In March 1994, the Asian and Pacific Islander population in the United States was estimated at 8.8 million, up from 7.3 million in 1990.¹ In both 1994 and 1990, this population accounted for about 3 percent of America’s total population.

Since 1990, the Asian and Pacific Islander population has grown at a rate of about 4.5 percent per year. Immigration to the United States accounted for much of the growth (about 86 percent). The rest was due to natural increase (i.e., births minus deaths). By the year 2000, this population is projected to reach 12.1 million and represent about 4 percent of the total.

Asians and Pacific Islanders are a heterogeneous group. They differ in language, culture, and recency of immigration. Several Asian groups, such as Chinese and Japanese, have been in this country for generations.

Relatively few Pacific Islanders are foreign born. Hawaiians, of course, are native to this land.

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¹ The independent estimate of 8.8 million for the Asian and Pacific Islander population differs substantially from the March 1994 Current Population Survey (CPS) estimate of 7.4 million for this population. The CPS estimate, based on a sample, is subject to both sampling and nonsampling errors. It is not controlled to independent estimates for this population. Estimates may differ because of different data collection and estimation procedures and sampling error. However, distributions of characteristics for the Asian and Pacific Islander population in the March 1994 CPS appear reasonable when compared to the 1990 census distribution. When comparing data for the Asian and Pacific Islander population for previous years, caution should be used.