Sri Lankan American
Encyclopedia
Sri Lankan Americans are Americans
of Sri Lankan
descent. Sri Lankan Americans are persons of Sri Lankan origin from various Sri Lankan ethnic backgrounds who are born or raised in the United States
or are naturalized citizens of the U.S. They incorporate American values into their lives and continue to practice Sri Lankan cultural aspects as well. One issue regarding the term 'Sri Lankan American' is that many Sri Lankans identify separately as Sinhalese
, Tamils
, Sri Lankan Moors
, or Burghers
and may continue to do so in the United States. The people are also referred to as South Asian in origin.
In 1975, Sri Lankan immigrants were classified for the first time as belonging to a category separate from "other Asian". In that year, 432 Sri Lankans entered the United States.
According to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization records, in 1996 1,277 Sri Lankans were naturalized. This included 615 who had arrived in 1995 and 254 who had arrived in 1994, compared with only 68 arrivals in 1993 and 17 before 1985.
The number increased to 14,448 in the 1990s due to the Sri Lankan Civil War
. Sri Lankan Americans settled largely in cities.
The New York City Metropolitan Area contains the largest Sri Lankan community in the United States, receiving the highest legal permanent resident Sri Lankan immigrant population, followed by Central New Jersey and the Los Angeles metropolitan area
. The Little Sri Lanka in the Tompkinsville
neighborhood of the borough
of Staten Island
in New York City
is one of the largest Sri Lankan communities outside of the country of Sri Lanka
itself.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
of Sri Lankan
Sri Lankan diaspora
The Sri Lankan diaspora are Sri Lankan emigrants from Sri Lanka and their descendants that reside in a foreign country.-Expatriate workers:Expatriate workers to Sri Lankan have been a valuable export for the country. The number of expatriate workers have been ever growing as well as the remittances...
descent. Sri Lankan Americans are persons of Sri Lankan origin from various Sri Lankan ethnic backgrounds who are born or raised in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
or are naturalized citizens of the U.S. They incorporate American values into their lives and continue to practice Sri Lankan cultural aspects as well. One issue regarding the term 'Sri Lankan American' is that many Sri Lankans identify separately as Sinhalese
Sinhalese people
The Sinhalese are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group,forming the majority of Sri Lanka,constituting 74% of the Sri Lankan population.They number approximately 15 million worldwide.The Sinhalese identity is based on language, heritage and religion. The Sinhalese speak Sinhala, an Indo-Aryan language and the...
, Tamils
Tamil people
Tamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...
, Sri Lankan Moors
Sri Lankan Moors
The Sri Lankan Moors are the third largest ethnic group in Sri Lanka comprising 8% of the country's total population . They are predominantly followers of Islam. The Moors trace their ancestry to Arab traders who settled in Sri Lanka some time between the 8th and 15th centuries...
, or Burghers
Burgher people
The Burghers are a Eurasian ethnic group, historically from Sri Lanka, consisting for the most part of male-line descendants of European colonists from the 16th to 20th centuries and local women, with some minorities of Swedish, Norwegian, French and Irish.Today the mother tongue of the Burghers...
and may continue to do so in the United States. The people are also referred to as South Asian in origin.
History
Sri Lankans started arriving in the USA around mid 1950s.In 1975, Sri Lankan immigrants were classified for the first time as belonging to a category separate from "other Asian". In that year, 432 Sri Lankans entered the United States.
According to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization records, in 1996 1,277 Sri Lankans were naturalized. This included 615 who had arrived in 1995 and 254 who had arrived in 1994, compared with only 68 arrivals in 1993 and 17 before 1985.
The number increased to 14,448 in the 1990s due to the Sri Lankan Civil War
Sri Lankan civil war
The Sri Lankan Civil War was a conflict fought on the island of Sri Lanka. Beginning on July 23, 1983, there was an on-and-off insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , a separatist militant organization which fought to create an independent Tamil state named Tamil...
. Sri Lankan Americans settled largely in cities.
Demographics
| Population growth of Sri Lankan Americans |
|
|---|---|
| 1980 | 5,576 |
| 1990 | 14,022 |
| 2000 | 25,263 |
| 2010 | |
| Source:U.S. Census Bureau | |
The New York City Metropolitan Area contains the largest Sri Lankan community in the United States, receiving the highest legal permanent resident Sri Lankan immigrant population, followed by Central New Jersey and the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Los Angeles Metropolitan Area
The Los Angeles metropolitan area, also known as Metropolitan Los Angeles or the Southland, is the 13th largest metropolitan area in the world and the second-largest metropolitan area in the United States....
. The Little Sri Lanka in the Tompkinsville
Tompkinsville, Staten Island
Tompkinsville is a neighborhood in northeastern Staten Island in New York City in the United States. Though the neighborhood sits on the island's eastern shore, along the waterfront facing Upper New York Bay — between St...
neighborhood of the borough
Borough (New York City)
New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...
of Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
is one of the largest Sri Lankan communities outside of the country of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
itself.
Organizations
- Association of Sri-Lankans in America
- Friends of Sri Lanka in the United States
- Sri Lankan American Cultural Association (SLACA)
- Sri lanka Association of New England (SLANE)
- Sri Lanka Foundation
- Sri Lankan American Association of Houston
See also
- Asian Americans
- American Chamber of Commerce in Sri LankaAmerican Chamber of Commerce in Sri LankaThe American Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka represents a lage number of Business, Trade, Information Technology and Investment related organizations which are engaged their activities in between Sri Lanka and the United States of America.- See also :...
- Sri Lankan diasporaSri Lankan diasporaThe Sri Lankan diaspora are Sri Lankan emigrants from Sri Lanka and their descendants that reside in a foreign country.-Expatriate workers:Expatriate workers to Sri Lankan have been a valuable export for the country. The number of expatriate workers have been ever growing as well as the remittances...