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vancouver, british columbia — Just as the world is getting used to the rapidly expanding use of AI, or artificial intelligence, AGI is looming on the horizon. Experts say when artificial general intelligence becomes reality, it could perform tasks better than human beings, with the possibility of higher cognitive abilities, emotions, and ability to self-teach and develop. Ramin Hasani is a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the CEO of Liquid AI, which builds specific AI systems for different organizations. He is also a TED Fellow, a program that helps develop what the nonprofit TED conference considers to be “game changers.” Hasani says that the first signs of AGI are realistically two to five years away from being reality. He says it will have a direct impact on our everyday lives. What's coming, he says, will be "an AI system that can have the collective knowledge of humans. And that can beat us in tasks that we do in our daily life, something you want to do ... your finances, you're solving, you're helping your daughter to solve their homework. And at the same time, you want to also read a book and do a summary. So an AGI would be able to do all that.” Hasani says that advancing artificial intelligence will allow for things to move faster and can even be made to have emotions. He says proper regulation can be achieved by better understanding how different AI systems are developed. This thought is shared by Bret Greenstein, a partner at London-based  PricewaterhouseCoopers who leads its efforts on artificial intelligence. “I think one is a personal responsibility for people in leadership positions, policymakers, to be educated on the topic, not in the fact that they've read it, but to experience it, live it and try it. And to be with people who are close to it, who understand it," he says. Greenstein warns that if it is over-regulated, innovation will be curtailed and access to AI will be limited to people who could benefit from it. For musician, comedian and actor Reggie Watts, who was the bandleader on "The Late Late Show with James Corden" on CBS, AI and the coming of AGI will be a great way to find mediocre music, because it will be mimicked easily. Calling it “artificial consciousness,” he says existing laws to protect intellectual property rights and creative industries, like music, TV and film, will work, provided they are properly adopted. “I think it's just about the usage of the tool, how it's ... how it's used. Is there money being made off of it, so on, so forth. So, I think that that we already have ... tools that exist that deal with these types of situations, but [the laws and regulations] need to be expanded to include AI because they'll probably be a lot more nuance to it.” Watts says that any form of AI is going to be smarter than one person, almost like all human intelligence collected into one point. He feels this will cause humanity to discover interesting things and the nature of reality itself. This year’s conference was the 40th year for TED, the nonprofit organization that is an acronym for Technology, Entertainment and Design.

The Biden administration said it was not involved in Israel’s predawn drone strike inside Iran on Friday. As White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports, both Iran and Israel appear to be heeding calls for de-escalation, at least for now.

washington — China is challenging Japan’s latest analysis of the threat posed to the Indo-Pacific region by Beijing as a hyped-up threat and false accusation. In the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s annual Diplomatic Bluebook that was published Tuesday, China's military moves are described as posing "the greatest strategic challenge," according to Japanese media. An official English version has not been published. The Bluebook reportedly condemns China's actions in the South China Sea and its attempts to change the status quo in the East and South China Sea. At the same time, according to Japanese media, it says for the first time since 2019 that Japan seeks to build "a mutually beneficial relationship" with China "based on common strategic interests." Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian rejected Japan's criticisms at a news briefing on Tuesday. "Japan has resorted to the same old false accusations against China and hype of 'China threat' in its 2024 Diplomatic Bluebook," he said. He continued: "We urge Japan to change its wrong course of actions, stop stoking bloc confrontation, truly commit itself to advancing a strategic relationship of mutual benefit with China and work to build a constructive and stable China-Japan relationship fit for the new era." Yuki Tatsumi, director of the Japan Program at the Washington-based Stimson Center, said, "Japan's concerns about Chinese behavior, both military and paramilitary, have been intensified for the last few years due to the acceleration of Beijing's aggressive behavior in East and South China Sea." She continued, "In addition, Tokyo has been put on alert about Beijing's increasingly hostile and aggressive rhetoric and behavior toward Taiwan." Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin could meet in early May in Hawaii, according to a Thursday report by The Japan Times citing unnamed Japanese officials. Kihara and Austin would discuss setting up a proposed allied command and control structure and a body to identify kinds of weapons the two countries will develop and produce together, said the report. These plans were announced April 10 at a bilateral summit in Washington. The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) announced on Tuesday that it will conduct a naval deployment including six surface ships, submarines, and two air units starting May 3 to support a free and open Indo-Pacific. The deployment includes visits to more than a dozen countries including the U.S., the Philippines, India, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Marshall Islands, Fiji and Palau. It is meant "to strengthen cooperation with the allied partner navies through conducting exercises," said JMSDF. Daniel Sneider, lecturer in international policy and East Asia Studies at Stanford University, said even as Tokyo is building its defenses and is concerned about Beijing's assertiveness and especially its relations with Moscow, its mention in the Diplomatic Bluebook of wanting to build relations with Beijing reflects Tokyo's balanced approach toward China. "The Bluebook reflects a balance between, on one hand, some degree of warning the Chinese off doing things that disrupt the order" in the region "and, on the other hand, making it clear that Japan really is not interested in some type of full-scale confrontation with China," including economic warfare, said Sneider. As to China, it tends to see "any attempts on the part of the Koreans and the Japanese to engage and improve relations as a sign of weakness," continued Sneider. China, Japan and South Korea plan to hold trilateral talks in May for the first time since 2019. They will meet in Seoul ahead of a Washington-Seoul-Tokyo trilateral summit expected in July.

