West Indian Americans or Caribbean Americans are Americans who can trace their ancestry to the Caribbean. About 2,532,380 Americans— 0.83% of the total population—reported Caribbean ancestry in 2008.The Caribbean is the source of the U.S.’ earliest and largest Black immigrant group and the primary source of growth of the Black population in the U.S. The region has exported more of its people than any other region of the world since the abolition of slavery in 1834.