"Asian people" (sometimes "Asiatic people")United States National Library of Medicine. Medical Subject Headings. 2004. November 17, 200
Nlm.nih.gov
: ''Asian Continental Ancestry Group'' is also used for categorical purposes. is an umbrella term for people who belong to any ethnic, racial, or national group with origins in

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. It is most often used in contexts concerning the

Asian diaspora The Asian diaspora is the diasporic group of Asian people who live outside of the continent. There are several prominent groups within the Asian diaspora. Asian diasporas have been noted for having an increasingly transnational relationship wit ...

, which consists of Asian people and their descendants living outside of the continent. The exact definition of the term may vary by country; some classifications of "Asian" may only refer to certain Asian-origin groups, as opposed to the population of the entire continent.

Meanings by region

Anglophone Africa and the Caribbean

In parts of

anglophone The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the largest language ...

Africa, especially East Africa and in parts of the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

, the term "Asian" is more commonly associated with people of South Asian origin, particularly Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Sri Lankans. In South Africa the term "Asian" is also usually synonymous with the Indian race group. East Asians in South Africa, including Chinese were classified either as

Coloureds Coloureds () are multiracial people in South Africa, Namibia and, to a smaller extent, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Their ancestry descends from the interracial mixing that occurred between Europeans, Africans and Asians. Interracial mixing in South ...

or as

honorary whites Honorary whites was a political term that was used by the apartheid regime of South Africa to grant some of the rights and privileges of whites to those who would otherwise have been treated as non-whites under the Population Registration Ac ...

Arab countries of the Persian Gulf

In the

Arab states of the Persian Gulf The Arab states of the Persian Gulf, also known as the Gulf Arab states (), refers to a group of Arab states bordering the Persian Gulf. There are seven member states of the Arab League in the region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi ...

, the term "Asian" generally refers to people of

South Asian South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

n descent due to the large Indian,

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

Bangladeshi Bangladeshis ( ) are the citizens and nationals of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centred on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the Bay of Bengal, eponymous bay. Bangladeshi nationality law, Bangladeshi citizenship was fo ...

, and Filipino expatriate populations in these countries. However, there are instances where the term is used solely to refer to those of South Asian descent.

Australia

The Australian Census includes four regions of Asia in its official definition. Defined by the 2006–2011 Australian Census, three ''broad groups'' have the word Asian included in their name: ''Central'' and ''Southern Asian'', ''South-East Asian'' and ''North-East Asian''. West Asians are classified as '' North African and

Middle Eastern The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

''.

Canada

The Canadian Census uses the term 'Asian' pan-continentally. In its presentation of the "ethnic origin" results of the 2016 census,

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

under the category "Asian origins" includes: West Central Asian and Middle Eastern (includes "Arab, not otherwise specified"), South Asian, East and Southeast Asian, and "other" Asian origins.

New Zealand

New Zealand's census undertaken by

Statistics New Zealand Statistics New Zealand (), branded as Stats NZ, is the public service department of New Zealand charged with the collection of statistics related to the economy, population and society of New Zealand. To this end, Stats NZ produces New Zealand c ...

defines Asian to include people of Bangladeshi, Chinese, Indian, Korean, Filipino, Japanese, Vietnamese, Sri Lankan, Cambodian and Thai ancestries.Statistics New Zealand. Asian people. 2006. December 4, 2006
In less formal contexts, the term ''Asian'' often does not refer to

South Asian people Ethnic groups in South Asia are Ethnolinguistics, ethnolinguistic groupings within the diverse populations of South Asia, including the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan is variously co ...

. Those of West or Central Asian origin are excluded from the term.

Norway

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway (, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every year on its web site. All rele ...

uses the term 'Asian' pan-continentally and considers people of Asian background to be people from all Asian countries.

Sweden

Statistics Sweden Statistics Sweden ( ; SCB, ) is the Swedish government agency operating under the Ministry of Finance and responsible for producing official statistics for decision-making, debate and research. The agency's responsibilities include: * developin ...

uses the term 'Asian' to refer to immigrants of Asian background from all Asian countries, including Western Asia/the Middle East.

West Asia West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenian ...

ns make up the largest region of Asian descent in the country, with Iraq once being the largest group of Asian immigrants.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the term "Asian" is more commonly associated with people of South Asian origin, particularly Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Sri Lankans.British Sociological Association. Equality and Diversity. Language and the BSA:Ethnicity & Race. 2005. October 26
Britsoc.co.uk
Aspinall, Peter J. Oxford Journals. Journal of Public Health. 2003. October 26, 2006
Jpubhealth.oxfordjournals.org
Most respondents to the UK 2001 Census of non-Chinese East Asian and Southeast Asian descent chose to write-in their ethnicity in the "Other Ethnic Group" category rather than the "Other Asian" category, reflecting the association of the word Asian in the UK with South Asian. Despite there being a strong presence of East Asians in the United Kingdom there are considerably more South Asians, for example the 2001 Census recorded 1.05 million people of Indian origin and 247,000 of Chinese origin in the UK. Common origins in the "Other Asian" category include Filipinos, Afghans and Nepalese. Peter J. Aspinall of the Centre for Health Services Studies,

University of Kent The University of Kent (formerly the University of Kent at Canterbury, abbreviated as UKC) is a Collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom. The university was granted its roya ...

, recommends privileging the term "South Asian" over the term "Asian", since the term "Asian" is a "contested term".

United States

In 1968, an Asian activist conference decided on favoring the name "Asian American" over the competing terms—"

yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In t ...

