Indian Americans

Indian Americans, sometimes referred to as Indo-Americans, are citizens of the United States who can trace their lineage back to India. The term "Asian Indian" is used by the United States Census Bureau to prevent confusion with Native Americans, who have also been traditionally referred to as "Indians," and who are recognised as "American Indians." Indian Americans make up more than 1.4% of the total population of the United States. They are the biggest group of South Asian Americans and the second largest group of Asian Americans overall, behind only Chinese Americans. Indian Americans have the highest median household income of any other ethnic group in the United States.

Since the beginning of European colonisation in the 15th century, the word "Indian" has traditionally been used throughout the Americas to refer to the native populations. In order to eliminate any misunderstanding, qualifying phrases such as "American Indian" and "East Indian" were and still are often employed in everyday conversation. Although the government of the United States has subsequently established the word "Native American" to refer to the indigenous people of the United States, phrases such as "American Indian" are still often used both by indigenous people and by those who are not indigenous to the United States. The United States Census Bureau has classified Indian Americans as "Asian Indians" (within the larger category of Asian Americans) since the 1980s. This classification falls under the umbrella term "Asian American."

Although the term "East Indian" is still in common usage, the terms "Indian" and "South Asian" are more often used for academic and official reasons respectively. South Asian Americans are categorised together in the census with Bangladeshi Americans, Bhutanese Americans, Maldivian Americans, Nepalese Americans, Pakistani Americans, and Sri Lankan Americans. Indian Americans are a part of this category as well.