Asian Americans and Identity

Data from the Pew Research Center demonstrate how different Asian American groups identify themselves.  Overall, 62% of all Asian Americans usually describe themselves by articulating their country of origin.  19% refer to themselves as Asians or Asian Americans, and 14% identify simply as Americans.  

Between Asian groups, however, there is some variation in the ways individuals identify.  About three quarters of both the Vietnamese and Korean populations identify with their country of origin.  Indian, Chinese, and Japanese Americans exhibit the smallest percentage of individuals who identify with their country of origin (six in ten).

Another way to look at the data is by distinguishing the foreign born population of Asian Americans from the native born population of Asian Americans.  Among the foreign born, seven in ten identify with their country of origin, while only four in ten in the native born population will do the same.  Conversely, a mere 9% of foreign born Asians describe themselves as American, but 28% of the native born call themselves as American.

Marriage in Asia

A recent article in The Economist explores the decline in marriage rates in Asia, as well as its causes and potential consequences. The first graph from the article (right) shows an upward trend in the average marriage age of women since 1970 in India, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan and Hong Kong. As the graph shows, the average marriage age of women was about 28-30 in Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea in 2005. This is higher than in the US, where the average age of marriage in the US is about 26, according to the article.



The second graph shows a dramatic increase in the percent of 35-39 year-old women that were unmarried in Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and Singapore. The growing number of unmarried women in their late 30s suggests that not only are women getting married later, but less women from these countries are ever getting married. One cause of the increasing number of unmarried women in these countries is an increase in education, employment and income of women. The article sites a survey conducted in Beijing in 2003 that found that half of women with a monthly income of 5,000-15,000 yuan (about $600-$1,800) were unmarried. Half of these unmarried women respondents said they did not need to be married because they were financially independent. The article also points out that the marriage rate of women declines with every level of education in Asian countries, with university graduates least likely to marry. According to the article, Asian women with higher levels of education and income face a larger opportunity cost of giving up a career to have children, leading many to choose work, .



China and India, Asia's two largest countries, seem to be less affected by this decline in marriage rates as they have shown only slight increases in the percentage of unmarried women in their late 30s since 1970. While women may not be growing more hesitant to marry like they are in surrounding countries, there will simply be less women to marry due to the distorted sex ratios already present in both countries. Largely a result of sex-selective abortion, a process in which "parents use pre-natal screening to identify the sex of the fetus and rid themselves of daughters," there were more than 118 boys born for every 100 girls in China and 109 boys born for every 100 girls in India in 2010, according to the article. The article sites studies done by Avraham Ebenstein of Harvard University and Ethan Sharygin of the University of Pennsylvania, which project that by 2030, 8% of Chinese men aged 25 and older will be unable to marry because of the country's distorted sex ratio and about 10-15% by 2050. These projections are also shown in the second graph (right).

BL cf

Asian Population in New York City Tops One Million, Larger than Los Angeles and San Francisco Combined

A recent article in the New York Times centered on the rising Asian population in New York and its efforts to gain more political clout. Citing recent census data, the Times states that the Asian population in New York has exceeded one million for the first time ever, giving the city a substantially larger Asian population than either Los Angeles or San Francisco. The Asian population has been growing far faster than other racial groups in New York, increasing 32 percent since 2000, as compared with an 8 percent increase among Hispanics, a 3 percent decline among non-Hispanic whites, and a 5 percent decline in the black population during the same period.

But according to the article: "Asians in New York City still remain underrepresented in elected office, community leaders say, with only one Asian-American in the State Legislature, two on the City Council and one in a citywide post." Furthermore, "Advocates contend that public and private money for their community service organizations does not match the population’s size or need."

One of the reasons the article gives for underrepresentation of Asian Americans in political offices is the diversity of the Asian population in New York, and how that diversity hinders their progress and potential for collaboration. The Times writes: "Asian-Americans in New York trace their roots to dozens of countries, and speak more than 40 languages and dialects...Older immigrants may have lingering prejudices against other nationalities, rooted in historic rivalries among their native countries. Some organizations, particularly well-established Chinese ones that were in the vanguard of the fight for immigrant rights during the last century, may be hesitant to share hard-won gains. And South Asian groups have sometimes felt muscled aside or ignored by their more established East Asian counterparts."

It has not been easy for these different organizations to find common ground, but as the Asian population grows, there are signs that things might be changing: "As the number of Asians has soared, scores of groups that have long operated independently, and sometimes at odds, have begun pulling together into pan-Asian coalitions in recent years, particularly as younger generations and newer arrivals have seen the advantages of unifying."

NH cf