In examining the data ourselves, we found 906,346 people who, according to the primary and/or secondary ancestry fields, are of Arab ancestry. Our number is about 3.6% less than the 940,000 suggested by the census bureau, which is probably due to the different data sources (we use the 5% sample available to the public, they use a 16% sample which they do not release).

However, in addition to the 906,346 people claiming Arab ancestry, we also found:

• 100,788 people born in Arab countries who did not claim Arab ancestry. That is 26% of the 383,462 people born in Arab countries either not reporting their ancestry, or claiming a non-Arab ancestry.
• 148,007 children of Arab parents (where the children did not claim Arab ancestry, the children were not born in an Arab country, and the parents were Arab either because of claimed ancestry, or because of birth in an Arab country)
• 31,376 children who claimed Arab ancestry, or were born in an Arab country, but neither of their parents claimed Arab ancestry, nor were their parents born in an Arab country. If we conservatively assume households consisting of two children, and one Arab parent, this would indicate an additional 15,688 Arab parents

• Preliminary Analyses were created to develop background information.
• Two two-level (household and person) analyses were created to show the condition of the nation, with respect to Arab Americans. The first analysis was 7 dimensions, and the second was 8 dimensions.

Details of Approach:

• Arab Countries were listed, which are: Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen Arab Republic, and Yemen People's Democratic Republic.
• For analysis purposes, all countries were recoded to "Arab Country", "US", or "Other".
• A distribution was created to show ancestries claimed by people born in Arab countries, sorted by weighted person count (Pwgt1), in order to put the most frequent ancestries first. The ancestries chosen from this distribution are: Lebanese, Arab, Egyptian, Syrian, Assyrian, Palestinian, Jordanian, Iraqi, Moroccan, Saudi Arabian, Sudanese, Algerian, Mideast, Yemeni, Tunisian, Somalian, Libyan, Kuwaiti, Omani, Bahraini, United Arab Emirates and Mauritanian.
• All ancestries were recoded to "Arabic Ancestry" or "Other".
• A 7 dimensional analysis was created to slice-and-dice the census data based upon:
  • Household Level Dimensions
    • The number of parents (householder or spouse) in each household which were born in an Arab Country. Potential values are '0' and '1+'. The column is titled "ParentsBP".
    • The number of parents (householder or spouse) in each household who claim an Arabic primary ancestry. Potential values are '0' and '1+'. The column is titled "ParentsAnc1".
    • The number of parents (householder or spouse) in each household who claim an Arabic secondary ancestry. Potential values are '0' and '1+'. The column is titled "ParentsAnc2".
  • Person Level Dimensions
    • Place of Birth, potential values are "Arab Country", "US", and "Other". The column is titled "ArabPob".
    • Primary Ancestry (Ancstry1), potential values are "Arabic" and "Other"
    • Secondary Ancestry (Ancstry2), potential values are "Arabic" and "Other"
    • Relationship within the household (Relat1), potential values are "Son/Daughter" and "Other"
  • Numbers Sliced-And-Diced
    • Weighted Person Count (Pwgt1)
    • Unweighted Person Count (People)
    • Weighted Household Count (Houswgt at the household level, PHouseholds at the person level)
• An 8 dimensional analysis was created, identical to the 7 dimensional analysis, with the exception that a language (lang2) dimension was added at the person level. Potential values are "Arabic" and "Other".

• In line 5 of household level section of the 7 dimensional analysis, we see that 53,340 households have a householder and/or spouse who was born in an Arab Country, yet neither the householder or spouse claims Arab Ancestry.
• In the person level section of the 7 dimensional analysis, by adding up lines 4, 6, and 10, we find 30,219 Arab children in households where there are no Arab parents.
• The opposite situation is also true. If we add up all the children where one or more parents were born in an Arab Country, or claimed Arab Ancestry, but the children do not have Arab Ancestry, we find 160,774.
• In the person level section of the 8 dimensional analysis, where language was added as the 8th dimension, we find more information to support what we have already found. For example, in line 173, we find children of Arab parents speaking Arabic, but the children are not classified as Arabs.