Yalla Count MENA In!

Yalla Count MENA In!
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The MENA Checkbox is here and it will be on the 2030 Census!
We deserve to be fairly and accurately
Counted.
In 2022, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced they would begin a formal review to revise OMB’s standards for federal data on race and ethnicity. Shortly after, an Interagency Technical Working Group (Working Group) was formed to aid in the process. The Working Group, made up of government career staff representing more than 20 federal agencies across the government, began their work, including engaging the American pubic directly as they deliberated their recommendations. On January 27, 2023, OMB published a Federal Register Notice seeking the public’s comments on the Working Group’s initial proposal for updating OMB’s Race and Ethnicity Standards, which included a call for adding a Middle East or North Africa (MENA) category.
On March 28, 2024, OMB revised the Race and Ethnicity Standards to include a new MENA checkbox!
See our statement below about the new standards and keep checking this website for ways you can support the empowerment, well-being and representation of the Arab American community by supporting accurate data collection.
resources
Learn More About the MENA Ethnic Category and the Decades-Long Effort to Collect Data on Arab Americans
Use these resources to learn more about the MENA ethnic category and to educate others on why a MENA category is so important for Arab American representation.
Mar 5, 2026
Public Comment: Concerns Regarding the Proposed 2026 Operational Test in Support of the 2030 Census
Mar 5, 2026
Read More →
Mar 5, 2026
Feb 17, 2026
AAI Public Comment on the 2027 American Community Survey (ACS) and Puerto Rico Community Survey (PRCS)
Feb 17, 2026
Read More →
Feb 17, 2026
Sep 15, 2025
Fact Sheet
FAQ: The MENA Category
Sep 15, 2025
Fact Sheet
The Middle Eastern or North African (MENA) checkbox is a new minimum reporting ethnic category on the decennial census and other federal surveys. Learn more about the category by downloading our FAQs.
Read More →
Sep 15, 2025
Fact Sheet
Sep 14, 2025
Fact Sheet
Data Equity, Data Disaggregation, and Arab Americans
Sep 14, 2025
Fact Sheet
The principle of
data equity
and the practice of
data disaggregation
are important foundations in the Arab American community’s push for a MENA category. Download our fact sheet below to learn why these tools are so important, and how they affect Arab Americans.
Read More →
Sep 14, 2025
Fact Sheet
Mar 29, 2024
Government Resource
OMB's 2024 Revisions of the Race and Ethnicity Standards
Mar 29, 2024
Government Resource
The Office of Management and Budget’s 2024 Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity
Read More →
Mar 29, 2024
Government Resource
Mar 28, 2024
AAI Welcomes New MENA Category & Revision of Race and Ethnicity Standards: Hailed Historic Category Fails to Capture Full Diversity of Arab American Community
Mar 28, 2024
AAI’s statement on the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced revisions to Statistical Policy Directive No. 15: Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity Data. AAI Welcomes New MENA Category & Revision of Race and Ethnicity Standards: Hailed Historic Category Fails to Capture Full Diversity of Arab American Community.
Read More →
Mar 28, 2024
Mar 28, 2024
Government Resource
مكتب الإدارة والم زيانية ين رش تنقيحات للتوجيه رقم 15 المتعلق بالسياسة الإحصائية: معايي الحفاظ على البيانات الفيدرالية المتعلقة بالانتماء العرق وجمعها وعرضها
Mar 28, 2024
Government Resource
بقلم الدكتورة كارين أورفيس، رئيسة الإحصائيي بالولايات المتحدة
يف وقت سابق اليوم، ن رش مكتب الإدارة والميانية مجموعة من التنقيحات للتوجيه رقم 15 المتعلق بالسياسة الإحصائية (التوجيه رقم 15): معايي الحفاظ على البيانات الفيدرالية المتعلقة بالانتماء العر يف وجمعهاوعرضها،ويهالأولىمنذعام1997.وقدبدأتهذهالعملية يفحزيران/يونيو2022،معأول اجتماع لمجموعة العمل الف ين المشيكة بي الوكالات المكونة من الموظفي المهنيي يف الحكومة الفيدرالية الذين يمثلون ال ريامج ال ين تجمع أو تستخدم بيانات الانتماء العر يف.ومنذ ذلك الاجتماع الأول، قمنا بمراجعة 20 ألف تعليق وعقدنا ما يقرب من 100 جلسة استماع لوضع اللمسات الأخية على المعايي المهمة ال ين نعلن عنها اليوم.
