{"id": 1293108, "name": "Foreign-born population of the United States, by country of birth", "unit": "people", "createdAt": "2026-07-23T06:25:00.000Z", "updatedAt": "2026-07-23T09:27:20.000Z", "coverage": "", "timespan": "1850-2024", "datasetId": 8075, "shortUnit": "", "columnOrder": 0, "shortName": "foreign_born_population", "catalogPath": "grapher/migration/2026-07-22/us_foreign_born_population/by_country_of_birth#foreign_born_population", "descriptionProcessing": "We combined the source's \"Turkey in Europe\" and \"Turkey in Asia\" series into a single series for Turkey, and used the source's Great Britain series to extend the United Kingdom series before 1930. People not attributed to a listed country are assigned to a \"(not specified)\" entity of their region, so all entities together add up to the source's total.", "type": "int", "grapherConfigIdETL": "019f8dc0-190e-72fb-8d3a-4eb6da166b87", "dataChecksum": "17866819914745018061", "metadataChecksum": "2289561408073744993", "datasetName": "Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-Born Population of the United States: 1850 to 2000", "updatePeriodDays": 365, "datasetVersion": "2026-07-22", "nonRedistributable": false, "display": {"unit": "people", "numDecimalPlaces": 0, "entityAnnotationsMap": "Korea: includes North & South\nCzechoslovakia: includes Czechia & Slovakia"}, "schemaVersion": 2, "processingLevel": "major", "presentation": {"attribution": "US Census Bureau (2006, 2025)", "topicTagsLinks": ["Migration"]}, "descriptionKey": "The foreign-born population covers everyone living in the United States who was not a US citizen at birth, whatever their current legal status. People born in the United States, in its territories such as Puerto Rico, or abroad to American parents count as native-born.\n\nThe data comes from two sources with the same definition of foreign-born:\n- **1850\u20132000:** the decennial census. Figures up to 1940 come from a full count of the population; figures from 1950 to 2000 are based on large census samples (between 1 in 4 and 1 in 6 people).\n- **2005 onward:** the American Community Survey, an annual survey of about 3.5 million households. Survey estimates are less exact than a census count.\n\nThere is no data for 1940 and 1950, because the census publications of those years only gave the country of birth of the white population, and no data for 2020, because no survey estimates were released for that year.\n\nCountry borders have changed over this period, so a country's figures may not always refer to the same area.\n- The Soviet Union includes its Asian part for the whole period; before 1920 it corresponds to the Russian Empire.\n- Before 1930, the United Kingdom figures cover Great Britain only; Northern Ireland is included in the Ireland figures.\n- China includes Taiwan until 1980 and excludes it afterward. The source does not say how Hong Kong is counted before 1980. Between 1980 and 2005, people born in Taiwan and Hong Kong are grouped in the \"Not specified\" category. They are only shown separately from 2005 onward.\n- Czechoslovakia covers Czechia and Slovakia combined, including in the years after the country split. Korea includes both North and South Korea.\n\nTwo things changed over the course of the series:\n- The population included: Alaska and Hawaii are included from 1960 onward. The 1890 figures exclude about 325,000 people living in the Indian Territory and on Indian reservations, who were not asked about their place of birth.\n- The list of US territories: people born in a territory count as native-born, so when a territory's status changed, so did their classification. For example, people born in the Philippines counted as native-born until it became independent in 1946, and as foreign-born after.