E.g., 04/19/2024
E.g., 04/19/2024
Country Resource - United States

United States

US
  • Population..........................................................................339,665,118 (2023 est.)
  • Population growth rate ..................................................................0.68% (2023 est.)
  • Birth rate.....................................................12.21 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
  • Death rate....................................................8.42 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
  • Net migration rate.....................................3.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
  • Ethnic groups*............................White 61.6%, Black or African American 12.4%, Asian 6%, Amerindian and Alaska native 1.1%, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.2%, other 8.4%, two or more races 10.2% (2020 est.)

Note: The U.S. Census Bureau's 2020 census results show the US population as 331,449,281 as of 1 April 2020

* A separate listing for Hispanic is not included because the U.S. Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean persons of Spanish/Hispanic/Latino origin including those of Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican Republic, Spanish, and Central or South American origin living in the United States who may be of any race or ethnic group (White, Black, Asian, etc.); an estimated 18.7% of the total U.S. population is Hispanic as of 2020

Source: CIA World Factbook

A Dutch family at Ellis Island between 1915 and 1920.

As host to more immigrants than any other country, the United States has been shaped and reshaped by immigration over the centuries, with the issue at times becoming a flashpoint. This article covers the history of U.S. immigration and the major laws governing immigration, and provides a comprehensive overview of the present-day immigrant population.

Recent Activity

MPI's Muzaffar Chishti and Claire Bergeron report on Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano's nomination to head homeland security, changes to the H-2A program, suspension of a refugee family-reunification program, and more.

The subject of immigration was almost nonexistent in the general-election contest between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain though both candidates sought the Latino vote.

Contrary to a widely held view, not all immigrants have little education. About one in three immigrants is a person with either a U.S. or foreign college degree.

MPI's Muzaffar Chishti and Claire Bergeron report on the 2008 presidential election, two Supreme Court cases on immigration, Arizona Proposition 202, and more.

In the United States, asylum on the basis of sexual orientation was first granted in 1994. Swetha Sridharan of the Council on Foreign Relations explains why U.S. immigration law focuses on sexual identity rather than sexual conduct, and what this distinction has meant for asylum seekers.

Latinos in the United States are a fast-growing community that is strategically situated in the 2008 elections. Mark Hugo Lopez and Susan Minushkin of Pew Hispanic Center review the results of a recent survey of Hispanic voters.

MPI's Muzaffar Chishti and Claire Bergeron report on the decrease in unauthorized immigration, the latest ruling on Arizona's employer-sanctions law, Iraqi refugees, Alabama and Arkansas on the in-state tuition debate, and more.

In 2006, Department of Homeland Security immigration officials made over 1.2 million apprehensions of immigrants at points of entry along the U.S. border and within the United States. MPI's Aaron Terrazas examines the most recent data on immigration enforcement.

MPI's Claire Bergeron and Muzaffar Chishti report on the Democratic and Republican platforms, the worksite raid in Mississippi, the new citizenship test, and more.

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The 1.6 million Filipino immigrants residing in the United States in 2006 accounted for 4.4 percent of all U.S. immigrants. MPI's Aaron Terrazas examines their socioeconomic characteristics, where they live, and the size of the Filipino-born unauthorized population.

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