The United States had 3.5 million residents who identified as Middle Eastern or North African, Venezuelans were the fastest-growing Hispanic group in the last decade, and Chinese and Asian Indians were the two largest Asian groups. , according to the United States Census Bureau.
The most detailed race and ethnicity data yet from the 2020 Census was released Thursday, more than three years into the decennial count that determines political power and the distribution of $2.8 trillion in annual federal funding, showing how the United States is evolving The states have changed in a decade. The delay was due to 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 than ever before about the nation’s racial and ethnic groups, providing counts for about 1,550 racial, ethnic and tribal groups, although some tables are unavailable for some groups due to new confidentiality methods in smaller regions are .
POPULATION OF 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 – a region also known by the acronym 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 President Joe Biden’s 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 will also combine questions about race and ethnicity into a single query, as some advocates say the current method of asking separately about race and ethnicity often confuses Hispanic respondents.
HISPANIC POPULATION
Venezuelans were the fastest growing Hispanic group. Their numbers nearly tripled from more than 215,000 people to more than 605,000 between 2010 and 2020 as they fled a political, economic and humanitarian crisis that has dogged President Nicolás Maduro’s entire government.
