Panamanian Americans

Panamanian Americans

Tatyana Ali Tyson Beckford Melissa De Sousa Nancy Ames Hulk Hogan Josephine Wayne J. August Richards Shoshana Johnson Mariano Rivera
Total population
(183,743[1] 0.06% of the U.S. population (2012)[1] )
Regions with significant populations
South Florida New York San Antonio Jacksonville, FL Fayetteville, NC
Languages
English, Spanish
Religion
Predominantly Roman Catholic Minority Protestantism
Related ethnic groups
fellow Hispanic and Latino Americans

A Panamanian American (Spanish: panameño-americano, norteamericano de origen panameño or estadounidense de origen panameño) are Americans of Panamanian descent.

The Panamanian population at the 2010 Census was 165,456. Panamanians are the sixth smallest Hispanic group in the United States and the second smallest Central American population.

The largest population of Panamanians reside in Brooklyn and South Florida.

History

Since 1820, more than one million immigrants from Central and South America migrated to the United States. Until 1960, the U.S. Census Bureau did not produce statistics that separated the Panamanian immigrants, the South Americans and Central Americans. The Panamanian Americans increased slowly in the United States. Since the 1830s, only 44 arrivals were recorded in this country, by the early twentieth century more than 1,000 came annually.^[2]

After World War II the flow of immigrants from Panama remained small even though there were no immigration restrictions on the people from the Western Hemisphere. However, the Panamanian immigration increased dramatically after the 1965 Immigration Act, which imposed a ceiling of 120,000 admissions from the hemisphere. Its increase immigration was such that by 1970, Panamanians were able to be one of the largest of the Central American groups in the United States. Most Panamanians that came were nonwhites and most were women.^[2]

The number of immigrant males per 100 females was very low in the 1960s, falling to 51 for Panama. Many of the female immigrants worked of in service, domestic, or low-paid, white-collar workers who immigrated to earn money to, in return, send home. Since 1962 the percentage of employed newcomers who are domestic servants has remained high, ranging from 15 to 28 percent. The entry of homemakers and children after 1968 was eased by the immigration preference system favoring family reunions. They had already approximated 86,000 people of Panamanian ancestry living in the United States.^[2]

Socioeconomics

Although many of the first Panamanian immigrants managed to get or to hold jobs, the second generation of Panamanian Americans placed more emphasis on vocational training and college education. Most newcomers are domestic, very few are agricultural or industrial laborers. In the last two decades many Panamanians have embraced professional careers, and become white collar workers. Subsequent generations have progressed even further in their educational and professional pursuits.^[2]

Demographics

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Panamanians congregated mainly in urban areas, especially in very large metropolitan cities. Most Panamanian immigrants are set in New England, or on the Gulf Coast, or Pacific Coast, or in middle Atlantic or Great Lakes areas. While, New York City contains the largest urban population of Panamanians. Also there an important number of Panamanians settled in Florida and California.

In contrast to other Hispanic nationalities, Panamanians are heavily concentrated in Army base cities. These cities include Fayetteville, NC - Fort Bragg, Killeen, TX - Fort Hood, Columbus, GA - Fort Stewart, Colorado Springs, CO - Fort Carson, Clarksville, TN - Fort Campbell, El Paso, TX - Fort Bliss, and in the vicinity of Fort Dix in New Jersey. Cities home to Navy and Air Force bases also lay claim to a concentration of Panamanians. These include San Antonio, Hampton Roads, Jacksonville, San Diego, and Tampa.

Race and ethnicity

More than other Hispanic groups, a significant percentage of Panamanian Americans are black, with the remaining being of mixed race.^[2] Although most Panamanian Americans speak Spanish, the group tends to identify itself more with English speaking West Indian groups rather than with other Hispanic groups.

This tendency is most prevalent among black Panamanian Americans, which may be due to large Jamaican immigration, which occurred during the early 1900s, many of them retained their West Indian culture. Most Panamanians, along with Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Colombians, and Venezuelans have higher percentages of African descent than other Hispanic groups.

States

The 10 states with the largest population of Panamanians (Source: 2010 Census):

1. Florida - 28,741
2. New York - 28,200
3. California - 17,768
4. Texas - 13,994
5. Georgia - 8,678
6. Virginia - 7,180
7. North Carolina - 5,708
8. New Jersey - 5,431
9. Maryland - 5,341
10. Pennsylvania - 3,234

Areas

The largest population of Panamanians are situated in the following areas (Source: Census 2010):

1. New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA MSA - 29,619
2. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL MSA - 13,529
3. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV MSA - 7,322
4. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA MSA - 6,353
5. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA MSA - 5,599
6. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL MSA - 4,234
7. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL MSA - 3,772
8. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX MSA - 3,350
9. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX MSA - 3,162
10. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA - 2,841
11. San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX MSA - 2,663
12. Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA - 2,658
13. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA MSA - 2,556
14. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA MSA - 2,384
15. Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI MSA - 2,300
16. San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA MSA - 2,144
17. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA MSA - 2,002
18. Baltimore-Towson, MD MSA - 1,877
19. Fayetteville, NC MSA - 1,788
20. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH MSA - 1,749

US communities with largest population of people of Panamanians ancestry

The top 25 US communities with the highest populations of Panamanian (Source: Census 2010)

1. New York City - 22,353
2. Los Angeles, CA - 2,131
3. San Antonio, TX - 1,602
4. Jacksonville, FL - 1,165
5. Fayetteville, NC - 1,154
6. Miami, FL - 1,113
7. Houston, TX - 1,076
8. San Diego, CA - 1,018
9. Killeen, TX - 998
10. Chicago, IL - 883
11. Washington, DC - 742
12. Boston, MA # Hillcrest Heights, FL - 1.57%
13. Pemberton Heights, NJ - 1.40%
14. Indian Creek, FL - 4.65%
15. Lisbon, FL - 1.92%

Panamanians are more than 1% of the entire population in only four communities in the US, none of which has a significant population. As a result, Panamanians are one of the least visible Hispanic nationalities in the US.

US communities with high percentages of people of Panamanian ancestry

US communities with the highest percentages of Panamanians as a percent of total population (Source: Census 2010)

1. Virginia Beach, VA - 702
2. Miramar, FL - 700
3. Columbus, GA - 696
4. Pembroke Pines, FL - 676
5. Tampa, FL - 656
6. Colorado Springs, CO - 642
7. Newport News, VA - 615
8. Charlotte, NC - 608
9. Austin, TX - 607
10. Orlando, FL - 596
11. Clarksville, TN - 588
12. El Paso, TX - 551
13. Dallas, TX - 458
14. Philadelphia, PA - 737

List of Panamanian Americans

See List of Panamanian Americans

References

1. 1 2 US Census Bureau 2012 American Community Survey B03001 1-Year Estimates HISPANIC OR LATINO ORIGIN BY SPECIFIC ORIGIN retrieved September 20, 2013
2. 1 2 3 4 5 http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Pa-Sp/Panamanian-Americans.html#ixzz1Sjls52oF Panamanian American. A Countries and Their Cultures: Panamanian American, by Rosetta Sharp Dean . Retrieved July 24, 2011, to 22:40 pm.