Burmese Americans ( my, မြန်မာဇာတိနွယ် အမေရိကန် ) are
Americans
Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many dual citizens, expatriates, and permanent residents could also legally claim Ame ...
of full or partial
Burmese ancestry. The term encompasses people of all ethnic backgrounds with ancestry in present-day
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
(or Burma), regardless of specific ethnicity. They are a subgroup of
Asian Americans.
As a small group, Burmese Americans have largely integrated into the larger
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...
n and
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...
n American communities.
The estimated immigrant population for 2015-2019 was 147,600. the largest populations by county were as follows:
1)
Marion County, Indiana ---------------------- 8,800
2)
Los Angeles County, CA
Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...
--------------------- 7,600
3)
Ramsey County, Minnesota --------------- 6,800
4)
Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
Milwaukee County is located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, and the 45th most populous cou ...
------------ 5,800
5)
Allen County, Indiana
Allen County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 385,410, making it the third-most populous county in Indiana. The county seat and largest city is Fort Wayne, the second largest city in Indiana ...
------------------------- 4,200
6)
San Mateo County, CA ----------------------- 3,800
7)
Alameda County, CA -------------------------- 3,700
8)
Dallas County, Texas -------------------------- 3,500
9)
Queens Borough, New York --------------- 3,400
10)
Tulsa County, Oklahoma -------------------- 3,100
11)
San Francisco County, CA ---------------- 2,900
12)
Douglas County, Nebraska
Douglas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population is 584,526. It is the state's most populous county, home to well over one-fourth of Nebraska's residents. Its county seat is O ...
--------------- 2,600
13)
Dekalb County, Georgia
DeKalb County (, , ) is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 764,382, making it Georgia's fourth-most populous county. Its county seat is Decatur.
DeKalb County is inclu ...
-------------------- 2,600
14)
Polk County, Iowa ---------------------------- 2,500
15)
Brooklyn Borough, New York ----------- 2,100
16)
Duval County, Florida ----------------------- 2,100
17)
Oneida County, New York
Oneida County is a county in the state of New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 232,125. The county seat is Utica. The name is in honor of the Oneida, one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois League or ''Haudenos ...
---------------- 2,000
18)
Erie County, New York
Erie County is a county along the shore of Lake Erie in western New York State. As of the 2020 census, the population was 954,236. The county seat is Buffalo, which makes up about 28% of the county's population. Both the county and Lake Erie w ...
--------------------- 2,000
19)
Maricopa County, Arizona
Maricopa County is in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 4,420,568, making it the state's most populous county, and List of the most populous counties in the ...
--------------- 2,000
20)
Wyandotte County, Kansas
Wyandotte County (; county code WY) is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 169,245, making it Kansas's fourth-most populous county. Its county seat and most populous city is Kansas City, with whic ...
-------------- 2,000
History
The first Burmese to study in the United States was Maung Shaw Loo, an ethnic Mon, who came in 1858 to study at the
University at Lewisburg
Bucknell University is a private liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, Freeman College of Management, and the College of Engineering. ...
(now Bucknell University) in Pennsylvania. He graduated with a
medical degree
A medical degree is a professional degree admitted to those who have passed coursework in the fields of medicine and/or surgery from an accredited medical school. Obtaining a degree in medicine allows for the recipient to continue on into special ...
in 1867 and returned the following year.
The first major wave of immigration from Myanmar occurred in the 1960s, after
Ne Win established military rule in 1962, to the late 1970s. Most who immigrated were primarily those with
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
origins, who arrived in increasing numbers following the 1967 anti-Chinese riots.
[Cheah 201.] The Burmese Chinese were the first major group of
Theravada Buddhists to immigrate to the United States and were largely educated professionals, business entrepreneurs and technically skilled workers.
A minority were of
Anglo-Burmese and
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
descent. Some of the Burmese immigrated to the United States after the
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 abolished the previously existing quota on Asian immigrants. A second wave occurred during the 1980s to the early 1990s after the
national uprising in 1988. This wave consisted of many different ethnic groups, including
Bamar
The Bamar (, ; also known as the Burmans) are a Sino-Tibetan ethnic group native to Myanmar (formerly Burma) in Southeast Asia. With approximately 35 million people, the Bamar make up the largest ethnic group in Myanmar, constituting 68% of th ...
s, Karens, and those from other ethnic minorities, particularly in search of better opportunities. Among this wave are political refugees numbering a few thousand, who were involved in the 8888 Uprising and are concentrated in
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...
. From 1977 to 2000, 25,229 Burmese immigrated to the United States, although the figure is inaccurate because it does not include Burmese who immigrated via other channels or through other third countries.
