Asians Projected to Become the Largest Immigrant Group, Surpassing Hispanics % of immigrant population 1965 1975 1985 1995 2005 2015
Americans are more racially and ethnically diverse than in the past, and the U.S. is projected to be even more diverse in the coming decades. By 2055, the U.S. will not have a single racial or ethnic majority. Much of this change has been (and will be) driven by immigration. Nearly 59 million immigrants have arrived in the U.S. in the past 50 years, mostly from Latin America and Asia. Today, a near-record 14% of the country’s population is foreign born compared with just 5% in 1965. Over the next five decades, the majority of U.S. population growth is projected to be linked to new Asian and Hispanic immigration. American attitudes about immigration and diversity are supportive of these changes for the most part. More Americans say immigrants strengthen the country than say they burden it, and most say the U.S.’s increasing ethnic diversity makes it a better place to live.
Asia has replaced Latin America (including Mexico) as the biggest source of new immigrants to the U.S. In a reversal of one of the largest mass migrations in modern history, net migration flows from Mexico to the U.S. turned negative between 2009 and 2014, as more Mexicans went home than arrived in the U.S. And after rising steadily since 1990, the unauthorized immigrant population has leveled off in recent years, falling to 11.3 million in 2014 from a high of 12.2 million in 2007. Meanwhile, Asians are now the only major racial or ethnic group whose numbers are rising mainly because of immigration. And while African immigrants make up a small share of the U.S. immigrant population, their numbers are also growing steadily – roughly doubling every decade since 1970.
Asians Projected to Become the Largest Immigrant  | Group, Surpassing Hispanics  | % of immigrant population  | 11  | 19  | 14  | 23  | 23  | 26  | 29  | 32  | 34  | 36  | 38 Asian  | 25  | 36  | 44  | 48  | 47  | 43  | 40  | 37  | 34  | 31 Hispanic  | 80  | 59  | Black  | 9  | 8  | 8  | 38  | 25  | 21  | 18  | 18  | 19  | 20 White  | 18  | 18  | 1965 1975 1985 1995 2005 2015  | 2025 2035 2045 2055 2065  | Actual  | Projected  | Pacific Note: Whites blacks and Asians include onlysing e-race non-Hispanics. Asians include  | Pacific Islanders Hispanics areofany race. onlysing Other races shown non-Hispanics. butnot labeled.  | Source: Pew Research Center estimates for 1965 2015 based on adjusted census data;  | Pew Research Center projections for 2025-2065  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER 