Washington, July 22 - America's capital city has become home to the nation's fifth largest South Asian population with ethnic restaurants, salons, perfumeries and numerous houses of worship, according to a new survey.

Even as Washington, DC's total population decreased by 5.7 percent between 1990 and 2000, the overall immigrant population actually increased by 25 percent, with the Asian population demonstrating a 42 percent growth.

In fact, 2007 census data reveals that the Asian American population in DC has increased by nearly 25 percent since the year 2000, according to the survey by the South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) and the Asian Pacific American Legal Resources Centre (APALRC).

Within the Asian community in Washington, DC, the largest groups are the Chinese and Indian populations (at 4,767 and 4,277, respectively).

The survey based on 200 respondents found that the largest South Asian group living or working in Washington, DC is of Indian descent, followed by those of Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Nepali, and Sri Lankan descent.

Almost all of the respondents work in Washington, DC. The majority of respondents reside in Virginia, while more than one-third lives in DC, while the rest resides in Maryland.

More than half of the respondents are US citizens by birth or naturalisation.