Laotian Americans
  
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| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (246,000 0.08% of the U.S. population (2013)) |
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| Regions with significant populations | |
| Arkansas (Fort Smith), California (Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area, Fresno), Minnesota (Minneapolis-St Paul), Illinois (Elgin), Washington (Seattle-Tacoma), Rhode Island (Providence), Texas (Dallas-Fort Worth) | |
| Languages | |
| English, Isan, Thai | |
| Religion | |
| Theravada Buddhism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Lao people, overseas Laotian, Laotians in France, Canadians of Laotian descent, Asian Americans, Laotian Chinese Americans, |
Laotian Americans are Americans who were originally from Laos, a person of Laotian descent residing in America. Laotian Americans are included in the larger category of Asian Americans. The major immigrant generation were generally refugees who escaped Laos during the warfare and disruption of the 1970s, and entered refugee camps in Thailand across the Mekong River. They emigrated to the United States during the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s.
The "national origin" category of Laotian American, which is different from ethnic groups, includes all ethnic groups who lived within the borders of Laos, such as the Hmong, ethnic Chinese, Overseas Vietnamese, and ethnic Vietnamese.
Laotian immigration to the United States started shortly after the Vietnam War. Refugees began arriving in the U.S. after a Communist government came to power in Laos in 1975 and by 1980, the Laotian population of the U.S. reached 47,683, according to census estimates. These numbers increased dramatically during the 1980s, so that the census estimated that there were 147,375 people by 1990. The group continued to grow, somewhat more slowly, to 167,792 by 2000. By 2008 the population nearly reached 240,532. Included are the Hmong, a mountainous tribe from that country with their own ethnic designation: Hmong Americans.
Need update numbers from 2010 to reflect Lao(tian) (excluding Hmong), the states with the largest Laotian American populations (includes colonies of the Hmong from Laos) are California (58,424, 0.2%), Texas (13,298, 0.1%), Minnesota (10,065, 0.2%), Washington (9,333, 0.2%), Tennessee (6,336, 0.1%), Illinois (5,822, 0.1%), North Carolina (5,566, 0.1%), Georgia (5,560, 0.1%), Florida (4,896, 0.05%), and Oregon (4,692, 0.1%). There are about over 200,000 ethnic Lao in America. Approximately 8,000 - 11,000 Americans are of mixed Lao and other descent. Ethnic Lao people may identify as both Lao American and Laotian American (see also Hmong American).
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