• 14.4 million - The estimated number of U.S. residents in July 2005 who said they were Asian or Asian in combination with one or more other races. This group comprised about 5% of the total population. California had the largest population (4.9 million) of people of this group.

• 3% Percentage growth of the Asian population between 2004 and 2005, the highest of any race group during that time period. The increase in the Asian population over the period totaled 421,000.

• 33.4 million* The projected number of U.S. residents in 2050 who will identify themselves as single-race Asians. They would comprise 8% of the total population by that year.

• 213% The projected percentage increase between 2000 and 2050 in the population of people who identify themselves as single-race Asian. This compares with a 49% increase in the population as a whole over the same period of time.

• 3.3 million Number of Asians of Chinese descent. Chinese-Americans are the largest Asian detailed group, followed by Filipinos (2.8 million), Asian Indians (2.5 million), Vietnamese (1.5 million), Koreans (1.4 million), and Japanese (1.2 million). These estimates represent the number of people who are either of a particular detailed group only or are of that group in combination with one or more other Asian detailed groups or races.

• 49% The percentage of single-race Asians 25 and older who have a bachelor’s degree or higher level of education. This compares to 27% for all people 25 and older.

  *86% The percentage of single-race Asians 25 and older who have at least a high school diploma. This compares to 84% for all people 25 and older.

• 20% The percentage of single-race Asians 25 and older who have a graduate or professional degree (e.g., master’s or doctorate). This compares with 10% for all people 25 and older.

  The Asian population comprises many groups who differ in languages spoken, culture and length of residence in the United States. This is reflected in the demographic characteristics of these groups. For instance, 68% of Asian Indians 25 and older had a bachelor’s degree or more education, and 36% had a graduate or professional degree. The corresponding numbers for Vietnamese-Americans were 26%and 7%, respectively.

• *$61,094 Median household income for single-race Asians in 2005, the highest among all race groups. Median household income differed greatly by Asian group. For Asian Indians, for example, the median income in 2005 was $73,575; for Vietnamese-Americans, it was $50,925.

• 11.1% Poverty rate for single-race Asians in 2005, up from 9.8% in 2004

• 17.9% Percentage of single-race Asians without health insurance coverage in 2005, up from 16.5% in 2004.

• 1.1 million Number of businesses owned by Asian-Americans in 2002, up 24% from 1997. The rate of increase in the number of Asian-owned businesses was about twice that of the national average for all businesses.

• 2.2 million Number of people employed by an Asian-owned business. There were 1,866 Asian-owned firms with 100 or more employees, generating nearly $52 billion in gross receipts (18% of the total revenue for Asian-owned employer firms).

  *46% Percentage of all Asian-owned firms that were either Chinese-owned or Asian Indian-owned.

• 2.3 million The number of people 5 and older who speak Chinese at home. After Spanish, Chinese is the most widely spoken non-English language in the country. Tagalog and Vietnamese have more than 1 million speakers each.

Serving Our Nation

• 293,321 The number of single-race Asian-American military veterans. About one in three was 65 and older.

• 47% The proportion of civilian employed single-race Asians 16 and older who work in management, professional and related occupations, such as financial managers, engineers, teachers, and registered nurses.

  Additionally, 23% work in sales and office occupations, 15% in service occupations and 11 percent in production, transportation, and material moving occupations.

• 1.4 million The number of Asians (alone or in combination with one or more other races) in Los Angeles County, Calif., in 2005, which tops the nation's counties.