Spotlight on Middle Eastern and North African Immigrants

Migration Information Source has just published a new Spotlight on Middle Eastern and North African Immigrants. In the Spotlight, MPI’s Aaron Terrazas examines the size and distribution and the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of immigrants from Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco (and Western Sahara), Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

Using the most recent government data available, it was found that:

• Immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa number about 830,000, accounting for just 2.2 percent of all foreign born currently residing in the United States. The largest groups of immigrants from this region are from Iraq, Egypt, and Lebanon, while smaller groups include Tunisians and Libyans.

• About half of all foreign born from the Middle East and North Africa live in just four states: California, Michigan, New York, and Texas.

• Immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa are more likely than the overall foreign-born population to be proficient in English, to have a college degree, and to be naturalized US citizens.

• Middle Eastern and North African foreign born are also more likely than the native born to have a bachelor’s degree.

• Yemeni immigrants were one of the fastest growing groups of immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa over the past decade, but generally fare worse than other immigrants from the region in terms of English proficiency, educational attainment, and income.

KJ