\n\nEntities like \"Asia (not specified)\" cover people known to be born in a region but in a country the source does not list separately. Their size depends on how many countries the source lists: the census data lists only about 40, so by 2000 they cover about 40% of the foreign-born population, while the survey data from 2005 onward lists about 120, leaving only a few percent unattributed. \"Not specified\" covers the small number of people with no recorded country of birth, including people born at sea.\n\nPeople living in the country without authorization are included in the definition, but censuses and surveys are known to miss part of this group. Other sources that try to adjust for this can find a slightly higher foreign-born population.", "dimensions": {"years": {"values": [{"id": 2005}, {"id": 2006}, {"id": 2007}, {"id": 2008}, {"id": 2009}, {"id": 2010}, {"id": 2011}, {"id": 2012}, {"id": 2013}, {"id": 2014}, {"id": 2015}, {"id": 2016}, {"id": 2017}, {"id": 2018}, {"id": 2019}, {"id": 2021}, {"id": 2022}, {"id": 2023}, {"id": 2024}, {"id": 1850}, {"id": 1860}, {"id": 1870}, {"id": 1880}, {"id": 1890}, {"id": 1900}, {"id": 1910}, {"id": 1920}, {"id": 1930}, {"id": 1960}, {"id": 1970}, {"id": 1980}, {"id": 1990}, {"id": 2000}]}, "entities": {"values": [{"id": 15, "name": "Afghanistan", "code": "AFG"}, {"id": 372776, "name": "Africa (not specified)", "code": null}, {"id": 16, "name": "Albania", "code": "ALB"}, {"id": 17, "name": "Algeria", "code": "DZA"}, {"id": 21, "name": "Argentina", "code": "ARG"}, {"id": 22, "name": "Armenia", "code": "ARM"}, {"id": 372771, "name": "Asia (not specified)", "code": null}, {"id": 23, "name": "Australia", "code": "AUS"}, {"id": 24, "name": "Austria", "code": "AUT"}, {"id": 25, "name": "Azerbaijan", "code": "AZE"}, {"id": 26, "name": "Bahamas", "code": "BHS"}, {"id": 28, "name": "Bangladesh", "code": "BGD"}, {"id": 29, "name": "Barbados", "code": "BRB"}, {"id": 30, "name": "Belarus", "code": "BLR"}, {"id": 4, "name": "Belgium", "code": "BEL"}, {"id": 31, "name": "Belize", "code": "BLZ"}, {"id": 33, "name": "Bhutan", "code": "BTN"}, {"id": 34, "name": "Bolivia", "code": "BOL"}, {"id": 35, "name": "Bosnia and Herzegovina", "code": "BIH"}, {"id": 37, "name": "Brazil", "code": "BRA"}, {"id": 39, "name": "Bulgaria", "code": "BGR"}, {"id": 42, "name": "Cambodia", "code": "KHM"}, {"id": 43, "name": "Cameroon", "code": "CMR"}, {"id": 44, "name": "Canada", "code": "CAN"}, {"id": 45, "name": "Cape Verde", "code": "CPV"}, {"id": 172, "name": "Chile", "code": "CHL"}, {"id": 171, "name": "China", "code": "CHN"}, {"id": 170, "name": "Colombia", "code": "COL"}, {"id": 168, "name": "Congo", "code": "COG"}, {"id": 166, "name": "Costa Rica", "code": "CRI"}, {"id": 143, "name": "Cote d'Ivoire", "code": "CIV"}, {"id": 165, "name": "Croatia", "code": "HRV"}, {"id": 164, "name": "Cuba", "code": "CUB"}, {"id": 267, "name": "Czechoslovakia", "code": "OWID_CZS"}, {"id": 167, "name": "Democratic Republic of Congo", "code": "COD"}, {"id": 161, "name": "Denmark", "code": "DNK"}, {"id": 200, "name": "Dominica", "code": "DMA"}, {"id": 160, "name": "Dominican Republic", "code": "DOM"}, {"id": 201, "name": "Ecuador", "code": "ECU"}, {"id": 65, "name": "Egypt", "code": "EGY"}, {"id": 259, "name": "El Salvador", "code": "SLV"}, {"id": 157, "name": "Eritrea", "code": "ERI"}, {"id": 156, "name": "Estonia", "code": "EST"}, {"id": 158, "name": "Ethiopia", "code": "ETH"}, {"id": 372770, "name": "Europe (not specified)", "code": null}, {"id": 202, "name": "Fiji", "code": "FJI"}, {"id": 155, "name": "Finland", "code": "FIN"}, {"id": 3, "name": "France", "code": "FRA"}, {"id": 152, "name": "Georgia", "code": "GEO"}, {"id": 6, "name": "Germany", "code": "DEU"}, {"id": 150, "name": "Ghana", "code": "GHA"}, {"id": 149, "name": "Greece", "code": "GRC"}, {"id": 