Filipinos are second in Asian demographics.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: A report by the Center for American Progress says that Indian Americans are the third-highest Asian population in the US currently, trailing only immigrants from China and the Philippines at #1 and #2, respectively.
According to the report, which was written by Karthick Ramakrishnan and Farah Ahmad, there are currently over 3.3 million people of Indian origin in the US. Additionally, the number of Indian-origin persons shot up 76% between 2000 and 2012. Of the total Asian American and Pacific Islander population, Indians constitute 18%.
Chinese Americans lead, with 4.1 million in the US (22% of the total Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the country), while there are 3.59 million Filipino Americans (19%), just a hair more than Indians. Filipinos also saw tremendous growth between 2000 and 2012, increasing by more than 50% over the course of that time period.
The rest of the top six Asian American immigrant groups consist of Vietnamese (1.86 million, 10%), Koreans (1.76 million, 9%), and Japanese Americans (1.34 million, 7%). In total, these six demographics alone account for 85% of the total Asian American/Pacific Islander population of the entire US.
The highest concentration of Indian Americans are in the states of California, New York, and New Jersey, which each have 19%, 12%, and 10% of the total desi population, respectively. The vast majority of Indians in the US (51%) are Hindu, followed by Christians (18%), Muslims (10%), Sikhs (5%), Jains (2%), and Buddhists (1%).
People of Pakistani origin number just under 410,000, while those from Bangladesh are nearly 159,000 strong. Sri Lankan-origin people in the US number over 50,000.
The report also delves into things other than just demographic numbers. For example, according to the report, 40% of Indians favor smaller government and fewer services, while 49% want a bigger government and more services, which is in line with the general trend of Indians skewing Democratic. Indians are split about 50-50 when it comes to whether or not they identify themselves as environmentally friendly, while 52% of Indian-origin Americans said that bullying is a “very serious problem for their families.”
Indians also lead when it comes to education. 39% of Asian Indians earn post-graduate degrees, far more than the next highest demographic: Sri Lankans, with 28% attainment. 33% of Indians have bachelor’s degree, 11% have just “some college”, and 9% each have just high school or less than that.
The study also says that, in 2012, 66,000 of the total 146,000 green cards issued went to people of Indian origin, representing over 45% of the total share. India also consistently ranked among the highest in terms of its immigrants becoming naturalized US citizens in the decade ending in 2012. India has the second-highest family visa waiting list, with some 295,167, and trails only the Philippines in terms of countries from Asia and the Pacific Islands (Mexico leads overall, however).
About 72% of the Indian-origin population of the US is foreign-born, says the report, and 33% of the population arrived in the US within the last ten years. As of 2011, there are about 240,000 Indian-origin persons in the US who are unauthorized or undocumented.