washington — The threat of a wider war between Israel and Iran may give U.S. President Joe Biden more breathing room to provide military assistance to Israel without restrictions sought by progressive lawmakers of his own party. Iran's massive April 13 aerial assault on Israel and Israel's more limited counterstrike early Friday have left the region on edge, fearing an escalation of the 6-month-old Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. An aid package is set to be voted on in the U.S. House of Representatives as soon as Saturday. The bill provides $26.4 billion for Israel's security, part of a package of bills that would help Israel and Ukraine while seeking to deter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific. A total of $95 billion in foreign aid funding is proposed. On Wednesday, Biden urged passage of the bills and vowed to immediately sign them into law. For months, top Democrats have called on Biden to condition at least some types of military aid to Israel to avoid American weapons from being used to facilitate human rights violations, which is illegal under the U.S. "Leahy Law." But analysts say the flare-up between Israel and Iran may have eased some of that pressure, at least for now. "He has more maneuvering room with his left flank now," said Richard Goldberg, senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. "He has a moment where he can remind the country, he can remind Democrats that they need to zoom out and understand who's really behind all of the different fires that have been set throughout the Middle East," he said. Biden: 'Unthinkable' to stand by In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal earlier this week, Biden warned of the U.S. being drawn into war. "Israel is our strongest partner in the Middle East; it's unthinkable that we would stand by if its defenses were weakened and Iran was able to carry out the destruction it intended this weekend," he said, referring to the April 13 drone and missile attacks on Israeli soil. Such an outcome is less likely if the U.S. provides military aid now, he argued, so that Israel's defenses "can remain fully stocked and ready." Proposed aid for Israel The proposed Israeli aid includes $4 billion to replenish Iron Dome and David's Sling missile defense systems, and $1.2 billion for the Iron Beam defense system to counter short-range rockets and mortars. Those are weapons systems that thwarted most of the hundreds of drones and missiles launched on April 13 by Tehran and its proxies, including Hezbollah, which frequently lobs missiles from Lebanon on Israel's northern border. Most Democrats support aid for systems that protect Israeli skies, but some are concerned about funding for the types of arms that have killed civilians in Gaza. The aid bill includes $1 billion to enhance the production and development of artillery and other munitions, and $4.4 billion to replenish defense articles and defense services provided to Israel, which could cover various types of munitions. There's also $3.5 billion set aside for the procurement of weapons and defense services through the Foreign Military Financing, or FMF program. FMF is financing from the U.S. government for allies to procure defense articles or services through either Foreign Military Sales, FMS, or Direct Commercial Sales, also called DCS. That $3.5 billion allocation can essentially be used to purchase any type of weaponry, said Josh Paul, a former director of congressional and public affairs at the State Department bureau that handles arms transfers. The bill "also expands the scope through which weapons can be transferred, and frankly the speed through which they can be transferred," he told VOA. Procurement