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African Immigrants in NYC - Demographics and Psychographics
Our research reveals a total of 154,885 African-born immigrants live in the greater New York City area. It is estimated that 61,903 African-born migrants reside in the Bronx, 36,086 reside in Brooklyn, 24,013 reside in Manhattan, 22,380 live in Queens, and 10,503 live in Staten Island. African-born immigrants living in the United States enjoy leisure activities, such as watching movies, visiting friends, socializing, having parties, and barbecuing for recreation. Migrants are concerned with government policies on immigration, especially after President Trump's success in the last polls. Below is a deep dive into our findings.
Methodology
We searched through press releases, government sites, and media pages for information on African immigrants living in the greater New York City area. We were able to find some data specific to African immigrants in New York City. However, when we could not identify information on African immigrants living in New York City, we used information for African-born immigrants living in the United States, in general. Additionally, due to the limited amount of research on some aspects of your question, we have used some sources that were published outside the typical two-year time frame of a Wonder project. These sources were included because despite the date of publication, they contribute meaningful insights that were not duplicated in more recent publications. The details of our research are as follows.
Population
In a 2016 population analysis of immigrants living in NYC, it was determined that a total of 154,885 African-born immigrants live in the greater New York City area. The total population includes 8,872 from Eastern Africa, 32,700 from Northern Africa, 89,505 from Western Africa, 9,636 from Middle and Southern Africa, and 14,172 total Africa N.E.C. Within New York City, population analysis has also shown that 61,903 African-born migrants reside in the Bronx, 36,086 reside in Brooklyn, 24,013 reside in Manhattan, 22,380 live in Queens, and 10,503 live in Staten Island.
Occupations
African immigrants are employed in a wide range of sectors in the United States. We searched exhaustively for information on the most prevalent occupation for migrants specifically in New York City, but this information was unavailable. As a result, we used general data for the United States. Our findings revealed that 38% of Sub-Saharan African immigrants and 40% of Northern African immigrants are employed in the management, business, science, and arts sectors. It was reported that 26% of Sub-Saharan and 14% of Northern African immigrants are likely to be employed in the service sectors. Additionally, 18% of Sub-Saharan and 26% of Middle Eastern and Northern African immigrants are employed in the sales and office sectors. Our findings indicated that 15% of all African immigrants are employed in the production, transportation, and material moving sectors. Also, 3% of Sub-Saharan and 5% of Northern African immigrants are employed in the natural resources, construction and maintenance sectors.
Based on their high level of education, South African and Nigerian migrants are most likely to occupy management positions. Our research also reveals that African immigrants are twice as likely to work in the healthcare sector than other members of the overall population in the United States. In the United States, there are "32,500 [African-born immigrants employed as] nursing, psychiatric or home health aides, more than 46,000 registered nurses and more than 15,700 doctors and surgeons".
Values
Our research shows that education, earning potential, and family are the most important values for African-born migrants coming to the United States. The percentage of African immigrants aged 25 years and above with a college degree and beyond speaks volumes as to how important education is to them. It is estimated that 39% of Sub-Saharan and 43% of Northern African immigrants have a minimum of a bachelor's degree, while 63% of Egyptian migrants and 60% of Libyan migrants have the same level of education. Also, many Nigerian (57%), South African (57%), Kenyan (44%), Ghanaian (40%), Liberian (32%), and Ethiopian (29%) immigrants have at least a bachelor's degree. Finally, 16% of African immigrants have "a master's degree, medical degree, law degree or a doctorate".
Regarding employment, our research reveals a high percentage of African immigrants participating in the United States labor force. Of immigrants aged 16 years and above, 75% of Sub-Saharan African immigrants are in the civil labor force, while 57% of Northern immigrants are employed. Our research also reveals that regarding black migrants in the United States (31% of which are from African countries), 26% have higher household income compared to 19% of American-born black citizens. African migrants contribute more than $10.1 billion in federal taxes and $4.7 billion in state taxes; they have a spending power of $40.3 billion. These figures show the importance of earning a living for African immigrants.
Money transfer systems
We found that many African immigrants to the United States help their families back home. The extended family is critical important to this population. They try to keep in touch with them by sending part of their earnings to the family they left behind, utilizing various money transfer systems. Remittances enable them to feel they are still part of their families, despite being far away from them. A Nigerian doctor said "one thing that is unique about Africans is that the extended family system is very, very important. If you make one thousand dollars this month, you try to send five hundred dollars back home." However, we were unable to find information about specific money transfer systems that are preferred by this subset of immigrants.
Recreation
A report in 2011, which was the most recent report available on this topic, reveals that most African immigrants prefer dance classes, walking groups, games, soccer league, and biking for recreation. They also like leisure activities, such as watching movies, visiting friends, socializing, having parties, and barbecuing.
Feelings on immigration
Black immigrants (31% of which are African) are concerned with government policies on immigration. After President Trump's success in the past election, these issues became increasingly important to them. A Senegalese immigrant, Seydi Sarr, expressed her concerns in a conversation on Muslims being branded terrorists. She is reconsidering her continuous stay in the United States in light of anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant sentiments in this country.
Conclusion
To wrap up, there were found to be 154,885 African immigrants living in New York City. Of this population, 61,903 reside in the Bronx, 36,086 reside in Brooklyn, 24,013 reside in Manhattan, 22,380 live in Queens, and 10,503 live on Staten Island. African migrants are concerned with government policies on immigration in light of anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant sentiments in the United States, especially after President Trump's success in the last polls.