206, "name": "Grenada", "code": "GRD"}, {"id": 148, "name": "Guatemala", "code": "GTM"}, {"id": 146, "name": "Guyana", "code": "GUY"}, {"id": 145, "name": "Haiti", "code": "HTI"}, {"id": 139, "name": "Honduras", "code": "HND"}, {"id": 144, "name": "Hong Kong", "code": "HKG"}, {"id": 138, "name": "Hungary", "code": "HUN"}, {"id": 207, "name": "Iceland", "code": "ISL"}, {"id": 137, "name": "India", "code": "IND"}, {"id": 136, "name": "Indonesia", "code": "IDN"}, {"id": 135, "name": "Iran", "code": "IRN"}, {"id": 134, "name": "Iraq", "code": "IRQ"}, {"id": 2, "name": "Ireland", "code": "IRL"}, {"id": 133, "name": "Israel", "code": "ISR"}, {"id": 8, "name": "Italy", "code": "ITA"}, {"id": 132, "name": "Jamaica", "code": "JAM"}, {"id": 14, "name": "Japan", "code": "JPN"}, {"id": 130, "name": "Jordan", "code": "JOR"}, {"id": 131, "name": "Kazakhstan", "code": "KAZ"}, {"id": 129, "name": "Kenya", "code": "KEN"}, {"id": 31416, "name": "Korea", "code": null}, {"id": 208, "name": "Kuwait", "code": "KWT"}, {"id": 125, "name": "Laos", "code": "LAO"}, {"id": 122, "name": "Latvia", "code": "LVA"}, {"id": 124, "name": "Lebanon", "code": "LBN"}, {"id": 121, "name": "Liberia", "code": "LBR"}, {"id": 119, "name": "Lithuania", "code": "LTU"}, {"id": 210, "name": "Luxembourg", "code": "LUX"}, {"id": 116, "name": "Malaysia", "code": "MYS"}, {"id": 223, "name": "Marshall Islands", "code": "MHL"}, {"id": 113, "name": "Mexico", "code": "MEX"}, {"id": 222, "name": "Micronesia (country)", "code": "FSM"}, {"id": 111, "name": "Moldova", "code": "MDA"}, {"id": 110, "name": "Morocco", "code": "MAR"}, {"id": 142, "name": "Myanmar", "code": "MMR"}, {"id": 107, "name": "Nepal", "code": "NPL"}, {"id": 5, "name": "Netherlands", "code": "NLD"}, {"id": 105, "name": "Nicaragua", "code": "NIC"}, {"id": 103, "name": "Nigeria", "code": "NGA"}, {"id": 372775, "name": "North America (not specified)", "code": null}, {"id": 66, "name": "North Macedonia", "code": "MKD"}, {"id": 102, "name": "Norway", "code": "NOR"}, {"id": 368114, "name": "Not specified", "code": null}, {"id": 372774, "name": "Oceania (not specified)", "code": null}, {"id": 101, "name": "Pakistan", "code": "PAK"}, {"id": 140, "name": "Palestine", "code": "PSE"}, {"id": 100, "name": "Panama", "code": "PAN"}, {"id": 97, "name": "Peru", "code": "PER"}, {"id": 96, "name": "Philippines", "code": "PHL"}, {"id": 11, "name": "Poland", "code": "POL"}, {"id": 95, "name": "Portugal", "code": "PRT"}, {"id": 92, "name": "Romania", "code": "ROU"}, {"id": 12, "name": "Russia", "code": "RUS"}, {"id": 229, "name": "Saint Lucia", "code": "LCA"}, {"id": 230, "name": "Saint Vincent and the Grenadines", "code": "VCT"}, {"id": 372768, "name": "Sandwich Islands (Hawaii)", "code": null}, {"id": 90, "name": "Saudi Arabia", "code": "SAU"}, {"id": 89, "name": "Senegal", "code": "SEN"}, {"id": 88, "name": "Serbia", "code": "SRB"}, {"id": 87, "name": "Sierra Leone", "code": "SLE"}, {"id": 86, "name": "Singapore", "code": "SGP"}, {"id": 82, "name": "Somalia", "code": "SOM"}, {"id": 81, "name": "South Africa", "code": "ZAF"}, {"id": 372773, "name": "South America (not specified)", "code": null}, {"id": 372769, "name": "Soviet Union (former)", "code": null}, {"id": 9, "name": "Spain", "code": "ESP"}, {"id": 141, "name": "Sri Lanka", "code": "LKA"}, {"id": 79, "name": "Sudan", "code": "SDN"}, {"id": 10, "name": "Sweden", "code": "SWE"}, {"id": 7, "name": "Switzerland", "code": "CHE"}, {"id": 77, "name": "Syria", "code": "SYR"}, {"id": 198, "name": "Taiwan", "code": "TWN"}, {"id": 64, "name": "Tanzania", "code": "TZA"}, {"id": 75, "name": "Thailand", "code": "THA"}, {"id": 74, "name": "Togo", "code": "TGO"}, {"id": 73, "name": "Trinidad and Tobago", "code": "TTO"}, {"id": 70, "name": "Turkey", "code": "TUR"}, {"id": 68, "name": "Uganda", "code": "UGA"}, {"id": 