under FMF could include arms used in Gaza and the West Bank, said Ari Tolany, director of security assistance, arms trade and technology at the Center for International Policy. It is "non-specific and could capture most munition types, as well as things like targeting support and surveillance technology," she said. A summary of the bill notes it provides "additional flexibility for transfers of defense articles to Israel from U.S. stockpiles held abroad," and prohibits funds to UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. UNRWA provides support for Palestinian refugees and has come under intense criticism since Israel alleged some of its staff were involved in Hamas' October 7 attack, which killed 1,200 people in Israel and took more than 200 hostages. Israel's response has killed nearly 34,000 people in Gaza, according to the health ministry there. International aid organizations have warned of famine in the Palestinian enclave. Earlier this week, the ProPublica investigative news organization reported that a special U.S. State Department panel recommended months ago that Secretary of State Antony Blinken stop aid to some Israeli military and police units over allegations of human rights violations in the West Bank, mostly before October 7. On Friday, Blinken said his department had concluded investigations to determine whether the "very important" Leahy Law was violated and will announce the results in coming days. Waiver on congressional oversight The House Israel bill includes a provision that congressional notification of an FMF obligation may be waived if the secretary of state determines that a national security emergency exists requiring the immediate transfer of arms. The provision is similar to a waiver that currently applies to FMS, Tolany said. "Normally, that obligation of FMF still needs to be notified to Congress, but if this bill passes, that will not be the case," she said. That means up to $3.5 billion of weapons can potentially be provided to Israel without notification from the administration. "The public and Congress would have virtually no insight into what kind of munitions are transferred," she said. VOA asked White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre during Friday’s news briefing if American taxpayers have the right to know what kinds of weapons the administration sends to Israel. “This is about our national security,” she said. “We have to continue our strong commitment to Israel's security. That continues to be ironclad.” The FMS emergency authority waiver is rarely used, but Blinken invoked it twice in December to transfer more than $250 million in weapons to Israel. That move galvanized some Democratic lawmakers to strengthen congressional oversight. Senator Tim Kaine of the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees introduced an amendment to strike down the FMF congressional notification waiver in the Senate's supplemental funding bill. Despite support from prominent Democrats for Kaine's amendment, the Senate's supplemental package passed in February without a vote on it, leaving the notification waiver for the FMF in place. Congressman Joaquin Castro introduced a similar amendment to the House appropriations bill, but it's also unlikely to be brought to a vote. The Israeli House supplemental package includes $2.4 billion for "current U.S. military operations in the region in response to recent attacks." That would include Iran's April 13 airstrikes, which Tehran says were conducted in retaliation for Israel's April 1 bombing of Iranian diplomatic building in Damascus, Syria. The U.S. said it was not "involved in any offensive operations" in Israel's subsequent Friday counterstrike on Iran.

