PeopleGroups Initiative

The Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL Metro Area, is a 4 county area in Central Florida.

With a host of ways to relax and use your vacation, the Greater Orlando area is the perfect place to mix pleasure with ministry and begin engaging the numerous people groups that annually visit and make the Greater Orlando area their home.

Total Population: 2,387,138

(An increase of 11.84 % in the past 5 years.)

Census Data

Foreign Born - 346,552
Language Spoken at Home - 1,981,660

[ Source: American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Foreign Born and Language Spoken at Home]

Quick Facts

Orlando - Most visited US City

Approximately 60 million visitors come to Orlando each year for business and pleasure. Of those guests, 48 million are domestic visitors. Approximately 53% of Orlando’s international visitors are from Western Europe followed by Canada 24%, South America 11% and Asia 4%.

Ethnically, generally mixed in the suburbs, but the ethnic enclaves in West Orange County include Parramore, Oakridge, Pine Hills, Rosemont, S. OBT, South Apopka.

No real Asian enclaves but there are larger numbers of Southeast Asians in East Orlando and many South Asian Indians in Winter Garden and Ocoee.

Every January, thousands of locals and visitors attend the Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts in Eatonville, the nation's oldest incorporated African-American municipality.

Home to a growing population of Hindus, Buddhists, and Muslims along with an increasing number of Hindu Temples, Buddhist Temples, and Islamic Mosques. Click to learn about The Hindu Center of Orlando, The Islamic Center of Orlando, Buddhism in Orlando and the Orlando Chinese Guang Ming Temple.

Profile

The Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford Metro Area is also known as Greater Orlando. The metro area consists of four counties including Orange, Osceola, Lake and Seminole. More than 59 million people visited Orlando in 2013. Disney employs over 70,000 locals plus a host of internationals. The University of Central Florida (UCF) is the 2nd largest university in the nation with nearly 60,000 students, with many coming from other nations. The city is also one of the largest visitor locations in the country. From both at home and abroad, the metro area sees thousands of both short and long term visitors. Over 200,000 local residents work in the hospitality / tourism industry. Approximately 86% of the Orlando Metro population do not have affiliation with any evangelical church, not to mention those who adhere to other religious faiths such as Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism, making the area a prime destination for ministry among the lost both among natives as well as those from another country.

Just northeast of Downtown Orlando, the ViMi district is an expanding enclave of authentic Asian restaurants, shops and markets and is home to one of the largest Vietnamese-American communities in Florida. Vietnamese, Korean, Thai and Chinese restaurants crowd along Colonial Drive and Mills Avenue; and grocery stores, stocked with everything from alternative medicines to exotic produce, cater mostly to Asian customers.

View Enlarged Map of Metro Area

People Group Profiles

Displaying 1-25 of 36 results.

PG Name	Country Of Birth	Affinity Bloc	Primary Religion	Baseline Population Total

Vietnamese	Vietnam	Southeast Asian Peoples	Buddhism	14,078
Hindi	India	South Asian Peoples	Hinduism	12,244
Gujarati (Hindu)	India	South Asian Peoples	Hinduism	6,802
Urdu	Pakistan	South Asian Peoples	Islam	5,396
Arab, Egyptian	Egypt	Arab World	Islam	4,249
Arab, Lebanese (Muslim)	Lebanon	Arab World	Islam - Sunni	2,671
Persian	Iran	Persian-Median	Islam	2,135
Arab, Iraqi	Iraq	Arab World	Islam - Shia	1,503
Bengali	Bangladesh	South Asian Peoples	Islam - Sunni	1,357
Turk	Turkey	Turkic Peoples	Islam - Sunni	200
Colombian	Colombia	Latin-Caribbean Americans	Christianity - Roman Catholic	29,151
Haitian	Haiti	Latin-Caribbean Americans	Christianity	25,881
Cuban	Cuba	Latin-Caribbean Americans	Christianity - Roman Catholic	20,573
Jamaican	Jamaica	North American Peoples	Christianity	19,408
Dominican	Dominican Republic	Latin-Caribbean Americans	Christianity - Other / Marginal	17,717
Brazilian	Brazil	Latin-Caribbean Americans	Christianity - Other / Marginal	11,600
Venezuelan	Venezuela	Latin-Caribbean Americans	Christianity - Roman Catholic	10,389
Guyanese	Guyana	North American Peoples	Christianity	9,984
Chinese, Mandarin	China	East Asian Peoples	Buddhism	7,961
Trinidadian	Trinidad and Tobago	North American Peoples	Christianity	6,507
German	Germany	Eurasian Peoples	Christianity - Orthodox	5,703
Arab, Lebanese (Christian)	Lebanon	Arab World	Christianity - Roman Catholic	4,758
Italian	Italy	Eurasian Peoples	Christianity - Roman Catholic	3,839
Russian	Russia	Eurasian Peoples	Christianity - Orthodox	3,456
Japanese	Japan	East Asian Peoples	Ethnic Religions - Shintoism	3,000

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Ethnic Links

Arab American Community Center of Florida - is a non-profit organization claiming to be dedicated to providing services that meet the community’s economic, social, and cultural needs while at the same time striving to empower Arab Americans so they become healthier, stronger, engaged, and integrated citizens.

Asian American Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida - assists and empowers the Asian American community by providing a leading voice on its behalf to advance the business and economic interests of our members.

Bengali Society of Florida - a networking site for Bengalis in central Florida, plus information concerning the Bangla School based in Orlando.

Orlando Chinese Professional Association - claims to have a threefold purpose: (1) provide personal and professional connection between members and promote professionalism and friendship among members, (2) promote the science and technology exchange programs between United States and China, and (3) advance Chinese culture and positive image of Chinese-Americans.

Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando - propose to (1) strengthen the relationship with Hispanic companies, organizations, professionals, corporations and the numerous cultural and civic entities in Central Florida, (2) promote programs, events, resources and activities aimed at improving the economic development of Hispanics in the region, (3) serve as the gateway for large organizations/national corporations to connect with the Hispanic business community, (3) support other organizations that recognize individual cultures and promote Hispanic integration allowing for the preservation of the Hispanic heritage, and (4) recognize the achievement of Hispanic individuals and companies that have a positive influence in our community

Indian Student Association at UCF - starting with about 10-15 Indian students, the number of students from India and of Indian origin has increased now to number over 1000. They highlight the rich cultural diversity of India and its artistic heritage, with each year the members organizing Diwali and Holi celebrations, cricket matches, movie nights, potluck dinner, and picnics at Lake Charles and performaces at the Live Oak room.

Association of Pakistani Americans of Central Florida - a website that highlights anything from events, projects, videos, etc concerning the Pakistani community within Central Flordia.

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