Are People From India Considered to Be Asian?

By Staff WriterLast Updated April 14, 2020

People from India are considered to be Asian. The U.S. Census Bureau considers people from the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and the Far East to be Asian.

Prior to 1970, the U.S. Census Bureau categorized people from India as “Other.” The 1970 census classified them as “White.” In 1980, however, the Census Bureau began to define people from the Indian subcontinent as “Asian.” After people of Chinese heritage, people of Indian heritage comprise the largest group of Asian immigrants in the United States.

In the United Kingdom, which has large numbers of immigrants from the Indian subcontinent, the term “Asian” primarily refers to people from India, Pakistan or Bangladesh, while other Asians fall under the category of “Chinese or Other.”