come from the Preliminary Estimates of Business Ownership by Gender, Ethnicity, Race and Veteran Status: 2007, from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2007 Survey of Business Owners. The preliminary report, released July 13, is the first of 10 reports on the characteristics of minority-, women-, and veteran-owned businesses and their owners scheduled for release over the next year.

To see the entire report, the data release schedule, and the most recent press release, go to http://www.census.gov/econ/sbo/.