Americans of Sri Lankan birth or descent
Ethnic group
Sri Lankan Americans 49,116 (born in Sri Lanka, 2017)
[1]
New York City Metropolitan Area (including
New York City ),
Central
New Jersey , and
Long Island )
[2]
[3]
[4]
Greater Boston ,
Los Angeles metropolitan area ,
Washington, D.C. metropolitan area ,
Atlanta metropolitan area ,
Dallas metropolitan area ,
Houston area ,
[5] and other major American
metropolitan areas
English ,
Sinhala and
Tamil
Theravada Buddhism ,
Hinduism ,
Islam ,
Roman Catholicism
Sri Lankan Americans (
Sinhala : Sri Lankika Amerikanu ,
Tamil : Ilangkaī Amerikan ) are Americans of full or partial
Sri Lankan ancestry. Sri Lankan Americans are persons of Sri Lankan origin from various Sri Lankan ethnic backgrounds. The people are classified as
South Asian in origin.
History
Thesa, a Sinhalese on exhibit in 1893 at the
World's Columbian Exposition
Sri Lankans started arriving in the U.S. in larger numbers around the mid 1950s, but there is evidence from U.S. census records which proves that Sri Lankans first emigrated from
Ceylon and arrived in the United States in earlier years, mostly between the 1880s and the 1890s.
In 1975, Sri Lankan immigrants were classified as belonging to a category which was separate from "other
Asian " for the first time. In that year, 432 Sri Lankans entered the United States.
According to the
U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service 's records, in 1996, 1,277 Sri Lankans were naturalized. This included 615 who had arrived in 1995 and 254 who had arrived in 1994, compared with only 68 arrivals in 1993 and 17 before 1985.
The number increased to 14,448 in the 1990s in conjunction with the
Sri Lankan Civil War . Sri Lankan Americans settled largely in cities.[
citation needed ]
Demographics
Historical population Year
Pop.
±%
1980 5,576 —
1990 14,022 +151.5%
2000 25,263
[6] +80.2% 2017 49,116
[1] +94.4%
The
New York City Metropolitan Area , including
New York City ,
Long Island , and
Central
New Jersey , contains the largest Sri Lankan community in the United States, receiving the highest legal permanent resident Sri Lankan immigrant population,
[2]
[3]
[4] followed by the
Los Angeles metropolitan area .
California has the highest number of Sri Lankans of any U.S. state at 14,008.
[7] Meanwhile,
Maryland has the highest share of Sri Lankans at 0.07%.
[8]
Little Sri Lanka , in the
Tompkinsville neighborhood of
Staten Island , New York, is one of the largest Sri Lankan communities outside of the country of Sri Lanka itself.
[9]
[10]
[11] As of 2019, Sri Lankans were coalescing there.
[12] Staten Island alone has been estimated as home to more than 5,000 Sri Lankan Americans.
[13] Other communities with Sri Lankans include
Queens, New York ;
Garden City Park, New York ;
Sewaren, New Jersey ;
Gaithersburg, Maryland ;
Kensington, Maryland ; and
Fishers, Indiana .
Around 40% of Sri Lankan Americans were born in the United States, while only a half are U.S. citizens.
[14]
The Top 10 cities with the most residents reporting Sri Lankan ancestry or origin are as follows:
[15]
City
Sri Lankan
Population
City's
Population
Sri Lankan
Percentage
New York, New York
5,763
8,736,047
0.066%
Los Angeles, California
2,330
3,902,440
0.060%
Houston, Texas
841
2,293,288
0.037%
Fishers, Indiana
553
97154
0.569%
Oakland, California
531
437,548
0.121%
Chicago, Illinois
461
2,742,119
0.017%
Austin, Texas
453
944,658
0.048%
Gaithersburg, Maryland
451
68,827
0.655%
Dallas, Texas
446
1,300,239
0.034%
San Francisco, California
445
865,933
0.051%
Socioeconomics
Sri Lankan Americans are generally educated and affluent. With a median income of $74,000, Sri Lankan Americans are the third most successful Asian American group (tied with
Japanese Americans ) in regards to income. Additionally, 57% of Sri Lankan Americans over the age of 25 have a bachelor's degree or more.
