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Top 10 Countries Of Origin For Africans Living In The US

Top 10 Countries Of Origin For Africans Living In The US

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A fundamental fact of the U.S. that only a tea-partiers really forget is that it is a nation of immigrants, spanning countless generations. African-born immigrants to the U.S. number in the millions, and have sought lives here for economic and political reasons. The American Community Survey’s 2010 census shows that African-born adults living in the U.S. are more likely to have obtained a degree of higher education than U.S.-born citizens. Here are the top 10 countries of origin for Africans living in the U.S.

Sources: migrationinformation.org, www.census.gov, wikipedia.com (via American Community Survey,www.factfinder2.census.gov).

This AFKInsider article originally ran on Jan 10, 2014.

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Thinkstock

10. Eritreans

One of the newest and most impoverished African countries (formerly a part of Ethiopia until 1991), Eritrea is responsible for a giant influx of refugees to U.S. cities from nearly 30 years of civil war. By 2007, almost 30,000 Eritreans had immigrated, mostly to Washington, D.C. and Chicago. Many are still pigeonholed as Ethiopian immigrants, but enclaves like Little Ethiopia in Los Angeles host self-identifying Eritrean restaurants and shops.

Sources: encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org, wikipedia.com

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Thinkstock

9. Somalis

Barkhad Abdi, star of the Somali-inspired film, “Captain Phillips.” was formerly a taxi driver in Minneapolis, the city with the largest Somali population in America. A tragicly dangerous country for its citizens due to repeated terrorist attacks and a 2009 famine, Somalia has produced a major influx of immigrants to U.S. cities in the last 10 years. A 2011 census shows roughly 36,000 Somalis living in Minnesota, followed by Ohio with 12,300 and Washington with 7,300.

Source: startribune.com

Moroccan spice
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8. Moroccans

In 2010, 58,283 Moroccans were living in America, comprising 3.9 percent of the country’s African population. These North African people did not migrate across the ocean in large numbers until the 1990s. The majority came not as refugees but as skilled, educated professionals with dreams of business ventures. Moroccans have settled mostly in New York, New England, Washington, D.C., and Texas.

Source: everyculture.com

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zazzle.com

7. South Africans

The majority of South Africans living in the U.S. are white and of Afrikaans or English-speaking heritage. Before apartheid ended, noticeable numbers of South Africans — black and white — disgusted with the institutionalized segregation in their country, fled to New Zealand and Australia. But after 1992, many came to settle in the U.S., mostly in Midwestern cities such as Chicago or Minneapolis. Marie tea biscuits from South Africa are a popular item to buy in Chicago. To get an idea of apartheid and its diasporic effects, read South African Mark Mathabane’s memoirs, “Kaffir Boy” and “Kaffir Boy in America.”

Source: everyculture.com

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everything254.tumblr.com

6. Kenyans

There are many famous Kenyans living in America, including “12 Years a Slave” star Lupita Nyong’o. As of 2010, there were 92,638 Kenyan-born citizens in America, their largest community to be found in Washington D.C. Kenyans have one of the highest percentages of American university graduates out of the sub-Saharan African population.

Source: everyculture.com

wikipedia.org
wikipedia.org

5. Ghanaians

In the 1980s, Nigeria expelled more than 1 million Ghanaians citing undocumented workers as the cause of Nigeria’s economic woes. A tide of rootless Ghanaians fled to other countries in Africa, Germany, and the U.K with the hopes of better job prospects. Little by little, communities were built in the U.S., and today there are nearly 100,000 Ghanaian-born residents living here. Atlanta and Chicago are the biggest host cities, but check this out: Elsah, Illinois, (population 635) has a 2.2-percent Ghanaian population.

Sources: migrationinformation.org, city-data.com

abugidainfo.com
abugidainfo.com

4. Ethiopians

The 2010 census shows more than 200,000 Ethiopian-born citizens living in various American cities. In 1974, a Marxist military regime took power, and its subjugating tactics forced a mass migration of Ethiopians to other countries. After the regime crumbled in 1991, many returned to their homeland. The year 2007 shows a net migration rate of zero because of the balance of departures and returns. Cities like Washington, D.C., with its Little Ethiopia, maintain large Ethiopian communities.

Sources: migrationinformation.org, cnn.com

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Thinkstock

3. Cape Verdeans

This Central Atlantic island nation gained independence from Portugal in 1975 and a huge number of its citizens emigrated to America. The first Cape Verdeans in America were big in the whaling industry, thus New England — mainly Massachusetts — now has the largest Cape Verdean-born population in the world. More than 50,000 Cape Verdeans live in the greater Boston area. Cape Verdeans are a mix of many influences — European, African, South American — mainly as a result of the islands being used as a hub for the Atlantic slave trade in the 1800s.

Sources: everyculture.com, wikipedia.com

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Thinkstock

2. Egyptians

Political upheaval and regional conflict in Egypt historically augmented the Arab-American population in the U.S. The first significant wave of Egyptian immigrants came after Egypt’s defeat by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War. Thousands settled in various American locales, mainly greater New York City and New Jersey. The two presidential overthrows in 2011 and 2013 painted a cloudy, uncertain future for Egyptians in their country. Especially Coptic Christians, fearing for their safety, have made a mass exodus. It is estimated that 100,000 have integrated into the already 350,000-strong, pre-revolution Egyptian population in America.

Sources: npr.org, everycultre.com, migrationinformation.org.

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sitesatlas.com

1. Nigerians/Igbo

A 2012 study shows that Nigerians — the No. 1 African-born population in the U.S. — are also the most educated ethnic group in the U.S., ranging from highest test scores to percentage who hold bachelors degrees. Most Nigerian immigrants settled in the New York metropolitan area and Texas, especially in the Dallas and Houston areas — a third of Nigerian-Americans live here. The Igbo nation of Southeast Nigeria is one of the most fragmented and widespread ethnicities in Africa. Many African Americans are descendents of Igboland.

Sources: bet.com, britannica.com, nigeriavillagesquare.com.