US begins collecting more detailed ethnicity data

The US federal government has begun collecting more detailed race and ethnicity information to further understand the Asian American and Pacific Islander population.

The directive from the White House's Office of Management and Budget was issued because of "large societal, political, economic and demographic shifts in the US".

The update will change the way that ethnicity data are recorded beyond just the six largest Asian population groups in the United States: Chinese, Asian Indian, Filipino, Vietnamese, Korean and Japanese.