", "

Mongoloid Mongoloid () is an obsolete racial grouping of various peoples indigenous to large parts of Asia, the Americas, and some regions in Europe and Oceania. The term is derived from a now-disproven theory of biological race. In the past, other terms ...

", "Asiatic", and "

Orient The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...

al"—since the

Filipinos Filipinos () are citizens or people identified with the country of the Philippines. Filipinos come from various Austronesian peoples, all typically speaking Filipino language, Filipino, Philippine English, English, or other Philippine language ...

at the meeting thought they were "

brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black. In the ...

" rather than "yellow" and the conference thought the term "Oriental" was

Eurocentric Eurocentrism (also Eurocentricity or Western-centrism) refers to viewing the West as the center of world events or superior to other cultures. The exact scope of Eurocentrism varies from the entire Western world to just the continent of Euro ...

since they originate from lands "east" only from Europe's standpoint and the term "Oriental" suggested to them "passivity". Earlier Census forms from 1980 and prior listed particular Asian ancestries as separate groups along with ''White'' and ''Black or Negro''. Previously, Asian Americans were classified as "other".Lee, Gordon. Hyphen Magazine. "The Forgotten Revolution." 2003. January 28, 200
Hyphenmagazine.com
But the 1980 Census marked the first general analyses of Asians as a group, combining several individual ancestry groups into "Asian or Pacific Islander." By the 1990 census, '' Asian or Pacific Islander (API)'' was included as an explicit category, although respondents had to select one particular ancestry. The 2000 and 2010 U.S. Census Bureau definition of the Asian race is: "people having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

(for example,

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, the

Philippine Islands The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

)".Barnes, Jessica S. and Bennett, Claudett E. The Asian Population:2000. 2002. September 1, 2006
Census.gov
Sandra S. Lee et al. (2001) said, in regards to the categories of the 2000 U.S. census, that it is difficult to determine why Asian Americans are a "race" while Latino and Hispanic are an "ethnic group." Lee said, referring to the Hispanic or Latino category, that the category of Asian Americans, quite similarly, comprises different populations of diverse origins. Lee said that people of South Asian origin were categorically identified as "

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

," regardless of their religion, in the early 20th century. Lee said that the policy changed to classify people from the Indian subcontinent as "white." Lee said that, more recently, South Asian Americans were added to the long list of groups that comprise the category of Asian American. Referring to their classification as "Asian," Lee said that, in the United States, the classification of people from the Indian subcontinent depends on their historical location.Lee, S.S., Mountain, J. & Koenig, B.A. (2001). The Meanings of Race in the New Genomics: Implications for Health Disparities Research. '' Yale Journal of Health Policy, Law, and Ethics 1,'' (1). Pages 43, 44, & 45
Wayback Machine link
In 1930 and 1940, ''

Indian Americans Indian Americans are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from India. The terms Asian Indian and East Indian are used to avoid confusion with Native Americans in the United States, who are also referred to as "Indians" or "Am ...

'' were identified as a separate race, ''

'', and in 1950 and 1960 they were racially classified as ''Other Race'', and then in 1970 they were classified as ''White''. Since 1980, Indians and all other South Asians have been classified as part of the Asian ethnic group. Sociologist Madhulika Khandelwal described how "''....as a result of activism, South Asians came to be included as 'Asians' in the census only in the 80's. Prior to that many South Asians had been checking 'Caucasian' or 'Other'.''" Respondents can also report their specific ancestry, e.g.: Okinawan, etc. Someone reporting these ancestries but no race would be classified as "Asian". Unlike Southeast Asians,

Afghan Americans Afghan Americans ( ''Amrikāyi-hāye Afghān tabar'', ''Da Amrīka Afghanan'') are Americans with ancestry from Afghanistan. They form the largest Afghan diaspora, Afghan community in North America with the second being Afghan Canadians. Afghan ...

Arab Americans Arab Americans ( or ) are Americans who trace ancestry to any of the Arab immigration to the United States, various waves of immigrants from the Arabic-speaking countries. In the United States census, Arabs are racially classified as White Amer ...

Armenian Americans Armenian Americans () are citizens or residents of the United States who have total or partial Armenian ancestry. They form the second largest community of the Armenian diaspora after Armenians in Russia. The first major wave of Armenian immig ...

, Assyrian Americans, Azerbaijani Americans, Georgian Americans,

Israeli Americans Israeli Americans () are Americans who are of full or partial Israeli descent. The Israeli-American community, while predominantly Jewish, also includes various ethnic and religious minorities reflective of Israel's diverse demographics. This c ...

, Kurdish Americans,

Turkish Americans Turkish Americans () or American Turks are Americans of ethnic Turkish origin. The term "Turkish Americans" can therefore refer to ethnic Turkish immigrants to the United States, as well as their American-born descendants, who originate eith ...

Iranian Americans Iranian-Americans, also known as Persian-Americans, are United States citizens or nationals who are of Iranian ancestry, or who hold Iranian citizenship. Most Iranian-Americans arrived in the United States after 1979, as a result of the Irani ...

, and Central Asian Americans have not lobbied to be included as Asians by the U.S. Census Board.Not Quite White: Race Classification and the Arab American Experience
, Arab American Institute, 1997, September 29, 2006. In normal American usage Asian does not refer to the people from the

Pacific Islands The Pacific islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of several ...

who are usually called

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

s. The term "Asians and Pacific Islanders" or "Asia/Pacific" was used on the 1990 U.S. census. However, in the 2000 U.S. census, the Asian or Pacific Islander category was separated into two categories, "Asian" and "Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander".

References

External links

* {{Authority control Race (human categorization)