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In Ukraine, more than 200 libraries have been destroyed and about 400 damaged since Russia launched its war, say Ukrainian officials. Lesia Bakalets reports from Kyiv on how librarians are trying to ensure libraries survive the war. Camera: Vladyslav Smilianets 


Abuja, Nigeria  — Nigeria and Cameroon on Friday signed a historic partnership designed to protect wildlife, preserve critical habitats and tackle illegal wildlife trade across their borders. Nigeria's environment minister, his Cameroonian counterpart and other dignitaries were present at a signing ceremony for the pact, which provides legal support for the joint protection of endangered species, including gorillas and chimpanzees, and shared natural habitats. Authorities said the countries would share intelligence, conduct research and strengthen law enforcement against offenders. Jules Doret Ndongo, Cameroon's minister of forestry and wildlife, said, "The exploitation of forestry resources and poaching, especially cross-border poaching, are serious threats to the sustainable management of our natural resources." The partnership will also address illegal hunting and wildlife trafficking. Nigeria shares a nearly 2,000-kilometer border to the south with Cameroon. The region is home to some of Africa’s most endangered species of apes, chimpanzees, leopards and elephants, all of them threatened by poaching, growing population, mining activities and illegal felling of trees. Balarbe Abbas Lawal, Nigeria's environment minister. said that "apart from the global phenomenon of climate change and environmental challenges, social factors include overpopulation, poverty, food insecurity have continued to amass these resources on the brink of extinction. While this is going on, cross-boundary illegality has further aggravated the trend. And we're coming up with so many other steps to address this, including trying to enforce our legal system to see environmental crime as serious as other crimes. So we need the cooperation of the two countries to achieve this.” Nigeria is the epicenter of wildlife smuggling in Africa. Pangolin scales and elephant ivory are the most trafficked items. In February, Nigerian authorities intercepted 200 kilograms of elephant tusks in a southern border town near Cameroon. Lack of awareness and prosecution of offenders are the reasons the trend has continued. Apart from the joint partnership, Nigerian lawmakers are also considering a new bill that would protect endangered species and punish wildlife poachers and traffickers. A public hearing for the bill is expected in May.

There is no connection between Iranian strikes on Israel and the Palestinians’ ability to go to the beach in central Gaza.

Paris, France — French authorities Friday detained a man suspected of entering the Iranian consulate in Paris and falsely claiming to be armed with an explosive vest, police and prosecutors said.  No explosives or arms were found on the man or the premises after he surrendered to police following the incident.  The man, born in 1963 in Iran, had been convicted for setting fire to tires in front of the entrance of the Iranian embassy in Paris in 2023, the Paris prosecutor's office said.  Police arrested the suspect, who has not been named, when he left the consulate of his own accord after appearing to have "threatened violent action" inside, it said.  According to a police source, who asked not to be named, he was wearing a vest with large pockets containing three fake grenades.  Police earlier told AFP that the consulate called in law enforcement after a witness saw "a man enter carrying a grenade or an explosive belt."  The neighborhood around the consulate in the capital's 16th district was closed off and a heavy police presence was in place, an AFP journalist reported.  Traffic was temporarily suspended on two metro lines that pass through stops close to the consulate, Paris transport company RATP said.  Iran's embassy and consulate share the same building but have different entrances on separate streets.  The incident came with tensions running high in the Middle East and Israel launching an apparent strike on central Iran overnight.  However, there was no suggestion of any link.  The office of the Paris prosecutor confirmed that the same man was to appear in court on Monday over a fire at the diplomatic mission in September 2023.  A lower court had handed him an eight-month suspended sentence and prohibited him from entering the area around the consulate for two years and carrying weapons.   But he is appealing the verdict.  At the time, the man had claimed the action as an act of opposition to Iran's clerical authorities as they faced the "Woman. Life. Freedom." nationwide protests.  Reports said that the man left Iran in the wake of the 1979 Islamic revolution and has expressed sympathy toward the former imperial regime.  France raised its national security alert to its maximum level following an attack on a concert venue in Moscow on March 22, for which the Islamic State group claimed responsibility.  The incident at the Iranian consulate prompted the Paris embassy of the United States to issue a security alert for its citizens. 

