Facts about African Immigrants in the U.S.

The number of African immigrants in the United States grew 40-fold between 1960 and 2007, from 35,355 to 1.4 million. Most of this growth has taken place since 1990. Compared to other immigrants, the African born tend to be highly educated and speak English well. However, they are also more likely not to be naturalized US citizens than other immigrants. The top individual countries of origin of the African born are Nigeria, Egypt, and Ethiopia. In the United States, Africans are concentrated in New York, California, Texas, Maryland, and Virginia. The Migration Policy Institute reports:

• There were 1.4 million foreign born from Africa residing in the United States in 2007.
• African immigrants made up 3.7 percent of all immigrants in 2007.
• About one-third of African immigrants were from West Africa.
• The top countries of origin for African immigrants were Nigeria, Egypt, and Ethiopia.
• Over half of all African immigrants resided in New York, California, Texas, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts.
• More than 500,000 Africans have gained lawful permanent residence in the United States since 2000.
• Nearly 40 percent of African-born lawful permanent residents in 2007 were the immediate relatives of US citizens.
• About one-third of all refugees and asylees admitted to the United States in 2007 were from Africa.
• Most Africans admitted to the United States on temporary nonimmigrant visas were tourists and business travelers.
• Three countries accounted for more than half of temporary nonimmigrant admissions from Africa.
• About half of temporary worker admissions from Africa were specialty occupation workers and intracompany transferees.