Read More →
Mar 28, 2024
Government Resource
Mar 28, 2024
Government Resource
OMB Publishes Revisions to Statistical Policy Directive No. 15: Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity
Mar 28, 2024
Government Resource
By Dr. Karin Orvis, Chief Statistician of the United States:
Earlier today, OMB published a set of revisions to
Statistical Policy Directive No. 15 (Directive No. 15): Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity,
the first since 1997. This process started in June 2022, with the first convening of the Interagency Technical Working Group of Federal Government career staff who represent programs that collect or use race and ethnicity data. Since that first convening, we’ve reviewed 20,000 comments and held almost 100 listening sessions to finalize the important standards we are announcing today.
Read More →
Mar 28, 2024
Government Resource
Apr 27, 2023
Fact Sheet
AAI Comment on Initial Proposals for Updating OMB’s Race and Ethnicity Statistical Standards
Apr 27, 2023
Fact Sheet
AAI’s comment in response to the Federal Register Notice supports the revision of the race and ethnicity standards, including updating Directive 15 to include the addition of “Middle Eastern or North African (MENA)” as a new minimum reporting ethnic category, supporting a combined question format on race and ethnicity, and the mandatory collection of detailed race and ethnicity by default.
Read More →
Apr 27, 2023
Fact Sheet
Apr 27, 2023
Partner Resource
LCCHR Coalition Comment on Initial Proposals for Updating OMB’s Race and Ethnicity Statistical Standards
Apr 27, 2023
Partner Resource
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights’ coalition comment in support of revising OMB’s race and ethnicity standards.
Read More →
Apr 27, 2023
Partner Resource
Apr 27, 2023
Fact Sheet
Community Comment for the Federal Register Notice in Support of a MENA Category
Apr 27, 2023
Fact Sheet
This draft community comment in support of the MENA category was submitted by hundreds of you during the Federal Register Notice open comment period regarding the Office of Management and Budget’s revision of the race and ethnicity standards.
Read More →
Apr 27, 2023
Fact Sheet
Apr 4, 2023
Partner Resource
Make MENA Visible
Apr 4, 2023
Partner Resource
Current federal standards are inadequate. Right now, we have a unique opportunity to impact how the federal government sees people and populations. OMB’s proposed revisions to the federal race and ethnicity standards include the addition of the MENA category to the classification system. AAI’s Claudia Youakim shares why this critically important update will bring visibility to Arab Americans, their contributions, and their particular needs.
Read More →
Apr 4, 2023
Partner Resource
Apr 4, 2023
Partner Resource
Fact Sheet and FAQ: Why do we need a combined race and ethnicity question?
Apr 4, 2023
Partner Resource
A Fact Sheet and FAQ from the Leadership Conference Education Fund on why adopting a combined question would be a critical step forward in allowing more people to see themselves accurately reflected in federal data.
Read More →
Apr 4, 2023
Partner Resource
Feb 10, 2023
Fact Sheet
From the Archive: We are Arab Americans and Proud!
Feb 10, 2023
Fact Sheet
From the archive, a fact sheet from the first national Arab American get-out-the-count campaign. It was organized in the lead up to the 1990 Census: “Arab Americans are a growing ethnic constituency and contribute to every part of American society. The 1990 Census is our chance to get an accurate count of how many persons of Arabic-Speaking descent live in the United States and an understanding of their diversity.”
Read More →
Feb 10, 2023
Fact Sheet
Feb 6, 2023
Partner Resource
Why a MENA Category Matters
Feb 6, 2023
Partner Resource
During a recent roundtable conversation, Meeta Anand, senior director of the census and data equity program at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, joined Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute, and Professor Neda Maghbouleh to discuss Maghbouleh’s book “The Limits of Whiteness” and why adding a MENA category matters.