A third wave of immigration, from 2006 to date, has been primarily of ethnic minorities in Myanmar, in particular Karen refugees from the Thai-Burmese border.
From October 2006 to August 2007, 12,800 Karen refugees resettled in the United States.
Burmese in far smaller numbers continue to immigrate to the United States today mainly through family sponsorships and the "green card lottery". Thousands of Burmese each year apply to a Diversity Visa Program (previously known as "OP" and now called "DV"), a lottery-based program that grants visas to those who wish to reside in the United States.
According to the
2010 United States Census
The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servi ...
, 100,200 persons of Burmese descent resided in the United States, an increase of 499% over the
previous census, which recorded 16,720 individuals of Burmese descent.
Leading up to the census, an awareness campaign was conducted by the Burmese Complete Count Committee, which consisted of Burmese American organizations, to convince Burmese Americans to self-identify as "Burmese" on their census forms. Following the 2010 census, Burmese-Americans are no longer ambiguously categorized as "Other Asian," but in a separate category.
Communities
![Rakhine drummers at Thingyan, New York City](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Rakhine_drummers_at_Thingyan%2C_New_York_City.jpg)
Most Burmese Americans live in metropolitan areas with large immigrant populations. As of 2015, the metropolitan areas with the largest Burmese populations are
Minneapolis-Saint Paul (with 10,000),
Dallas–Fort Worth (with 7,000),
Greater New York (with 7,000), the
Bay Area (with 6,000),
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
(with 6,000),
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
(with 5,000,)
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...
(with around 5,000 Burmese refugees),
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
(with 5,000),
Indianapolis (with 4,000),
Buffalo (with 4,000),
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
(with 4,000), and
Des Moines (with 3,000)
. Other areas of significance include
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...
;
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...
, the residence of many Burmese refugees;
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
;
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
; and
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
.
*
Minneapolis, Minnesota – Most of Minnesota's 2,500+ Karen live in the Twin Cities.
*
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...
- "has the largest
Rohingya
The Rohingya people () are a stateless Indo-Aryan ethnic group who predominantly follow Islam and reside in Rakhine State, Myanmar (previously known as Burma). Before the Rohingya genocide in 2017, when over 740,000 fled to Bangladesh, an ...
community in the United States with a population likely over 3,000 individual."
*
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
- The
West Ridge Community Area alone is home to over 2000
Rohingya
The Rohingya people () are a stateless Indo-Aryan ethnic group who predominantly follow Islam and reside in Rakhine State, Myanmar (previously known as Burma). Before the Rohingya genocide in 2017, when over 740,000 fled to Bangladesh, an ...
refugees and may have the highest concentration of that ethnic group in the USA.
*
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...
– Home to 6,000 Burmese, some sources claim this to be the largest Burmese community in U.S.
*
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...
– Home to 5,000 Chin, considered the largest concentration of Chin people in the U.S.
*
Battle Creek, Michigan – Approximately 1,800 Burmese, primarily
Chin.
*
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
– A community of
Chin refugees is concentrated in
Lewisville.
*
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
–
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
,
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, and
Northern New Jersey
North Jersey comprises the northern portions of the U.S. state of New Jersey between the upper Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. The designation of northern New Jersey with a distinct toponym is a colloquial one rather than an administrati ...
*
Bay Area –
Daly City
Daly City () is the second most populous city in San Mateo County, California, United States, with population of 104,901 according to the 2020 census. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, and immediately south of San Francisco (sharing its ...
,
Fremont,
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
, and
San Jose
*
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
–
DeKalb County DeKalb County may refer to one of several counties in the United States, all of which were named for Baron Johan DeKalb:
* DeKalb County, Alabama
* DeKalb County, Georgia
* DeKalb County, Illinois
* DeKalb County, Indiana
* DeKalb County, Missour ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
is home to 2,180 Burmese, primarily in
Clarkston.
*
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...
– specifically
Perry Township Considered to be the largest Burmese-American community in the nation with 24,000 residents
*
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...
–
Upper West Side
The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...
*
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
– Northern
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
and
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, throughout Maryland but especially in
Frederick County.
*
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
– Large numbers of Burmese refugees, especially Chin, in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
and
Howard Counties
*
Des Moines,
Waterloo,
Cedar Rapids, and
Dubuque, Iowa
Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...
– Iowa is home to at least 8,000 Burmese residents.
*
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
– About 900 Burmese residents live in Salt lake County.
*
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Bowling Green is a home rule-class city and the county seat of Warren County, Kentucky, United States. Founded by pioneers in 1798, Bowling Green was the provisional capital of Confederate Kentucky during the American Civil War. As of the ...
