EMBARGOED UNTIL: 12:01 A.M. EDT, APRIL 9, 1998 (THURSDAY) Public Information Office CB98-57 301-457-3030/301-457-3670 (fax) 301-457-4067 (TDD) e-mail: pio@census.gov Dianne Schmidley 301-457-2403 Foreign-Born Population Reaches 25.8 Million, According to Census Bureau In 1997, nearly 1 in 10 residents of the United States (25.8 million) was foreign-born and almost 1 in 3 of these foreign-born residents was a naturalized citizen, according to a report released today by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau. After the release time, the data can be accessed at this Internet address http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/foreign.html. "The biggest influx of foreign born was from the Americas Central and South America and the Caribbean," said Dianne Schmidley, author of the report, The Foreign-Born Population in the United States: March 1997 (Update) . "About 7 million people, or 1 in 4 of the total foreign-born population in the United States in 1997, were born in Mexico." The report includes these highlights: - Five states had a larger percentage of foreign-born population than the percentage for the United States as a whole (9.7 percent): California (24.9 percent); New York (19.6 percent); Florida (16.4 percent); New Jersey (15.4 percent) and Texas (11.3 percent). (The difference between Florida and New Jersey is not statistically significant.) - One out of every 2 foreign-born residents was a native of Central America, South America or the Caribbean (13.1 million). One in 4 was born in Asia, and about 1 in 5 originated in Europe. - As of March 1997, about two-thirds of the foreign born were not citizens. - About 1 out of 4 of the foreign-born population age 25 and over completed four or more years of college the same rate as the native born. On the other hand, 34.7 percent of the foreign born had not completed high school; the proportion for native born was about 16 percent. - About 8.4 percent of foreign-born noncitizens in the labor force were unemployed in 1997, compared with 4.3 percent of foreign-born citizens and 5.4 percent of the native born. - The poverty rate for naturalized citizens was 10.4 percent in 1997, lower than the rate for both foreign-born noncitizens (26.8 percent) and the native born (12.9 percent). - In March 1997, there was a slight statistical difference between the percentages of the native born (3.3) and the foreign born (4.9) receiving public assistance. The data presented were collected in the Current Population Survey and, therefore, are subject to sampling variability, as well as reporting and coverage errors.-X-The Census Bureau pre-eminent collector and provider of timely, relevant and quality data about the people and economy of the United States. In more than 100 surveys annually and 20 censuses a decade, evolving from the first census in 1790, the Census Bureau provides official information about America's people, businesses, industries and institutions.