Read More →
Feb 6, 2023
Partner Resource
Jan 26, 2023
Government Resource
OMB Interagency Technical Working Group on Race and Ethnicity Standards
Jan 26, 2023
Government Resource
The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) undertakes periodic reviews of its Federal statistical standards to ensure that they are keeping pace with changes in the population and evolving needs and uses for data. In 2022, OMB convened the Federal Interagency Technical Working Group on Race and Ethnicity Standards (Working Group).
Read More →
Jan 26, 2023
Government Resource
Dec 5, 2022
Partner Resource
Fact Sheet on OMB Directive 15
Dec 5, 2022
Partner Resource
The Leadership Conference Education Fund’s Fact Sheet on Collecting and Publishing Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity: Understanding OMB Directive 15.
Read More →
Dec 5, 2022
Partner Resource
Mar 4, 2022
Partner Resource
Coalition Letter to OMB
Mar 4, 2022
Partner Resource
Coalition letter to OMB in support of a combined question and a MENA category signed by 160 national and community-based NGOs.
Read More →
Mar 4, 2022
Partner Resource
Apr 30, 2021
Backgrounder
The Quest for Fair Representation
Apr 30, 2021
Backgrounder
Estebanico Azemmouri, a Moroccan man, landed in the United States of America in 1527, and Antonio Bishallany who immigrated from Lebanon became the first member of a community today known as “Arab Americans.” This is the story of Arab Americans’ beginning in America – and the origins of their quest for fair representation.
Read More →
Apr 30, 2021
Backgrounder
Apr 1, 2020
Fact Sheet
Quick Facts About Arab Americans
Apr 1, 2020
Fact Sheet
Without a MENA Category, the source for Arab American data has historically been the American Community Survey. While incomplete, we use 2017 ACS data and AAI research and surveys to produce this document to provide a snapshot of the origins, population, education, occupation, and income statistical estimates for Arab Americans.
Read More →
Apr 1, 2020
Fact Sheet
Apr 1, 2020
Fact Sheet
Detecting Disinformation
Apr 1, 2020
Fact Sheet
From the 2020 Census Get-Out-the-Count campaign, this fact sheet explains the difficulties in detecting disinformation. In the age of social media, there is a huge amount of information out there, and it can be hard to sort through it all. However, here are some generalizations about what disinformation looks like and some tools to let you dig deeper into disinformation online.
Read More →
Apr 1, 2020
Fact Sheet
Apr 1, 2020
Fact Sheet
How the Census Affects Our Community
Apr 1, 2020
Fact Sheet
From the 2020 Census Get-Out-the-Count campaign, this document explains the many ways the Census impacts all of us, especially as Arab Americans.
Read More →
Apr 1, 2020
Fact Sheet
Apr 1, 2020
Fact Sheet
Census 2020 Issue Brief
Apr 1, 2020
Fact Sheet
From the 2020 Census Get-Out-the-Count campaign, this issue brief explains the importance of the census to our democracy and the recommendations we proposed for ensuring a fair and accurate count of Arab Americans in 2020.
Read More →
Apr 1, 2020
Fact Sheet
Apr 1, 2019
Backgrounder
AAI Amicus Brief
Apr 1, 2019
Backgrounder
Brief for the Arab American Institute as
Amicus Curiae
in Support of Respondents submitted to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Brief focuses on the MENA category.
Read More →
Apr 1, 2019
Backgrounder
Aug 10, 2017
Government Resource
Census Bureau's 2015 National Content Test
Aug 10, 2017
Government Resource
The Census Bureau’s Overview of the 2015 National Content Test presented at the Census Information Centers (CIC) Annual Conference in 2017.
Read More →
Aug 10, 2017
Government Resource
Oct 30, 1997
Government Resource
OMB's 1997 Revision of the Standards
Oct 30, 1997
Government Resource
The Office of Management and Budget’s 1997 Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity
Read More →
Oct 30, 1997
Government Resource
MENA in the Media
Apr 29, 2024
The Long (Successful) Battle to Count Arab Americans
Apr 29, 2024
Last month, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
announced revisions
to the Standards f
or Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity, known as Directive 15.
