Asian-American population also rising nationwide

The diverse Asian-American population is growing nearly as fast nationwide as in Las Vegas.

The number of Asian-Americans in the United States nearly doubled from 1980 to 1990, and is likely to double again by 2010, according to the Population Reference Bureau in Washington, a nonadvocacy, nonprofit organization.

The U.S. Hispanic population grew 53 percent between 1980 and 1990, and the black population grew 13.2 percent.

In Las Vegas the Asian-American population grew 169 percent from 1980 to 1990. The local Hispanic population grew 130 percent; the black population rose 54 percent.

In 1997 there were 9.7 million Asian-Americans in the United States, representing about 4 percent of the country's total population. About one-third of legal U.S. immigrants in the last five years have been from Asian countries.

"The numbers are growing at a breathtaking pace," Sharon Lee, a researcher at the bureau, said.

Bureau analysts predict that Asian-Americans will grow in influence in political, economic and cultural influence nationwide; local Asians say they are poised to make their mark on Las Vegas.

"They will remain a small proportion of the U.S. population," Lee said. "But their influence on American institutions and cultures will increase and expand."

From Confucius and Buddha to kimchee and sushi, Asian culture is widely rooted and far-reaching.

The "Asian-American" category includes a variety of ethnic groups: Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Filipinos, Vietnamese, Asian-Indians, Cambodians, Thai and others.

As their numbers have grown, their diversity has increased as well.

In 1970, 96 percent of Asian-Americans were Japanese, Chinese or Filipino. Today, those three groups make up just more than 50 percent of the total Asian-American population. In 1997, Chinese were the largest Asian-American group in the United States at 24 percent, followed by Filipinos at 21 percent, Asian Indians at 13 percent, Koreans at 10 percent, Japanese at 10 percent and others at 12 percent.

In Las Vegas, Filipinos are the largest Asian-American group, estimated by the Asian Chamber to be about 40,000 of the 100,000 Asian-Americans in the Valley (although the Clark County 1998 statistics place the entire Asian population at about 65,000). Chinese are the next largest group, followed by Koreans, Japanese, and then a pool of other smaller Asian-American groups.

The dominant religion among Filipinos is Roman Catholicism, originally brought to the islands by the Spanish missionaries. Today, more than 80 percent of Filipinos are Roman Catholic.

Chinese cultural practices range from herbal medicine and acupuncture to Confucianism and Taoism, philosophies that call for strict social order and harmony with nature. Although many Chinese-Americans practice Christianity, Buddhism is still the dominant religion in China.

Immigrants from India have a culture distinct from other Asian cultures. About 80 percent of Indians practice the Hindu religion, one of the world's oldest religions and the religion that spawned Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.

Asian-Americans are more likely to live in a household with their family, as opposed to single or roommate style living, than any other population group.

Asian-American children are more likely to be living with both parents than any other race group. In 1990, 83 percent of Asian-American children lived in a home with both of their parents, compared with 80 percent of white children, according to the bureau.

Fifteen percent of Asian-American couples are interracially married, compared to 6 percent of African-American couples.

Thirty-seven percent of Asian-American women have a four-year college degree; 48 percent of Asian-American men have a four-year college degree.

The work force participation rate for Asian-Americans is higher than for any other race group in the United States. Sixty-eight percent of Asian-Americans hold jobs, compared to 67 percent of whites and Hispanics and 64 percent of blacks.

The Asian-American median family income tends to be higher than that of whites, blacks and Hispanics. In 1996, the median family income for Asian-Americans was $43,000, compared to $40,000 for whites, $25,000 for Hispanics and $23,000 for blacks.

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