Hispanic Heritage Month: American Latinos' countries of origin

The Hispanic community in the United States continues to grow. In 2022, there were 63.7 million Hispanics living in the country. The Hispanic population has diverse origins in Latin America and Spain. A study published by Pew Research showed that eight groups of Hispanic origin had at least 1 million citizens living in the United States.

The analysis revealed that the five largest Hispanic populations in the United States by country of origin were Mexican (37.2 million), Puerto Rican (5.8), Salvadoran (2.5), Dominican (2.4), and Cuban (2.4). The other three countries of origin with populations greater than 1 million were Guatemala (1.8 million), Colombia (1.4), and Honduras (1.1).

Additionally, the study explained that Venezuelans, Dominicans and Guatemalans are the fastest growing groups of Hispanic origin. For example, between 2010 and 2021, the Venezuelan population increased by 169%, going from 240,000 to 640,000, making it the fastest growing Hispanic group in the United States.

In that sense, Mexicans, the largest group of Hispanic origin, had the slowest growth rate, at 13%. However, the Mexican American population added more people than any other group (4.3 million) from 2010 to 2021.

Likewise, according to the data, immigrants make up a decreasing proportion of the Hispanic population in the United States. This is because the Hispanic population born in the United States grew by 10.7 million, while the immigrant population grew by just 1.1 million.

'The vast majority of U.S. Hispanics are U.S. citizens'

"Immigrants comprised a smaller share of nearly all Hispanic origin groups in the U.S. in 2021 than they had in 2010. The sharpest decline was among Hispanics of Ecuadorian and Nicaraguan origin, by 11 percentage points each. Venezuelans were the exception: The immigrant share rose from 69% to 76%," indicated Pew Research.

Finally, the analysis pointed out that "About 81% of Hispanics living in the country in 2021 were U.S. citizens, up from 74% in 2010." U.S. citizens include people born in the United States and its territories (including Puerto Rico), people born abroad to American parents, and immigrants who have become citizens through naturalization.