Asian/Pacific American Month
May 24, 2022 | Koinonia Team - Beth Sears
May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month – a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. A rather broad term, Asian/Pacific encompasses all of the Asian continent and the Pacific islands of Melanesia (New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands), Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia) and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Easter Island.
PBS stations are airing many documentaries and programs that celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage during the month.
In 1978, a joint congressional resolution established Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week. The first 10 days of May were chosen to coincide with two important milestones in Asian/Pacific American history: the arrival in the United States of the first Japanese immigrants (May 7, 1843) and contributions of Chinese workers to the building of the transcontinental railroad completed May 10, 1869.
In 1992, Congress expanded the observance to a monthlong celebration that is now known as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Per a 1997 U.S. Office of Management and Budget directive, the Asian or Pacific Islander racial category was separated into two categories: one being Asian and the other Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander. Thus, this Facts for Features contains a section for each.
Asian Population
24.0 million: The estimated number of people who identified as Asian alone or in combination in the United States in 2020.
5.1 million: The estimated number of the Asian alone or in combination population of Chinese, except Taiwanese, descent in the United States in 2020. The Chinese (except Taiwanese) population was the largest Asian group, followed by Asian Indian (4.5 million), Filipino (4.1 million), Vietnamese (2.2 million), Korean (1.9 million) and Japanese (1.6 million). These estimates represent the number of people who reported a specific detailed Asian group alone, as well as people who reported that detailed Asian group in combination with one or more other detailed Asian groups or another race(s).
2.5%: The estimated percentage of Asian alone or in combination who are military veterans in 2019.
7.2 million: The number of the Asian alone population 25 years and older who had a bachelor’s degree or higher level of education.
11.4 million: The number of the Asian alone population 25 years and older who had at least a high school diploma or equivalency.
581,200: The estimated number of Asian-owned employer firms in the United States in 2019.
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Population
1.6 million: The estimated number of people that identified as Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone or in combination in the United States in 2020.
619,855: The number of Native Hawaiians in the United States in 2020. The Native Hawaiian population was the largest detailed Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (NHPI) group, followed by Samoan (211,876) and Chamorro (156,083). These estimates represent the number of people who reported a specific detailed NHPI group alone, as well as people who reported that detailed NHPI group in combination with one or more other detailed NHPI groups or another race(s).
35,152: The number of Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone who are military veterans in 2020.
71,224: The number of people that identified as Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone population 25 years and older who had a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2020.
337,408: The number of the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone population 25 years and older with at least a high school diploma or equivalency in 2020.
7,331: The estimated number of Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander-owned employer firms in the United States in 2019.
U.S. Census Bureau Facts for Features 2022
Further Information:
NBC News article: Anti-Asian hate crimes increased 339 percent nationwide last year