EMBARGOED UNTIL: 12:01 A.M. EDT, SEPTEMBER 12, 2000 (TUESDAY) Public Information Office CB00-147 301-457-3030/301-457-3670 (fax) 301-457-1037 (TDD) e-mail: pio@census.gov Angela Brittingham 301-457-2403 Foreign-Born Residents as Likely as Native Population to be College Grads, But Lag at Lower Educational Levels, Census Bureau Reports A ratio of 1 in 4 of the nation's foreign-born residents age 25 and over in 1999 had at least a bachelor's degree a ratio equal to the rest of the nation's adult population, according to a report released today by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau. "It is important to note that there is a great deal of diversity within the foreign-born population," said Angela Brittingham, the report's author. "For example, the proportion with a bachelor's degree or higher ranged from 45 percent among migrants from Asia to 11 percent among those from Latin America. "Although the foreign-born population as a group matched the rest of the population at the bachelor's level, they trail in most other areas of educational attainment." About 4 in 10 foreign-born adults reported having received a high school diploma only or having attended college without earning a degree, compared with more than 6 in 10 for other adults. Nearly 1 in 4 (23 percent) of the foreign-born adults had less than a ninth-grade education, compared with 1 in 20 (5 percent) of the rest of the 25-and-over population. Other highlights from the report, The Foreign-Born Population in the United States: March 1999, P20-519: - Among the foreign-born population, those from Asia were the most educated: 83 percent have at least a high school diploma, compared with 79 percent of those from Europe and 48 percent of those from Latin America. - Among Latin Americans, those from South America were the most likely to have at least a high school diploma (79 percent) and those from Central America (including Mexico), the least likely (36 percent). - Eighteen percent of the country's foreign-born population was living in poverty in 1998 compared with 12 percent of the rest of the population. Among foreign-born residents, Latin Americans had the highest poverty rate (24 percent), followed by those from Asia and Europe (each about 11 percent). - Seventeen percent of full-time, year-round foreign-born workers in 1998 earned more than $50,000, compared with 23 percent of their counterparts in the remainder of the population. Meanwhile, 39 percent of the foreign-born population earned less than $20,000, compared with 22 percent of other workers. - Foreign-born workers were more likely than other workers to be employed in a service job (19 percent compared with 13 percent) and less likely to work in a managerial or professional specialty occupation (24 percent compared with 31 percent). - In 1999, the United States had 26.4 million foreign-born residents, representing 10 percent of the nation's total population. - One-half (51 percent) of the foreign-born population hailed from Latin America, while 27 percent were born in Asia, 16 percent in Europe and 6 percent in the rest of the world. The report and 64 accompanying tables feature statistics on such characteristics of the foreign-born population as region of birth, geographic distribution in the United States, age, citizenship, household size, marital status, educational level, employment status, occupation, earnings and poverty status. Comparisons are made between the foreign-born and native populations, as well as among the foreign-born population by region of birth, citizenship status and year of entry. Data are from the March 1999 Current Population Survey. Statistics from sample surveys are subject to sampling and nonsampling error.