– Over 1000 Burmese refugees have settled in Bowling Green in recent years. 1,200 Burmese immigrants in
Warren County, Kentucky
Warren County is a County (United States), county located in the south central portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 134,554, making it the fifth-most populous county in Kentu ...
as estimated by the American Community Survey for 2015–2019.
*
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...
- The city has a significant Zomi refugee population largely living in South Nashville. As of 2015-2019 according to estimates from the American Community Survey,
Davidson County has estimated Burmese immigrant population of 1,800 which ranks 21st nationally.
*
Syracuse, New York –
Northside
Northside or North Side may refer to:
Music
* Northside (band), a musical group from Manchester, England
* NorthSide, an American record label
* NorthSide Festival (Denmark), a music festival in Aarhus, Denmark
* "Norf Norf", a 2015 song by Vinc ...
*
Albany, New York
Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...
*
Utica, New York
Utica () is a city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 U.S. Census. Located on the Mohawk River at the ...
*
Ithaca, New York
Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named ...
*
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
*
Hartford, Connecticut
*
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
and
Aurora, Illinois
*
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...
*
Cleveland, Ohio
*
Houston, Texas
*
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southe ...
*
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of ...
*
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington
*
Spokane, Washington
Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Cana ...
*
Tri-Cities, Washington
The Tri-Cities are three closely linked cities ( Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland) at the confluence of the Yakima, Snake, and Columbia Rivers in the Columbia Basin of Eastern Washington. The cities border one another, making the Tri-Cities se ...
*
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...
*
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...
– There are 2,500 people of Burmese descent that reside in the metro area.
Culture
As most Burmese are
Buddhists, many
Burmese Buddhist
Buddhism ( my, ဗုဒ္ဓဘာသာ), specifically Theravāda Buddhism ( my, ထေရဝါဒဗုဒ္ဓဘာသာ), is the State religion of Myanmar since 1961, and practiced by nearly 90% of the population. It is the most rel ...
monasteries, most of which also serve as community centers, have sprouted across most major cities in the United States. A few ethnic
Mon and
Rakhine monasteries serve their respective ethnic populations. Burmese Christian churches consisting mainly of ethnic
Karen
Karen may refer to:
* Karen (name), a given name and surname
* Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding woman displaying certain behaviors
People
* Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand
** Karen languages or Karenic l ...
,
Chin,
Kachin, and
Anglo-Burmese congregations can also be found in large metropolitan areas. Many Christian Burmese found asylum in the U.S. as refugees.
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
is the primary language for most Burmese Americans, albeit with varying levels of fluency depending on the level of education and the years lived in the country.
Burmese is still widely spoken or understood as most Burmese Americans are recent immigrants or first generation children of those immigrants. Still, the command of spoken Burmese among the American-born Burmese is basic to poor, and that of written Burmese is close to none. Some older Burmese of Chinese origin speak some Chinese (typically,
Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
,
Minnan, or
Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding ar ...
); likewise some of
Indian-origin speak some Indic language (usually
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
and
Hindi
Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
/
).
Notable people
This is a list of notable Burmese Americans including both original immigrants who obtained American citizenship and their American descendants.
Most of these people were born in Myanmar/Burma and grew up in the United States.
*
Thant Myint-U
Thant Myint-U ( my, သန့်မြင့်ဦး ; born 31 January 1966) is an American-born Burmese historian, writer, grandson of former United Nations Secretary-General U Thant, former UN official, and former special adviser to the p ...
: academic, grandson of
U Thant
Thant (; ; January 22, 1909 – November 25, 1974), known honorifically as U Thant (), was a Burmese diplomat and the third secretary-general of the United Nations from 1961 to 1971, the first non-Scandinavian to hold the position. He held t ...
*
Rich Cho: sports executive
*
Louisa Benson Craig
Louisa Charmaine Benson Craig (sometimes spelled Luisa Benson; 10 March 1941 – 2 February 2010) was a Burmese-born two-time beauty pageant winner and Karen rebel leader of Jewish and Karen ancestry.
Early life and education
Louisa Charmai ...
: activist
*
Edward Michael Law-Yone
Edward Michael Law-Yone (, nicknamed Ed Law-Yone; February 5, 1911 – June 27, 1980) was a Burmese journalist and official of Burma and then of the Burmese government-in-exile, as well as an author.
He was born in Kamaing, Myitkyina Distric ...
: journalist
*
Wendy Law-Yone: writer
*
Michael Aung-Thwin
Michael Aung-Thwin (1946 – August 14, 2021) was a Burmese American historian and emeritus professor at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, specializing in early Southeast Asian and Burmese history.
Early life and education
Aung-Thwin wa ...
: historian and academic
*
Robert Findlay: economist and academic
*
Tin Moe
U Tin Moe (; ) (1933-2007) was a Burmese poet.
