In the United States, there were 3.5 million residents who identified as Middle Eastern or North African, Venezuelans were the fastest-growing Hispanic group over the past decade, and Chinese and Asian Indians were the two largest Asian groups, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The most detailed racial and ethnicity data yet from the 2020 Census was released Thursday, more than three years after the once-a-decade census that determines political power and the distribution of $2.8 trillion in annual federal funding holds up a mirror to how the USA has changed in a decade. The delay was caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the introduction of a new method to protect participant confidentiality.
According to the Census Bureau, the 2020 census provided more detail about the country’s racial and ethnic groups than ever before, providing counts for about 1,550 racial, ethnic and tribal groups, although some tables are not available for some groups due to the new ones in smaller regions are confidentiality methods.
Population from the Middle East or North Africa
The 2020 census was the first time respondents were able to say they were from a country in the Middle East or North Africa, also known as MENA. While there was no separate MENA category in the 2020 census, respondents were asked to provide their background and if they wrote, for example, Jordanian or Moroccan, they could be classified as MENA. The data showed that more than 3.5 million people did this or in combination with another group.
The findings come as the Biden administration considers updating the country’s racial and ethnic categories for the first time since 1997. Currently, MENA residents are classified as white, but they would have their own category under the proposed changes. The process would also combine questions about race and ethnicity into a single query, as some advocates say the current method of asking by race and separately by ethnicity often confuses Hispanic respondents.
The bureau’s American Community Survey previously asked a question about ancestry from which MENA numbers could be derived. However, the survey only collects data from 3.5 million households, while census forms go to every U.S. household.
“This is a monumental change,” said Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute, a Washington-based advocacy group. “For us, it’s a wonderful indication of what to expect if we secure a MENA category.”
According to the 2020 census, the two largest groups of people identifying as MENA alone or in combination with another group were Lebanese, with more than 685,000 people, and Iranians, with more than 568,000 people. The states with the largest MENA populations were California, Michigan and New York.
Hispanic population
Venezuelans were the fastest growing Hispanic group. Their numbers nearly tripled from 2010 to 2020, from more than 215,000 people to more than 605,000 people, as they fled a political, economic and humanitarian crisis that has lasted throughout President Nicolás Maduro’s administration.
“This really shows what is going on in Venezuela,” said Ernesto Ackerman, president of Independent Venezuelan American Citizens, an advocacy group in Miami. “There’s nothing there and it’s getting worse.”
The Biden administration said Wednesday it is granting temporary legal status to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans already in the U.S. — quickly making them eligible to work.
Mexicans were by far the largest Hispanic group in the United States, with a population of 35.9 million people, followed by Puerto Ricans with 5.6 million people and Salvadorans with 2.3 million people.
White population
Among census respondents who identified as white, English was the most frequently detailed group listed on the form that asked people to elaborate on their background. 46.6 million people said they were English alone or in any combination. They were followed by the Germans with 45 million people and the Irish with 38.6 million people.
Black or African American population
Among the 46.9 million black respondents, African American was the most common answer, at 24.5 million people, either alone or with another group when asked about their background. This answer was followed by more or less a tie between Jamaicans and Haitians, with more than a million people each. Nigerians had the second highest response with more than 604,000 people, followed by Ethiopians with more than 325,000 people.
Asian population
More than 5.2 million people identified themselves as Chinese, the largest group among respondents who were Asian alone or in combination with another group. This was followed by Asian Indians with 4.7 million people, Filipinos with 4.4 million people and the Vietnamese population with 2.2 million people. The Nepalese population was the fastest growing Asian group, growing from nearly 52,000 people in 2010 to nearly 206,000 people in 2020. California was home to the largest share of the six most common Asian groups in the United States, New York had the second largest share of Chinese residents, while Texas had the second-largest share of Asian-Indian residents.
American Indians and Alaska Natives
For the American Indian and Alaska Native population in the United States, the Cherokee were the largest group, numbering 1.5 million people alone or in combination with another group. The Aztecs ranked second highest with nearly 584,000 respondents and the Navajo Nation with more than 423,000. Tlingit was the largest Alaska Native population, numbering more than 22,600 people, alone or in any combination group.
Another race
Nearly 94% of the nearly 28 million respondents who answered “another race” to the race question were Hispanic, confirming previous research showing that Hispanics are often unsure how to answer the question using current racial categories. About 1.9 million respondents who chose “some other race” identified themselves as multiracial or multiethnic, and more than half a million said they were Brazilian, either alone or in combination with another group.
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