By NAN Staff Writer
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Thurs. June 1, 2023: Happy National Caribbean American Heritage Month. Did you know that there are an estimated 4.8 million people from the Caribbean residing in the US? The Caribbean diaspora in the United States is, however, comprised of more than 8.5 million individuals who were either born in the Caribbean or reported ancestry of a given country in the Caribbean, according to tabulations from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 ACS.
While exact numbers are challenging to determine, recent analysis of US Census data by News Americas sheds light on the Caribbean community’s presence in America.
Cuba takes the lead with an estimated 1.278 million individuals, followed closely by the Dominican Republic with 1.255 million. Jamaicans make up the third-largest group with 796,290 people, while Haitians are the fourth largest with 698,982.
Here’s a breakdown of other major countries represented in the Caribbean Diaspora:
Guyana: 289,870
Trinidad and Tobago: 219,683
Belize: 51,570
Barbados: 45,754
Bahamas: 34,069
Grenada: 31,871
Dominica: 30,395
St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 24,730
Additionally, smaller Caribbean nations were grouped as “other Caribbean” with a total count of 88,624. Another subset labeled as “West Indies” accounted for 15,878 individuals.
Caribbean immigrant journalist, entrepreneur, and advocate, Felicia J. Persaud, who championed the CARIB ID initiative to ensure Caribbean nationals got the chance to accurately represent their ancestry on US forms as of 2020, anticipates a significant increase in these numbers when the Census 2020 data on ancestry is compiled and released.
“Caribbean people have been an integral part of the US since slavery, yet as a bloc, they are often dismissed and overlooked due to limited economic data,” said Persaud, who also owns News Americas. “As we commemorate the 17th National Caribbean American Heritage Month, let’s celebrate and embrace the vibrant socio-economic contributions that Caribbean immigrants and those of Caribbean heritage make to the United States every single day!”
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