Statistical Profile Assignment Essay Example

Based on the 2008-2012 statistics which was carried out by the American society, it was established that approximately 39.8 million foreign born individuals lived in the United States. The African population in this category was 1.6 million which about 4% of the total population is. It has been estimated that the African population in the United States constitute an extremely diverse and quickly growing group. According to estimates, the foreign born black immigrants increased seven fold from the year 1960 up to the early 1980’s. Their immigration to the United States however more than tripled in between the years 1980 and 2005. We are interested in understanding some of the statistical tools that are available to researchers in the United States and how they present numerical data. We are interested in understanding the African foreign born population which more than doubled in size between the years 2000 and 2010.
The department of homeland security uses two methods to derive unauthorized population estimates. These are the legal resident population as at a particular date and the number of foreign born population living in the United States as at that date. New laws created legal channels for immigration especially from Africa and the Caribbean to the United States in the 1970s. The availability of cheaper and increased air voyages was a further incentive for most of them to gain entry to the United States in search for better opportunities (Babbie et al. 46). There was also increased communication which was as a result of improved telephone and email communication. This enabled immigrants to communicate to their families outside the United States and inform them of better job opportunities. The availability of job opportunities and the new laws which created legal channels acted as an incentives to immigrants to migrate to the United States.
As the years advanced there were alterations in immigration policies which favored the African population. The immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 made it possible for unregistered immigrants residing in the United States to apply for legal status. In the 1990 he immigration act was passed which increased the number of immigrants admitted based on skills for United States jobs. The refuge act of 1980 altered the United States refuge policy to adapt with the UN protocol on refuges this compelled the United States to provide 500,000 visas annually. In the recent years, however, immigrants to the United States from Africa gained entry as refuges mostly from conflict torn countries like Liberia, Somalia and Sudan. An increase in immigrations also increased as networks were established and avenues for immigration created (Linneman 86). When compared to the total foreign born population, most of the immigrants from Africa had a high level of education. Most of the African immigrants in the United States have immigrated to the United States in order to pursue studies and this has prompted Africans born in the United States to alter their perception on education. Approximately forty one percent of the African born population had attained university bachelors degree in a study conducted between 2008 and 2012.
There has been a remarkable pattern in the states that Africans immigrants reside in the United States. Most of the immigrant population is made up of immigrants from western and eastern Africa. Between the years 2000 and 2010, immigrants in the state of Texas increased by 111.1%, this was close to the percentage increase in the state of Virginia which had an increase of 110%. As of the year 2010, there were 573,791 immigrants of African descent who originated from western Africa. Although the migrations from eastern Africa as at 2010 was 475,832 which was a great difference compared to that of western Africa considering that eastern Africa was the second after western Africa. When individual countries are evaluated however, Nigeria is the leading country in immigration to the United States with 219309 immigrants in 2010.
In the sixties most African countries attained independence and this led to an influx of white and Asian immigrants who were born in Africa. The immigration was as a result of policies which did not favor foreigners. The migration of white and Asian immigrants to the United States however did not affect the statistics of the United States immigration department. In the 1970s however, there was an influx of African immigrants as most of their home country economies deteriorated (Linneman 20). Reduction in the World prices for major exports like coffee, cocoa and minerals was a contributing factor in the deteriorating economies. Most Africans faced a wave of extreme poverty, unemployment, political instability among other factors. In addition many African governments were ineffective and corruption within the government organs was widespread.
Although most African immigrants targeted their former colonial powers as a destination, there was a change of perception in the recent. Most African immigrants preferred the United States as it now became the destination for most students who wanted to further their studies. In addition, improved refugee policies and diversity visas enabled most immigrants to gain entry into the United States. Diversity visa alone accounted for almost a half of the increase in immigration from Africa between the years 1980 to 1990. Diversity visa lottery was introduced so that immigrants from countries which were not well presented in the United States immigrant population could gain United States citizenship (Babbie et al. 24). The diversity visa was intended for Europeans especially the Irish who did not have relatives or friends in the United States who could assist them gain entry. However, many Africans gained citizenship between the years 1998 and 2006 through the diversity visa lottery and it is estimated that about 27% of the diversity visa lotteries was awarded to sub Saharan Africans.

Work Cited

Babbie, Earl R, and Earl R. Babbie. Adventures in Social Research: Data Analysis Using IBM Spss Statistics. Los Angeles: Pine Forge Press, 2011. Print.
Linneman, Thomas. The Basics and Beyond. New York: Taylor & Francis, 2011. Print.
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