US begins collecting more detailed ethnicity data

The US federal government has begun collecting more detailed race and ethnicity information to further understand the Asian American and Pacific Islander population.

The directive from the White House's Office of Management and Budget was issued because of "large societal, political, economic and demographic shifts in the US".

The update will change the way that ethnicity data are recorded beyond just the six largest Asian population groups in the United States: Chinese, Asian Indian, Filipino, Vietnamese, Korean and Japanese.

It will have a major effect on services available, advocates say.

The update comes as the AAPI community ranks the fastest-growing racial group in the US, with more than 20 Asian ethnic groups. The community is expected to number more than 40 million people by 2060, the US Department of Commerce said.

Karthick Ramakrishnan, founder and executive director of AAPI Data, said in a statement: "We applaud the federal government for releasing these long-needed revisions for standards that more adequately recognize and honor the diversity, strength and needs of our communities."

All government agencies will have to update their forms to ensure that a person's ethnicity is more accurately reflected when applying for something such as a Social Security card.

The Asian category will be expanded to include Chinese, Asian Indian, Filipino, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Hmong, Pakistani and Afghan.

There will also be more choices under the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, such as Native Hawaiian, Chamorro, Tongan, Samoan, Chamorro, Fijian, Marshallese, Tahitian, Chuukese and Palauan.

Increased visibility

Quyen Dinh, executive director of the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, said in a statement: "The revision marks progress for more visibility of the Southeast Asian community, including identifying Vietnamese as one of the detailed communities for data collection, and adding Hmong as an example of another group within the Asian racial category."

It has been nearly 50 years since the government first developed standards on how federal agencies should report a person's race and ethnicity. A second update occurred in 1997. The latest directive was issued in March.

Eugena Oh, regional director of The Asian American Foundation New York, told China Daily: "Data gaps limit both the resources that AAPIs receive and our understanding of the effectiveness of strategies deployed to meet the needs of the community."

She said she hopes some of the grassroots efforts will result in "increased commitment" to include the AAPI community in other studies and information gathering benefiting the community.

Agencies contributed to this story.