We offer the medium to reach an affluent and growing segment of the U.S. population. The Arab American population represents a loyal, young, educated market segment. The majority is American citizens who hold executive or sales positions or are entrepreneurs.

Arab Americans trace their roots to 22 countries in Africa and Asia that share a common language and heritage. There are of many religions. The majority of Arab Americans are Christian -- Eastern Orthodox (e.g., Greek Catholic, Maronite, Coptic, Assyrian, and Chaldean), Roman Catholic, and Protestant, but Muslims are the fastest growing segment of the community. The majority of Arab Americans are native-born Americans, and 82 percent are U.S. citizens.

The first large wave to the United States began in the 1880s and continued into the early 20th century. The second wave began after World War II and has continued to the present. The population in 2000 has been estimated at anywhere from 3 - 4 million. The Arab American Institute (AAI) believes there are about 4 million Arab Americans.

AAI explains that they were undercounted in the 1990 Census, as were many other ethnic, minority, and immigrant populations. Arab heritage is an ethnicity, but there is no separate ethnic question for Arabs on the Census. Arabs (like Hispanics) are not counted separately in the race either, so their representation is lost. The long form of the Census includes an ancestry question, but 2000 data are not yet available.

AAI data indicate that "most Arab Americans are of Lebanese or Syrian origin, but the population of Egyptian, Palestinian, and Iraqi Americans has been growing steadily." According to 1990 Census data, the population is relatively concentrated: in 1990, two-thirds (66%) lived in ten states, while the remaining one-third (33%) inhabited California, New York, and Michigan. About half (48%) lived in just 20 metropolitan areas; as of 1990 the top six were Los Angeles, Detroit, New York, Northeastern New Jersey, Chicago, and Washington, DC.