[16]
Organizations
Association of Sri Lankans in America (AHRCL)
Friends of Sri Lanka in the United States
Sri Lanka America Association of Southern California (SLAASC)
Sri Lanka Association of New England (SLANE)
[17]
Sri Lanka Foundation
[18]
Sri Lankan American Association of Houston
[19]
Sri Lankan American Cultural Association (SLACA)
[20]
Sri Lankan Youth Organization (SLYO)
[21]
The Association of Sri Lankan Muslims in North America (TASMiNA)
[22]
Notable people
See also
Notes and references
^
a
b
"PLACE OF BIRTH FOR THE FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION IN THE UNITED STATES: Foreign-born population excluding population born at sea - 2017 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates" . US Census Bureau. Archived from
the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 24 December 2018 .
^
a
b
"Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2012 Supplemental Table 2" . U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Archived from the original on 2013-04-03. Retrieved 2013-03-31 .
^
a
b
"Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2011 Supplemental Table 2" . U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Archived from the original on 2012-08-08. Retrieved 2013-03-31 .
^
a
b
"Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2010 Supplemental Table 2" . U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Archived from the original on 2012-07-12. Retrieved 2013-03-31 .
^
"Sri Lankans in the U.S. Fact Sheet" .
Archived from the original on 2023-09-04. Retrieved 2022-03-25 .
^
Population Division (PDF) . U.S. Census Bureau. 2006.
Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-07-23. Retrieved 2017-12-10 .
^
"Top 10 States | Largest Sri Lankan Community | 2023 | Zip Atlas" . zipatlas.com .
Archived from the original on 2023-05-24. Retrieved 2023-05-24 .
^
"Top 10 States | Percentage of Sri Lankan Population | 2023 | Zip Atlas" . zipatlas.com .
Archived from the original on 2023-05-24. Retrieved 2023-05-24 .
^
"Why Staten Island?" . Little Sri Lanka.
Archived from the original on 2015-07-26. Retrieved 2015-07-25 .
^ Harrison Peck.
"NYC The Official Guide - Must-See Little Sri Lanka: 7 Great Things to See and Do" . NYC & Company, Inc. Archived from
the original on 2014-02-23. Retrieved 2013-03-31 .
^ Amy Zavatto (August 5, 2010).
"Frommer's - New York City: Exploring Staten Island's Little Sri Lanka" . John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Archived from
the original on January 11, 2012. Retrieved 2013-03-31 .
^
"Little Sri Lanka: An Island Nation Unites on Staten Island" .
Charter Communications . October 8, 2019.
Archived from the original on October 12, 2019. Retrieved October 12, 2019 .
^ Kirk Semple (2013-06-08).
"Sri Lankans have gathered on Staten Island,..." The New York Times .
Archived from the original on 2013-10-05. Retrieved 2013-06-09 .
^ Bureau, U.S. Census.
"American FactFinder - Results" . factfinder.census.gov . Archived from
the original on 2014-12-29. Retrieved 2017-08-02 .
^
"Largest Sri Lankan Community in the United States by City | 2023 | Zip Atlas" . zipatlas.com .
Archived from the original on 2023-05-25. Retrieved 2023-05-25 .
^
"Key facts about Asian Americans, a diverse and growing population" . Pew Research Center . 8 September 2017.
Archived from the original on 20 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017 .
^
"SLANE" . Slaneusa.com.
Archived from the original on 2012-08-28. Retrieved 2012-08-15 .
^
"Home" . Sri Lanka Foundation.
Archived from the original on 2012-07-08. Retrieved 2012-08-15 .
^
"Sri Lankan American Association of Houston" . SLAAH.
Archived from the original on 2011-02-02. Retrieved 2012-08-15 .
^
"Slaca.org" . Slaca.org.
Archived from the original on 2012-05-09. Retrieved 2012-08-15 .
^
"Non-profit - United - S.L.Y.O - Sri Lankan Youth Organization" . Non-profit - United - S.L.Y.O - Sri Lankan Youth Organization .
Archived from the original on 2016-11-06. Retrieved 2016-11-06 .
^
"Home" . tasmina.org .
Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022 .
External links
Asia Europe North America Oceania Africa See also