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                                 MONDAY, MARCH 10, 2003


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                                                 Detailed tables 2001
                                                 Detailed tables 2000 revised
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                      Foreign-Born Population Surpasses 32 Million,
                              Census Bureau Estimates


The Commerce Department's Census Bureau estimated today that the nation's 
foreign-born population last year numbered 32.5 million, accounting for 
11.5 percent of the total U.S. population.

Among the foreign-born population, 52 percent were born in Latin America, 
26 percent in Asia, 14 percent in Europe and the remaining 8 percent in 
other regions of the world, such as Africa and Oceania. (See attached 
chart.)

According to the report, The Foreign-Born Population in the United States,
March 2002, the foreign-born are a diverse group, with variable demographic,
social and economic characteristics depending on the region of birth. 

   Some highlights:

   - People from Central America and Mexico made up more than two-thirds
     of the foreign-born from Latin America. They were concentrated in the 
     West (55 percent) and the South (30 percent).

   - Among the foreign-born in 2002, nearly half had entered the United States
     since 1990. More than 1-in-3 foreign-born people were naturalized 
     U.S. citizens.

   - People born in Asia and Europe had poverty rates similar to those of
     the native population, while the poverty rates for people from 
     Central America were higher.

   - Foreign-born people are more likely to live in central cities of
     metropolitan areas 43 percent) than the native population (27 percent).

   - Relatively few foreign-born were less than 18 years of age (9 percent),
     compared with the native population (28 percent), because most of 
     the children of foreign-born parents are natives.

   - Slightly more than 1-in-4 foreign-born persons had a bachelor's
     degree or more education, not significantly different from the
     native populaiton. More than one-fifth of the foreign-born had less 
     than a ninth grade education, compared with about one-twentieth of 
     the native population

   - The percentage of foreign-born workers in managerial or professional 
     occupations ranged from a high of 40 percent for those from Asia 
     (not significantly different for those from Europe or "other 
     regions") to a low of about 7 percent for those from Central
     America.

Data in the report come from the Current Population Survey. Statistics
from sample surveys are subject to sampling and nonsampling error. 

Foreign-Born People by Region of Birth: 2002
(in percent)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, March 2002

Countries and Areas of Latin America
Anguilla	El Salvador	Peru
Antigua and Barbuda	French Guiana	Saint Kitts and Nevis
Argentina	Grenada	Saint Lucia
Aruba	Guyana	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Bahamas	Guadeloupe	Suriname
Barbados	Guatemala	Trinidad and Tobago
Belize	Guyana	Turks and Caicos Islands
Bolivia	Haiti	Uruguay
Brazil	Honduras	Venezuela
Cayman Islands	Jamaica	Virgin Islands, British
Chile	Martinique
Colombia	Mexico
Costa Rica	Montserrat
Cuba	Netherlands Antilles
Dominica	Nicaragua
Dominican Republic	Panama
Ecuador	Paraguay

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