washington — Both Tel Aviv and Tehran downplayed Israel’s predawn aerial strike inside Iran on Friday, suggesting neither side wants to see the situation escalate into a full-scale regional conflict. Israel offered no official comment on the incident. Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency, IRNA, reported only that, “citing an Iranian official,” an air defense system had been activated early Friday “after the sound of an explosion” was heard near a major air base in the central Isfahan province. The report cited U.S. media sources who attributed the attack to Israel. It went on to say there was no damage reported and “the city and province of Isfahan were in normal condition.” Earlier, Iranian state media had also downplayed the incident, saying Isfahan’s nuclear facilities were secure. They said operations at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport and Mehrabad domestic airport had returned to normal Friday, several hours after flights were suspended in an apparent response to the purported Israeli airstrike. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, in comments Friday to Muslim diplomats at the U.N. in New York, minimized the significance of the attack. He said Israel “tried to make victory out of their defeat, while the downed mini-drones have not caused any damage or casualties.” Reuters quoted a senior Iranian official as saying there were no plans to respond against Israel for the incident. The New York Times and The Washington Post cited Israeli officials as saying Israel had carried out an airstrike in Iran. U.S. officials were cited by multiple news outlets as calling it a missile strike. The muted response by both Israel and Iran came after world leaders almost unanimously called for calm and a de-escalation of tensions. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, the host of the Group of Seven ministerial meeting in Capri, Italy, said Friday Israel had informed the U.S. “at the last minute” of the attack. Speaking to reporters at a briefing Friday following the G7 meetings in Italy, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was asked repeatedly to comment about the reports, but he refused to do so. “The United States has not been involved in any offensive operations,” Blinken said in response. “What we're focused on, what the G7 is focused on, and again it's reflected in our statement and in our conversation, is our work to de-escalate.” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, said the U.N. chief “reiterates it’s high time to stop the dangerous cycle of retaliation in the Middle East.” “The secretary-general condemns any act of retaliation and appeals to the international community to work together to prevent any further development that could lead to devastating consequences for the entire region and beyond,” the statement said. The airstrikes mark the latest salvo in a yearslong Israel-Iran shadow war that has escalated significantly this month. Israel had warned Iran that it would retaliate for an unprecedented Iranian aerial assault on Israeli territory last Sunday involving hundreds of drones and missiles. Israel said it intercepted almost all of the projectiles with help from a coalition of Western allies and Arab partners. Iran had warned, in turn, that any Israeli retaliatory strike would be met with a swift and tougher response. Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, a Middle East security analyst at the Atlantic Council, told VOA Iran’s muted response could be an effort to avert an escalated confrontation, if Tehran’s nuclear program is not directly targeted. “There are estimates and calculations which believe that Iran may be willing to absorb and swallow a limited retaliatory strike by Israel. However, strikes against Tehran's nuclear program will dramatically escalate the direct confrontation between Iran and Israel,” he said. The U.S. and other Western powers had urged the Israeli government to avoid escalating the conflict in calculating its next move. U.S. officials had said they did not intend for U.S. forces to join in any Israeli retaliatory action. Alkhatib told VOA the Biden administration understood Israel’s need to carry out a "face saving" retaliation for Sunday’s Iranian attack. “Any Israeli strike will necessitate U.S. involvement, cooperation, support and ultimate endorsement — defensively and offensively — casting doubt on the accuracy of claims by the Biden administration that it would not be involved in an Israeli retaliation,” Alkhatib said. Michael Lipin, Patsy Widakuswara, Margaret Besheer and VOA’s Kurdish and Persian services contributed to this report. Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