Apr 29, 2024
Apr 1, 2024
2030 census to include new category for Middle Eastern and North African people
Apr 1, 2024
2030 census to include new category for Middle Eastern and North African people.
Read More →
Apr 1, 2024
Apr 1, 2024
NBC News
'We exist': New Middle Eastern or North African census category helps community members feel seen
Apr 1, 2024
NBC News
The addition of this category to the OMB’s standards for race and ethnicity for the first time in U.S. history means that an estimated 8 million Americans who trace their origins to the Middle East and North Africa will no longer have to choose “white” or “other” on federal forms, including the U.S. census.
Read More →
Apr 1, 2024
NBC News
Mar 29, 2024
Marketplace
2030 census will include “Middle Eastern or North African” box for the first time
Mar 29, 2024
Marketplace
On the 2030 U.S. Census, Arab Americans will have their own box to check for the first time ever. And starting on Friday, agencies across the federal government are being instructed to add a “Middle Eastern or North African” option to race and ethnicity questions on all data collection forms.
Read More →
Mar 29, 2024
Marketplace
Mar 29, 2024
NPR
Checkboxes for race and ethnicity on government forms will include more choices
Mar 29, 2024
NPR
New checkboxes for "Middle Eastern or North African" and "Hispanic or Latino" are coming to the U.S. census and federal forms. Advocates say these changes will help enforce civil rights protections.
Read More →
Mar 29, 2024
NPR
Mar 28, 2024
Axios
U.S. Census revamped to better count Middle Eastern and Latino groups
Mar 28, 2024
Axios
A new rule announced Thursday is intended to yield a more accurate census of people with Hispanic, Middle Eastern and North African heritage.
Why it matters:
Critics have long said the government's approach to asking about people's race or ethnicity is confusing or misrepresentative — and the stakes are huge when it comes to the distribution of billions in federal funds.
Read More →
Mar 28, 2024
Axios
Mar 28, 2024
NPR
Next U.S. census will have new boxes for 'Middle Eastern or North African,' 'Latino'
Mar 28, 2024
NPR
On the next U.S. census and future federal government forms, the list of checkboxes for a person's race and ethnicity is officially getting longer.
Read More →
Mar 28, 2024
NPR
Mar 28, 2024
Al Jazeera
‘Transformative’: US Census to add Middle Eastern, North African category
Mar 28, 2024
Al Jazeera
Advocates have long said census count has left communities invisible, but say change is only a ‘first step’.
Read More →
Mar 28, 2024
Al Jazeera
Mar 28, 2024
CNN
US government changing how it asks about people’s race and ethnicity
Mar 28, 2024
CNN
The Office of Management and Budget on Thursday announced changes to how the federal government asks about people’s race and ethnicity, including in the US census. Under the new standards, scheduled to publish Friday, the government will collect race and ethnicity information using a single question and will include a new Middle Eastern and North African category as a choice, the Office of Management and Budget said.
Read More →
Mar 28, 2024
CNN
Mar 28, 2024
Washington Post
U.S. updates how it classifies people by race, ethnicity for first time in decades
Mar 28, 2024
Washington Post
The federal government updated how it classifies people by race and ethnicity for the first time in over a quarter-century, aiming to better capture an increasingly diverse country and give policymakers a fuller view of the Americans their work impacts.
Read More →
Mar 28, 2024
Washington Post
Mar 28, 2024
AP
US changes how it categorizes people by race and ethnicity. It’s the first revision in 27 years
Mar 28, 2024
AP
For the first time in 27 years, the U.S. government is changing how it categorizes people by race and ethnicity, an effort that federal officials believe will more accurately count residents who identify as Hispanic and of Middle Eastern and North African heritage.
Read More →
Mar 28, 2024
AP
Oct 2, 2023
NPR
Detroit Evening Report: Census Bureau publishes data on new ‘MENA’ category
Oct 2, 2023
NPR
The U.S. Census Bureau recently published the Detailed Demographic and Housing Characteristics File A (Detailed DHC-A), which included information about people from the Middle East or North Africa (MENA) for the very first time.
