Pakistanis among Fastest-Growing
Immigrant Groups
New York: Record numbers of
foreigners are still settling in New York, with Bangladeshis,
Mexicans and Pakistanis the fastest-growing immigrant groups
in the famously diverse city, a report said on Monday. Immigrants
were not deterred by the Sept 11, 2001, attacks and the economic
downturn that followed, the 265-page City Planning Department
report said.
Mexican immigration quadrupled to more than 120,000 between
1990 and 2000. Immigrants from Bangladesh, who numbered 8,695
in 1990, jumped to 42,865 in 2000, and the Pakistani population
grew to 39,165 from 14,911. Overall, New York saw a net gain
of 339,000 immigrants from April 2000 to July 2003, pushing
the city's foreign-born population to a record 3.2 million.
Topping the list of New York's largest foreign-born populations
was the Dominican Republic at 369,186, followed by China (261,551),
Jamaica (178,922) and Guyana (130,647). "Immigrants keep coming
here. The reason they keep coming here is opportunity," said
Joseph Salvo, who co-authored the report. New York officials
pointed to the increases as critical to the vitality of the
city. Foreign-born residents make up 36 per cent of the city's
8.1 million people.
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