nairobi, kenya — Kenya began three days of mourning on Friday after its defense chief and nine other senior officers were killed in a helicopter crash, the latest military accident involving a high-profile figure. A 19-gun salute will take place Saturday in a military tribute to General Francis Omondi Ogolla, the chief of the Kenya Defense Forces, in the presence of President William Ruto, the defense ministry announced. Ogolla was killed when his helicopter went down shortly after takeoff in a remote forested area of northwestern Kenya on Thursday. "A distinguished four-star general has fallen in the course of duty and service of the country," Ruto said, announcing the deaths that evening. He said the Air Force had dispatched an investigation team to establish the cause of the accident. Ruto grieved with Ogolla's family at a ceremony in Nairobi on Friday as the nation began observing the mourning period, with the Kenyan flag flying at half-mast across the country and at missions abroad. "Yesterday was truly a very, very tragic day," the president said. "This is a big loss to the country because General Ogolla made a whole difference in the security of the country." The family said in a statement that a funeral would be Sunday at Ogolla's home in Siaya in the west of the country, followed by a memorial service in a Nairobi suburb on April 26. The bodies of the victims, draped in Kenyan flags, were returned to a military base in Nairobi on an air force plane late Thursday. One of the officers, Brigadier Swale Saidi, was buried in the Indian Ocean town of Kilifi on Friday and other funerals are expected in the coming days. Ogolla, a trained fighter pilot, had been promoted to the defense chief role by Ruto just a year ago and was about to mark 40 years of military service. He had been visiting troops deployed in a security operation in the North Rift region, which is plagued by violence caused by armed bandits and cattle rustlers. Ogolla's daughter Lorna Ogolla said in a post on LinkedIn that her father died "doing what he did best for the better part of the last 40 years — trying to keep Kenya safe." Messages of condolence were sent from across the country and the African continent as well as the United Nations, the United States and other Kenyan allies. "From combating terrorist threats posed by al-Shabab to leading efforts to bolster regional cooperation across a range of domains, he has left an indelible mark," U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement. The Standard newspaper said it was the fifth armed forces chopper crash in 12 months, with claims that Kenya's military aircraft were old and poorly maintained. In June 2021, at least 10 soldiers were killed when their helicopter crashed during a training exercise south of Nairobi. Ogolla is among a number of high-profile victims of air accidents in Kenya. In 2012, internal security minister George Saitoti, seen as a possible presidential candidate, was among six people killed in a police helicopter crash. Kenya has one of the largest military budgets in the East Africa region, at $1.1 billion for the financial year ending in June 2024, according to government statistics. The International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated in its 2024 report, The Military Balance, the total number of active armed forces at 24,100. The East African nation is a major contributor to U.N. peacekeeping operations and also deploys troops for missions in the region. Ogolla, a married father of two, joined the KDF in April 1984, rising through the ranks to command the Kenyan Air Force in 2018, a post he held for three years before becoming vice chief of the defense forces in 2021 and then chief in April 2023.

VOA Connect Episode 327 - We follow a ski expedition and urban hair evolution.

Determined2Heal Foundation, Inc., is a nonprofit organization which empowers, enlightens and assists those impacted by spinal cord injuries. Founded by Josh Basile, the group embarks on a winter skiing adventure in Pennsylvania, bringing together individuals with spinal cord injuries for an exhilarating experience on the slopes. Reporter | Camera | Editor: Philip Alexiou

We visit Astor Place Hairstylists, an iconic New York City business that has set the trends for urban hairstyles, spanning from punk to hip hop, for more than four decades. Reporter | Camera: Aaron Fedor, Producer: Kathleen McLaughlin, Editor: Kyle Dubiel

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Israel strikes back at Iran after massive missile and drone attack last weekend. The U.S. vetoes UN resolution to give membership to Palestinians. An update from Kyiv following the destruction of a Russian plane and a disturbing rise in antisemitism in the United States.

