Asians and Pacific Islanders : Terminology

Asia and the Pacific Islands have 30 different ethnic groups. The terminology used to categorize these groups is often unclear. Below is a brief explanation outlining ethnic groups and geographic divisions.

South Asia = India, Nepal
Southeast Asia = Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos
Pacific Rim = Korea
Pacific Basin = Philippines

US Islands in the Pacific:

American Samoa
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
Federated States of Micronesia
Guam
Republic of the Marshall Islands
Republic of Palau

The U.S. 1990 Census included people from the following countries in its Asian population:

China
Mongolia
Pakistan
Sri Lanka
Maldives
India
Nepal
Bhutan
Bangladesh
Burma
Laos
Thailand
Vietnam
Cambodia
North Korea
South Korea
Japan
Hong Kong
Macao
Taiwan
Philippines
Malaysia
Polynesia

Some ethnic groups have confusing origins and are sometimes associated with other geographic divisions. The following information may help clarify some of these "gray" areas:

Hmong: occupy Southern China, Laos, Thailand, and Northern Vietnam

Pacific Islanders: occupy islands in the Pacific Ocean. The islands are categorized geographically into 3 groups: Polynesians, Micronesians, and Melanesians.

Included in thet Pacific Island group are:
Fiji, Guam, Native Hawaiians, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Republic of Palau, American and Western Samoa, and Tonga.

Fijians = Melanesians
Northern Mariana Islanders = Micronesians
Palauans = Micronesians
Samoans, Tongans = Polynesians

All the information provided here was taken from:
Asian American Almanac. Detroit : Gale Research Inc., c 1995.