Early life
Tin Moe (Maung Ba Gyan) was born in the village of Kanmyè in Taungtha Township, Myingyan, Mandalay Division.
He received his early education at a Buddhist monastery, and attended s ...
: poet
*
Kyi Aye: poet & novelist
*
Alex Wagner
Alexandra Swe Wagner (born November 27, 1977) is an American journalist. She is the host of both ''Alex Wagner Tonight ''on MSNBC and Netflix's '' The Mole'' reboot, as well as the author of ''FutureFace: A Family Mystery, an Epic Quest, and th ...
: journalist and television anchor
*
Kyaw Kyaw Naing: ''
hsaing waing The ''hsaing waing'' ( my, ဆိုင်းဝိုင်း, ; also spelt ''saing waing''), commonly dubbed the Burmese traditional orchestra (မြန်မာ့ဆိုင်း), is a traditional Burmese folk musical ensemble that accompan ...
'' musician
*
Aung La Nsang
Aung La Maung Nsang
( my, အောင်လအန်ဆန်း; born on May 21, 1985) is a Burmese-American mixed martial artist of ethnic Kachin descent currently signed to ONE Championship, competing in both the Middleweight and Light ...
: mixed martial arts fighter
*
Natalise: singer
*
Aung San Oo: brother of
Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi (; ; born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as State Counsellor of Myanmar (equivalent to a prime minister) and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2 ...
*
Abraham Sofaer: actor, of Burmese Jewish origin
*
Ezra Solomon
Ezra Solomon (March 20, 1920 – December 9, 2002) was an influential United States of America, US economist and professor of economics at Stanford University. As a member of the Council of Economic Advisors (1971–1973) during the Richard M Nix ...
: economist
*
Moe Z. Win: professor at
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
*
Adrian Zaw
Adrian Zaw (born May 7, 1984) is an American actor best known for his role of Syrus Primoris on the SyFy channel television series '' The Resistance'' on the SyFy channel.http://news.tubefilter.tv/2010/09/17/the-resistance-debuts-on-syfy-first-i ...
: actor
*
Moethee Zun: prominent leader in 1988 pro-democracy movement
*
Maung Gyi
Maung Gyi ( my, မောင်ကြီး) is a Burmese martial artist that introduced Bando into the United States. He is the chief instructor for the American Bando Association.
Biography
Maung Gyi was born in 1936. He father was Ba Than ...
: Martial arts teacher who introduced bando in America
Community and economic issues
Poverty
According to data released in 2017 by the
Pew Research Center, approximately 35% of the Burmese American community lived under the poverty line.
This is more than twice the USA average poverty rate of 16% according to data released by the
Economic Policy Institute
The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit American, left-leaning think tank based in Washington, D.C., that carries out economic research and analyzes the economic impact of policies and proposals. Affiliated with the labor mov ...
in 2011.
Median household income
Burmese Americans have an average median household income of $36,000 which is much lower than the American average of $53,600.
Per capita income
In 2014, when Americans' per
capita income was divided by ethnic groups, Burmese Americans were found to be the second lowest-earning ethnic group per capita in the country, with a per capita income of $12,764, less than half of the American average of $25,825.
See also
*
Fresno Buddhist Temple (Mrauk Oo Dhamma)
*
Vipassana movement
The Vipassanā movement, also called (in the United States) the Insight Meditation Movement and American vipassana movement, refers to a branch of modern Burmese Theravāda Buddhism that promotes "bare insight" (''sukha-vipassana'') to attain ...
&
Vipassana Research Institute
Satya Narayana Goenka ( ISO 15919: ''Satyanārāyaṇ Goyankā''; ; 29 January 1924 – 29 September 2013) was an Indian teacher of Vipassanā meditation. Born in Burma to an Indian business family, he moved to India in 1969 and started te ...
*
Demographics of Myanmar
This is a demography of Myanmar (also known as Burma) including statistics such as population, ethnicity, language, education level and religious affiliations.
Population
1983 census
At the time of the 1983 census in Burma, as of 31 March ...
*
Asian Americans
*
Myanmar–United States relations
Myanmar (Burma) and the United States had a diplomatic contact prior to the British colonial period. They established formal diplomatic relations in 1947 in anticipation of Burma's independence.
The political relationship between the United Sta ...
References
Further reading
* Cooper, Amy. "Burmese Americans." ''Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America,'' edited by Thomas Riggs, (3rd ed., vol. 1, Gale, 2014), pp. 373–380
online
External links
Center for Burma Studies at Northern Illinois University Burmese American Democratic Alliance (BADA)
{{Authority control
Asian-American society
Southeast Asian American
American people of Burmese descent
Burmese American