Number of Arabic Speakers in America Has Nearly Doubled Since 2000

The number of United States residents who speak Arabic at home has nearly doubled since the year 2000, new analysis from the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) reveals.

Census Bureau data analyzed by CIS researchers finds that there are now more than 1.2 million U.S. residents who speak Arabic at home. In the year 2000, there were only about 614,000 Arabic speakers in the country, representing a near 50 percent increase in the total in less than two decades.

Legal immigration to the U.S. from Islamic nations, such as Afghanistan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Somalia has skyrocketed since 2010. For example, immigration from Afghanistan to the U.S. has increased 84 percent in the last seven years.

As Breitbart News reported, nearly half of residents in America’s top five largest cities speak a foreign language at home. In Los Angeles, California, nearly 60 percent of residents speak a foreign language at home.

In 2000, there were about 28.1 million U.S. residents who spoke Spanish at home. Today, there are more than 41 million U.S. residents who speak Spanish at home, an increase of more than 40 percent.

There are now more than 66.5 million residents in the U.S. that speak a language other than English at home. This number is expected to continue to increase should there be no reforms made to reduce the flow of mass legal immigration to the country.