For decades, immigrants from Cuba have held a uniquely preferential position in U.S. immigration law, owing to Cold War-era tensions between the two rivals. Cubans have been among the top ten immigrant populations in the United States since 1970, and in 2016 were the seventh largest group. Nearly 1.3 million Cubans lived in the United States in 2016, accounting for roughly 3 percent of the approximately 44 million immigrants overall.

The United States is home to the largest number of Cubans abroad. Other popular destinations include Spain (125,000), Italy (33,000), Mexico (18,000), Germany and Canada (15,000 each), and Puerto Rico (13,000), according to mid-2015 estimates by the United Nations Population Division.

Within the United States, the Cuban population is very highly concentrated, with 78 percent living in Florida in 2011-15. The next two top states of residence were New Jersey and California, accounting for just 4 percent and 3 percent of Cuban immigrants, respectively.

Read the full article by Jeanne Batalova and Jie Zong about Cuban Immigration from Migration Policy Institute