67, "name": "Ukraine", "code": "UKR"}, {"id": 72, "name": "United Arab Emirates", "code": "ARE"}, {"id": 1, "name": "United Kingdom", "code": "GBR"}, {"id": 63, "name": "Uruguay", "code": "URY"}, {"id": 62, "name": "Uzbekistan", "code": "UZB"}, {"id": 238, "name": "Venezuela", "code": "VEN"}, {"id": 84, "name": "Vietnam", "code": "VNM"}, {"id": 61, "name": "Yemen", "code": "YEM"}, {"id": 271, "name": "Yugoslavia", "code": "OWID_YGS"}, {"id": 80, "name": "Zimbabwe", "code": "ZWE"}]}}, "origins": [{"id": 18862, "titleSnapshot": "Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-Born Population of the United States - Table 4", "title": "Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-Born Population of the United States: 1850 to 2000", "descriptionSnapshot": "Table 4 of the report, which gives the foreign-born population of the United States by world region and country of birth, at each census from 1850 to 1930 and from 1960 to 2000. There is no data for 1940 and 1950, because the census publications of those years only gave the country of birth of the white population.\n\nNotes from the source: prior to 1980, people born in Taiwan are counted with China. Data for the former Soviet Union include its Asian part. In 2000, data for Portugal include the Madeira Islands, and the country of birth was imputed when it was not reported.", "description": "A report by the US Census Bureau that brings together statistics on the foreign-born population of the United States from every census between 1850 and 2000. Its tables cover nativity, citizenship, place of birth, language, age and sex, race and Hispanic origin, length of residence, and place of residence.", "producer": "US Census Bureau", "citationFull": "Gibson, Campbell and Kay Jung. 2006. Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-Born Population of the United States: 1850 to 2000. Population Division Working Paper No. 81. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau.", "urlMain": "https://www.census.gov/library/working-papers/2006/demo/POP-twps0081.html", "urlDownload": "https://www2.census.gov/library/working-papers/2006/demo/pop-twps0081/tab04.xls", "dateAccessed": "2026-07-22", "datePublished": "2006-02-02", "license": {"name": "Public domain"}}, {"id": 18860, "titleSnapshot": "American Community Survey - Place of birth of the foreign-born population", "title": "American Community Survey", "descriptionSnapshot": "This file contains the foreign-born population of the United States by country of birth, for each year from 2005, from the ACS 1-year estimates (table B05006, \"Place of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population in the United States\"), retrieved through the Census Bureau data API. Each row holds one of the table's variables for one year, with the API's own variable code and label. There is no value for 2020: the Census Bureau did not release standard 1-year estimates for that year because of data-collection problems during the COVID-19 pandemic.", "description": "The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual survey run by the US Census Bureau. It samples about 3.5 million housing unit addresses each year and measures the demographic, social, economic, and housing characteristics of the US population. Since 2005, it has replaced the long-form questionnaire of the decennial census.", "producer": "US Census Bureau", "citationFull": "U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table B05006 (Place of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population in the United States).", "urlMain": "https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs", "urlDownload": "https://api.census.gov/data/2024/acs/acs1", "dateAccessed": "2026-07-22", "datePublished": "2025-09-11", "license": {"name": "Public domain"}}]}