Oceanian Americans

Last updated
Oceanian Americans
Total population
1,338,219
0.4% of the total U.S. population (2010)
Regions with significant populations
California, Hawaii, New York, Illinois, Wisconsin, Guam, American Samoa, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Texas, Florida and Washington
Languages
American English, Carolinian, Chamorro, Fijian, Hawaiian, Marshallese, Samoan, Tongan, Polynesian languages, others
Religion
Predominantly Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Australians, New Zealanders, Pacific Islanders

Oceanian Americans or Oceanic Americans are Americans whose ancestors came from Oceania, a region which is composed of the Australian continent and the Pacific Islands.

There are basically two Oceanian American groups, that well represent the racial and cultural population of Oceania: Euro-Oceanian Americans (Australian Americans and New Zealand Americans) and the indigenous peoples of Oceania in the United States or Pacific Islander Americans (Chamorro Americans, Samoan Americans, etc.) Most of the Euro-Oceanians are descended from the European settlers in Oceania; while Pacific Islanders are of indigenous Oceanian descent. [1]

Oceanian Americans in the 2000 and 2010 United States censuses

Oceanian Americans in the 2000 [2] and 2010 U.S. censuses: [3]

Ancestry20002000 % of Oceanian American population20102010 % of Oceanian American population
Pacific Islander American (except Australia and New Zealand)874,41490.18%1,225,19591.55%
Australian American 78,5448.10%93,0636.95%
New Zealand American 16,6281.71%19,9611.49%
TOTAL969,586100.0%1,338,219100.0%

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oceania</span> Geographical region in the Pacific Ocean

Oceania is a geographical region comprising Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, at the centre of the water hemisphere, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of about 9,000,000 square kilometres (3,500,000 sq mi) and a population of around 44.4 million as of 2022. When compared to the other continents, Oceania is the smallest in land area and the second-least populated after Antarctica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demographics of Australia</span>

The population of Australia is estimated to be 26,953,100 as of 6 January 2024. Australia is the 55th most populous country in the world and the most populous Oceanian country. Its population is concentrated mainly in urban areas, particularly on the Eastern, South Eastern and Southern seaboards, and is expected to exceed 30 million by 2029.

An ethnicity or ethnic group is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of perceived shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include a common nation of origin, or common sets of ancestry, traditions, language, history, society, religion, or social treatment. The term ethnicity is often used interchangeably with the term nation, particularly in cases of ethnic nationalism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific Islander</span> Person from the Pacific Islands

Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Oceania.

In the United States census, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Office of Management and Budget define a set of self-identified categories of race and ethnicity chosen by residents, with which they most closely identify. Residents can indicate their origins alongside their race, and are asked specifically whether they are of Hispanic or Latino origin in a separate question.

Anglo-Celtic Australians is an ancestral grouping of Australians whose ancestors originate wholly or partially in the British Isles - predominantly in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Polynesians are an ethnolinguistic group of closely related ethnic groups who are native to Polynesia, an expansive region of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. They trace their early prehistoric origins to Island Southeast Asia and form part of the larger Austronesian ethnolinguistic group with an Urheimat in Taiwan. They speak the Polynesian languages, a branch of the Oceanic subfamily of the Austronesian language family. The Indigenous Māori people constitute the largest Polynesian population, followed by Samoans, Native Hawaiians, Tahitians, Tongans and Cook Islands Māori

European exploration and settlement of Oceania began in the 16th century, starting with the Spanish (Castilian) landings and shipwrecks in the Mariana Islands, east of the Philippines. This was followed by the Portuguese landing and settling temporarily in some of the Caroline Islands and Papua New Guinea. Several Spanish landings in the Caroline Islands and New Guinea came after. Subsequent rivalry between European colonial powers, trade opportunities and Christian missions drove further European exploration and eventual settlement. After the 17th century Dutch landings in New Zealand and Australia, with no settlement in these lands, the British became the dominant colonial power in the region, establishing settler colonies in what would become Australia and New Zealand, both of which now have majority European-descended populations. States including New Caledonia (Caldoche), Hawaii, French Polynesia and Norfolk Island also have considerable European populations. Europeans remain a primary ethnic group in much of Oceania, both numerically and economically.

The indigenous peoples of Oceania are Aboriginal Australians, Papuans, and Austronesians. These indigenous peoples have a historical continuity with pre-colonial societies that developed on their territories. With the notable exceptions of Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, New Caledonia, Guam, and Northern Mariana Islands, indigenous peoples make up the majority of the populations of Oceania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Zealand Americans</span> Ethnic group

New Zealand Americans are Americans who have New Zealand ancestry. According to the 2010 surveys, there are 19,961 New Zealand Americans. Most of them are of European descent, but some hundreds are of indigenous New Zealand descent. Some 925 of those New Zealand-Americans declared they were of Tokelauan origin. The 2000 Census indicated also the existence of 1,994 people of Māori descent in US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Race and ethnicity in the United States</span>

The United States has a racially and ethnically diverse population. At the federal level, race and ethnicity have been categorized separately. The most recent United States census recognized five racial categories, as well as people who belong to two or more of the racial categories. The United States also recognizes the broader notion of ethnicity. The 2000 census and 2010 American Community Survey inquired about the "ancestry" of residents, while the 2020 census allowed people to enter their "origins". The Census Bureau also classified respondents as either Hispanic or Latino, identifying as an ethnicity, which comprises the minority group in the nation.

Pacific Islander Americans are Americans who are of Pacific Islander ancestry. For its purposes, the United States census also counts Aboriginal Australians as part of this group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australians</span> Citizens of Australia

Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Australians, several of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being Australian. Australian law does not provide for a racial or ethnic component of nationality, instead relying on citizenship as a legal status.

Oceanianliterature developed in isolation from the rest of the world and in a unique geographical environment. This allowed the development of a unique literature to thrive. Oceanian literature was heavily influenced by religion and ritual. This can be seen by the large amount of religious symbolism featured in it.

Asian people are the people of Asia. The term may also refer to their descendants. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, an Asian is “a person of Asian descent”.

European Australians are citizens or residents of Australia whose ancestry originates from the peoples of Europe. They form the largest panethnic group in the country. At the 2021 census, the number of ancestry responses categorised within European ancestral groups as a proportion of the total population amounted to more than 57.2%. It is impossible to quantify the precise proportion of the population with European ancestry. For instance, many census recipients nominated two European ancestries, tending towards an overcount. Conversely, 29.9% of census recipients nominated "Australian" ancestry, tending towards an undercount.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asian Pacific Americans</span> An American ethnic descriptive term

Asian/Pacific American (APA) or Asian/Pacific Islander (API) or Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) or Asian American and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) is a term sometimes used in the United States when including both Asian and Pacific Islander Americans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">French Polynesian Americans</span> American citizens of French Polynesian origin

French Polynesian American are Americans with French Polynesian ancestry. The number of French Polynesian Americans is unknown. According to the 2010 US census, there were 5,062 people whose origins are in Tahiti, but other origins of the French Polynesia were not mentioned. While others 9,153 people asserted be of Polynesian origins, but they indicated no specific origin.

References

  1. Geographica; VIII, p. 283. Ed: Plaza Editores
  2. The Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Population, Census 2000
  3. "Total ancestry categories tallied for people with one or more ancestry categories reported 2010 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2012.