Wshibgton: The population of Indian-origin people in the United States grew by 38% in seven years between 2010 and 2017, according to US Census figures compiled last month by a civil rights group, South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT). At a time when the UN has released a population report which has highlighted, among various findings, the fact that migration flows have become a major reason for population change in certain regions, a look at the numbers flagged in the SAALT demographic report, based on Census 2010 data and the 2017 American Community Survey:
* Nearly 5.4 million South Asians live in the United States. This is up 40% from 3.5 million counted in Census 2010.
* In 2017, the population of Indian-Americans with multiple ethnicities was 4,402,363, up 38.3% from 3,183,063 in 2010. There are at least 630,000 Indians who are undocumented, a 72% increase since 2010. The report attributes this to Indian immigrants overstaying visas.
* Indians comprise the largest segment of the South Asian community, making up over 80% of the total population, followed by Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Nepali, Sri Lankans, and Bhutanese.
* The Nepali community grew by 206.6% since 2010, followed by Indian (38%), Bhutanese (38%), Pakistani (33%), Bangladeshi (26%) and Sri Lankan populations (15%).
Bangladeshi and Nepali communities have the lowest median household incomes out of all Asian American groups, earning $49,800 and $43,500 respectively, the SAALT report said. The report defines the South Asian community in the US as including individuals who trace their ancestry to Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Malpes, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and also including members of the South Asian diaspora past generations of South Asians who originally settled in other parts of the world.
