American Muslim Population Figures

According to an October 2009 report by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, "Mapping the Global Muslim Population," of the approximately 4.6 million Muslims living in the Americas, more than half, or about 2.5 million, live in the United States, comprising approximately 0.8% of the U.S. population.

A May 2007 report, conducted jointly by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, "Muslim Americans: Middle Class and Mostly Mainstream," found that 39% of American Muslims had arrived in the U.S. after 1990. More than a third of Muslim immigrants to the U.S. are from the Arab region, 37% from Arabic-speaking countries in the Middle East and North Africa, while 27% were from the South Asian region, another 8% were from European countries and 6% were from other African nations. Reasons for immigrating were highly varied, with 26% citing educational opportunities, 24% citing economic opportunities, 24% citing family reasons and 20% saying they came to the U.S. because of conflict or persecution in their home country.