South Asians in California led all Asian American and Pacific Islander ethnic

South Asians in California led all Asian American and Pacific Islander ethnic groups in population growth from 2000 to 2010, according to a report issued recently by the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice.

The top five groups in population growth in the decade were: Bangladeshi, 157%; Fijian, 138%; Pakistani, 92%; Sri Lankan, 65%; and Indian, 64% (see table 1).

Indian Americans were the fourth largest Asian American group in California in the 2010 census, with 590,445 residents.

The report also reports data for the San Francisco Bay Area, the Sacramento metro area, the Fresno metro area and Southern California.

Indian Americans had a population in 2010 of 264,533 in the Bay Area, 203,444 in Southern California, 42,231 in the Sacramento area and 18,255 in the Fresno area.

Filipino Americans are now the largest Asian American group in California with 1,474,707 residents (see table 2). Chinese (excluding 109,928 Taiwanese) fell to second at 1,349,111 and Vietnamese are third at 647,589.

The population of Pakistanis in California is 53,474, while Fijians number 24,059, Sri Lankans total 11,928 and Bangladeshis 10,494.

While 13% of Asian Americans overall in the state are multiracial, just 8% of Indians are multiracial. About 3% of Bangladeshis and 7% of Pakistanis are multiracial, while Japanese lead all Asian American groups with the highest percentage of mixed race individuals at 30%.

Napalese are the most likely of all Asian and Pacific Islanders groups in California to be foreign-born at 83%, while 77% of Sri Lankans, 71% of Fijians, 70% of Bangladeshis, 68% of Indians and 63% of Pakistanis are foreign-born, according to 2006-2010 American Community Survey five-year estimates.

India-born Indian Americans were the third largest Asian American group in California that sought and obtained legal permanent residency from 2000-2010.

Indians also have one of the lowest rates of uninsured among all Asian American groups in California at 10%, trailing only the Japanese at 8%. Latinos have a 29% uninsured rate in California, while the rate for Koreans, many of whom are small business owners, is 27%.

Source indiawest.com