Immigrants in the United States 40.4 Million, 13% of 311.6 Million USA population

Five hundred and twenty five people, coming from more than
75 countries, were sworn in as US citizens
at the 27th annual naturalization ceremony
at the Seattle Center in Washington on July 4, 2011

.Definitions
"Foreign born" and "immigrants" are used interchangeably
and refer to persons with no US citizenship at birth.
This population includes naturalized citizens,
lawful permanent residents, refugees and asylees,
persons on certain temporary visas, and the unauthorized.

According to the most recently available data, how many immigrants are in the United States?
According to estimates from the 2011 ACS, The US immigrant population stood at almost 40.4 million, or 13 percent of the total US population of 311.6 million.
Between 2010 and 2011, the foreign-born population increased by 422,000, or 1 percent. This increase is lower than year-to-year changes in the first half of the 2000s.


What are the historical numbers and shares of immigrants in the United States?
Data on the nativity of the US population were first collected in the 1850 decennial census. That year, there were 2.2 million foreign born in the United States, or almost 10 percent of the total population.

Between 1860 and 1920, immigrants as a percentage of the total population fluctuated between 13 and 15 percent, peaking at nearly 15 percent in 1890 mainly due to European immigration. By 1930, immigrants' share of the US population had dropped to less than 12 percent (14.2 million).


The share of foreign born in the US population continued to decline between the 1930s and 1970s, reaching a record low of approximately 5 percent in 1970 (9.6 million). However, since 1970, the percentage has increased rapidly, mainly due to large-scale immigration from Latin America and Asia.

The foreign born represented 6 percent (14.1 million) of the total US population in 1980. By 1990, their share had risen to 8 percent (19.8 million), and by the 2000 census they comprised 11 percent (31.1 million) of the total US population. In 2011, immigrants comprised 13 percent (40.4 million) of the total US population.


How do the top source countries with the largest share of immigrants compare to those 50 years ago?

1. In 2011, Mexican-born immigrants accounted for approximately 29 percent of the nearly 40.4 million foreign born residing in the United States, making them by far the largest immigrant group in the country.
2. China (including Hong Kong but not Taiwan) was the second largest at almost 5 percent of the foreign born, closely followed by
   
3. India (also nearly 5 percent).
   
4. Immigrants from the Philippines accounted for 4 percent of the total immigrant population.
   
5. El Salvador,
   
6. Vietnam,
   
7. Cuba, and
   
8. Korea (each 3 percent), as well as the
   
9. Dominican Republic and Guatemala (2 percent each) also were among the top ten countries of origin.
   

Together, immigrants from these ten countries made up close to 60 percent of all foreign born residing in the United States in 2011.

The predominance of immigrants from Latin American and Asian countries in the late 20th and early 21st centuries starkly contrasts with the trend seen in 1960 when immigrants tended to be from European countries. Italian-born immigrants made up 13 percent of all foreign born in 1960, followed by those born in Germany and Canada (accounting for about 10 percent each). In 1960s no single country accounted for more than 15 percent of the total immigrant population.