This represented growth of 1,675 percent from 1960 to 1996 and 37.8 percent from 1990 to 1996. In 1997, the Asian and Pacific Islander population in the U.S. was estimated at 10.2 million, up from 7.3 million in the 1990 census. In both 1996 and 1990, Asian and Pacific Islanders accounted for about 3.8 percent of America's population. Since 1990 the Asian and Pacific Islander population has grown 35 percent. In 1996, next to Mexico, the Philippines was the largest country of origin of the nation's foreign-born population, followed by China, India, Vietnam and Korea.
Groups differ in their language, culture and recency of immigration.
Hawaiians are native to this country. The current and emerging social and economic issues of these groups has led to changes in the way these populations will be reported in the 2000 Census. In Pennsylvania in 1990, 98.6 percent of the Asian and Pacific Islander population was Asian. Projections By the year 2000, the Asian and Pacific Islander population in the U.S. is projected to reach 11 million and represent about 4.1 percent of the total population. Through 2020, the Asian and Pacific Islander population is expected to continue to grow faster than the nation's other race groups.