Washington — The U.S. immigrant population from South and Central Asia has swelled to new heights over the past decade and continues to grow rapidly. Between 2010 and 2022, the number of immigrants from these regions residing in the United States soared to nearly 4.6 million from 2.9 million — a jump of almost 60%, according to recently released data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The surge dwarfs the 15.6% rise in the overall “foreign-born” population of the U.S. during the same period, the data show. Jeanne Batalova, a demographer at the Migration Policy Institute, said the rise was “incredible.” “We’re talking about a rate of growth of four times higher,” Batalova said in an interview with VOA. The Census Bureau defines “foreign-born” as anyone who was not a U.S. citizen at birth, including naturalized citizens and lawful permanent residents. The total foreign-born population of the U.S. was 46.2 million, or nearly 14% of the total population, in 2022, compared with 40 million, or almost 13% of the total population, in 2010, the Census Bureau reported April 9. The Census Bureau data underscore just how much immigration patterns have changed in recent years. While Latin America was once the main source of migration to the U.S. and still accounts for half of the foreign-born population, more immigrants now come from Asia, Africa and other parts of the world.      Between 2010 and 2022, the foreign-born population from Latin America rose by 9%, while the flow from Asia swelled at three times that rate, with South and Central Asia accounting for the bulk of the surge. “We are reaching out to a broader spectrum of countries than we were before,” said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution. “The old image of immigration to the U.S. as being lots of Latin Americans and Mexicans coming to the U.S. only is wrong.” To understand immigration trends from South and Central Asia, VOA dove into the census data and spoke with demographers. Here is a look at what we found. How many immigrants from South and Central Asia live in the U.S.? The Census Bureau puts 10 countries in its South and Central Asia bucket: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Uzbekistan. The agency’s foreign-born population estimates are based in part on an annual survey known as the American Community Survey. Each estimate comes with a margin of error. In 2022, the foreign-born population from South and Central Asia was estimated at 4,572,569, up from 3,872,963 in 2010. The margin of error was plus or minus about 55,000. Numbering more than 2.8 million, Indians made up by far the largest foreign-born group from the region. That was up from nearly 1.8 million in 2010. The second largest group came from Pakistan — nearly 400,000, up from nearly 300,000 12 years prior — followed by Iran with 407,000, up by more than 50,000. But in percentage terms, several other communities from the region posted considerably larger increases. The number of foreign-born Afghans jumped to 194,742 in 2022 from 54,458 in 2010, an increase of 257%. Batalova said much of that was due to the flood of refugees triggered by the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. “In terms of speed of change, [Afghanistan] outpaces all other countries in South and Central Asia,” she said. Foreign-born Nepalese posted the second highest percentage increase, rising from 69,458 to 191,213 — a 175% jump. There were increases of 91% and 60% respectively among immigrants from Bangladesh and Uzbekistan. When and how did immigrants from South and Central Asia arrive in the country? While Indians have been immigrating to the U.S. for decades, a significant proportion of immigrants from South and Central Asia are recent arrivals. More than 42% of them entered the U.S. in 2010 or later, outpacing the nearly 27% of the total foreign-born population that settled during the same period, according to Census Bureau estimates. Batalova noted that immigrants from South and Central Asia follow distinct paths to the United States. Indians, for instance, largely rely on student and work visas and family reunification. Many Central Asians gain entry through the diversity visa program, with about 36% of Uzbek green card holders benefiting from the scheme. Bangladeshis, too, took advantage of the so-called “Green Card Lottery” before Bangladesh became ineligible for the program in 2012 after 50,000 Bangladeshis immigrated to the U.S. over a five-year period. As for the recent influx of Afghan immigrants, most were admitted into the country under special immigrant visa and humanitarian parole programs following the Taliban takeover of the country. How do educational levels and other characteristics of South and Central Asians compare with the overall foreign-born population? Immigrants from South and Central Asia tend to have higher levels of education than the general population and are more likely to work in sought-after professional jobs. More than 70% had a bachelor’s or higher degree, compared with nearly 34% for the overall foreign-born population, according to Census Bureau estimates for the 2018-2022 period. Nearly 68% worked in management, business, science and the arts, compared with 36% for all immigrants. Immigrants from India, especially, tend to enjoy high levels of education and professional jobs. Nearly 48% of Indians had graduate or professional degrees, while more than 77% worked in management, business, science, and the arts. Where do most immigrants from South and Central Asia live? More than half of immigrants in the United States live in just four states: California, Texas, Florida and New York. For immigrants from South and Central Asia, however, the top four states of residence are New Jersey, California, New York and Virginia. In New Jersey, located south of New York state, foreign-born South and Central Asians made up 3.6% of the state’s population of 9 million. In California, they account for 2.31% of the state’s population of 39 million. How large are the diaspora communities? The foreign-born population from South and Central Asia should not be confused with the number of U.S. residents claiming ancestry from the region. Including second- and third-generation immigrants, the diaspora community represents a larger number. Demographers from the Migration Policy Institute estimate that about 5.2 million people in the U.S. identify as “South Asian Indians.” About 250,000 claim Afghan ancestry. The 2020 U.S. census found that 687,942 people identified as “Pakistani alone” or in a combination with other groups, far surpassing the estimated 400,000 foreign-born Pakistanis in the U.S. As for the other diaspora communities from the region, “they would not be much [larger] than the total immigrant populations just because they’re more recent immigrant groups,” Batalova said.

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