Grouping of people who identified as originating from Brazil

USA
1

I am attempting to look at physicians in the US by Hispanic origin and see that some countries in South America (i.e.: Brazil, Guyana and Suriname) are not present. I understand that these countries may not be considered Hispanic, but I was unable to find them in the general race groups as well. Where are these countries being grouped? How are people originating from this country being grouped racially?

2

The HISPAN variable does not identify Brazil, Guyana, or Suriname. For more detail about how the HISPAN variable is defined over the years, see the HISPAN comparability tab. The best way to identify individuals with origins from Brazil, Guyana, or Suriname is by using the birthplace variable (BPL) or the ANCESTR1/ANCESTR2 variables. In the BPL variable, Brazil is identified by code==30015 and Guyana is identified by code==30040. Suriname is not identified in BPL since 1990. In the ancestry variables, Brazil is identified by code==3600 and Guyana and Suriname are identified together by code==3700. Note that the ancestry variables do not require that the individual be born in these countries, but only that they derive ancestry from these countries.

3

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for your response. How are these groups being categorized racially? The race variables are by “origin”- and by origin we see that we are using nationality as an indicator (i.e.: Japan = Asian race, Spain = white race, etc.) I do
not see Brazil, Guyana or Suriname at all in the RACED code. Where would they fall racially? Are they in the “Other” category? If I use the BPL variable instead of the RACED or HISPAND variables, how do you recommend I group these ancestry variables into
race groups?

Please let me know if this is clear, or if you’d like me to further expand on my question.

Thanks!

Natalie

4

The race, birthplace, and ancestry variables are each derived from different questions on the Census/ACS questionnaire. Also, note that self-identified race, birthplace, and ancestry are all related but importantly distinct concepts. Therefore, you could cross-tabulate the birthplace/ancestry and RACED variables to see where individuals with specific birthplaces or ancestries identify in the general or detailed RACE categories. In the general codes of the RACE variable, it seems likely that most individuals with Brazil, Guyana, or Suriname origins will fall under RACE==7 “other race, nec.” I may be misunderstanding what you are trying to do, so if you want to follow up with more details please email ipums@umn.edu.