Census shows 3.5 million Middle Eastern residents in US, Venezuelans fastest growing Hispanic group

By MIKE SCHNEIDER
Associated Press

The United States had 3.5 million residents who identify as Middle Eastern or North African. Venezuelans were the fastest-growing Hispanic group last decade. And Chinese and Asian Indians were the two largest Asian population groups. That’s according to the 2020 census’ most detailed figures on race and ethnicity released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau. The detailed race and ethnicity figures arrived more than three years after the once-a-decade head count. The census determines political power, the distribution of federal funding and holds up a mirror to how the U.S. has changed in a decade.