Immigrants Are Greater Share of Science Workforce

Immigrants to the United States are making up a larger share than in the past of the science and engineering workforce, according to a new report from the National Science Foundation. Among the data points in the study:

• From 2003 to 2013, the number of scientists and engineers residing in the U.S. rose from 21.6 million to 29 million. A key subset of that increase was a rise in the number of immigrant scientists and engineers, which went from 3.4 million to 5.2 million.
• Immigrants went from making up 16 percent of the science and engineering workforce to 18 percent.
• The number of immigrant scientists from India increased 85 percent from 2003 to 2013. Other countries of origin and their increases include: the Philippines at 53 percent and China (including Hong Kong and Macau) at 34 percent.