Did you realize the US Census doesn’t count Americans who live abroad? It was pretty annoying to me last time. I wanted to be counted! More important, when there’s not a good count, in turn there’s less representation and support for the rights of Americans abroad.
Some new numbers are in. According to an ACA newsletter I received, the US State Department has released these estimates of Americans residing outside the United States who are not affiliated with the US military or US government:
- Western Hemisphere: 2,222,000
- Europe: 1,488,000
- East Asia and Pacific: 754,000
- Near East: 586,000
- Africa: 109,600
- South Central Asia: 97,000
- Total: 5.25 million
I’ve looked on the State Department web site for the source figures, but so far, I can’t find them.
It’s important to note that these figures are basically guesswork. As I said, there’s no census done, so there’s no way to really know.
Who cares about counting Americans abroad? For one thing, technically all these people are still residents of a particular state. If they’re not counted, then the state might be underrepresented. That’s one reason a Utah congressman is pushing for an overseas count.
Another reason is that if you don’t count them, it’s hard for anyone to stand up for them. ACA is fighting hard to stop US banks from using the Patriot Act as an excuse to close the bank accounts of Americans who live overseas. When I petitioned US senator Diane Feinstein twice about the absurd Form 90-22.1 that those with overseas bank accounts are required to file, she never answerd. Twice. Like no one in her office — nada.
And why not? What’s she care about stuff that technically is outside her state, despite the fact I remained a California citizen?
Consider this. With 5 million US citizens abroad, collectively they’d be the 21st most populated state. How about giving them two senators and representatives? Because “geographically” speaking, they have much different concerns than the states they originate from.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve never lived outside the country but you raise an excellent point Danny and I agree with your assertion that their needs to be representation for these individuals.
As we move towards a far more globalized age I want to think that I can go spend years of my life traveling and seeing people all over the world. But to have to worry that I would be unrepresented and may be affected detrimentally by security measures put in place to protect the homeland than I’d be less inclined to make those travels. I’m also certain there’s a handful of issues more that my phrasing doesn’t even cover. I’ll be very interested to see if those numbers become more concrete over the years and to see if they rise or fall.
Agree totally.
Several European countries have elected representatives for their citizens abroad. But then again, many American citizens born and raised in the US have no representation; see Washington DC, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands.
How do other countries handle this?
Also, that’s a surprisingly huge number. I always thought Americans had a reputation for staying within the US — I guess when we leave, we really leave.
How difficult would it be to host the census online? It seems like we should be at that point by now, and I think it would allow us to access those overseas a lot easier.
The sources for the numbers are probably from the passport service (ie. number of passports w/ permanent addresses abroad), and/or the counts of registered Americans at their respective embassies and consulates (we are suppose to register when spending extended periods of time in the area). So, they are probably lower than the actual count of Americans living abroad. Just think of all the Americans who spend a year or two abroad, with every intention of returning home. I don’t believe they change their permanent addresses, and plenty don’t bother to register…