Read More →
Oct 2, 2023
NPR
Mar 10, 2023
Washington Post
Census chief prioritizing better count of non-White populations
Mar 10, 2023
Washington Post
Robert Santos, the first person of color to permanently helm the bureau, said he is supportive of changes to the 2030 census that would paint a more multicultural picture of America’s population.
Read More →
Mar 10, 2023
Washington Post
Jan 30, 2023
Washington Post
The White population count could decrease under a new Biden proposal
Jan 30, 2023
Washington Post
“I can’t stress enough how much it will change everything,” said Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute, which has been advocating for Middle Eastern and North African people to have their own ethnic category on the census for more than four decades.
Read More →
Jan 30, 2023
Washington Post
Jan 29, 2023
NBC News
Federal proposal of 'MENA' category long overdue, advocates say
Jan 29, 2023
NBC News
"The thing about data is it sets policies. It's impossible to think of any aspect of life that isn't touched by the way we use census data," said Maya Berry, the executive director of the Arab American Institute. "It decides where trillions of dollars of federal spending goes. It affects the protection of our communities, our political representation — everything."
Read More →
Jan 29, 2023
NBC News
Jan 28, 2023
The New Arab
US takes step toward MENA category in census
Jan 28, 2023
The New Arab
This new development is a long time in the making. The Arab American Institute first partnered with the census in 1990 with community surveys, and in 2015 they tested the MENA category, combining race and ethnicity.
Read More →
Jan 28, 2023
The New Arab
Jan 26, 2023
PBS
Biden administration proposes new race and ethnicity categories for federal surveys
Jan 26, 2023
PBS
A Middle Eastern and North African category could be added to U.S. federal surveys and censuses, and changes could be made to how Hispanics are able to self-identify, under preliminary recommendations released Thursday by the Biden administration in what would be the first update to race and ethnicity standards in a quarter century.
Read More →
Jan 26, 2023
PBS
Jan 26, 2023
NPR
New 'Latino' and 'Middle Eastern or North African' checkboxes proposed for U.S. forms
Jan 26, 2023
NPR
The reforms would also mark a major achievement for advocates for Arab Americans and other MENA groups who have long campaigned for their own checkbox.
Read More →
Jan 26, 2023
NPR
Jan 26, 2023
Al Jazeera
US Census could get MENA category after new recommendations
Jan 26, 2023
Al Jazeera
In preliminary recommendations released on Thursday, a working group of representatives of various government agencies called for adding “a response category for Middle Eastern and North African, separate and distinct from the ‘White’ category” on the Census.
Read More →
Jan 26, 2023
Al Jazeera
Jan 26, 2023
Forbes
Census Changes: Biden Administration Proposes New Categories For Race And Ethnicity
Jan 26, 2023
Forbes
The recommendations were made by a working group of civil servants at the request of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Among the proposals is a reformatted question of individuals’ ethnicity or race that would feature options for “Middle Eastern or North African” (MENA) and “Hispanic or Latino.”
Read More →
Jan 26, 2023
Forbes
Jan 29, 2018
NPR
No Middle Eastern Or North African Category On 2020 Census, Bureau Says
Jan 29, 2018
NPR
There's been a decades-long push for the U.S. Census Bureau to collect more detailed data on people with roots in the Middle East or North Africa, also known as MENA. Advocates of that campaign hit another roadblock Friday, when the Census Bureau announced it is not planning to add a MENA category to the 2020 census.
Read More →
Jan 29, 2018
NPR
Apr 5, 2017
Al Jazeera
US Census 2020: The importance of being counted
Apr 5, 2017
Al Jazeera
AJ’s The Stream hosts discussion on the importance of an accurate Census count with former U.S. Census Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt, AAI Executive Director Maya Berry, Senior Editor and Chief Economics Writer for FiveThirtyEight Ben Casselman, and Latino GLBT History Project President Jose Plaza.
Watch Here →
Apr 5, 2017
Al Jazeera