Among them, there’s a wide range of racial identity. About six-in-ten adults who have a mixed racial background say they do not see themselves as “mixed race or multiracial.” When asked why they don’t identify as multiracial, some say they were raised only as a single race, and others say they physically look like a certain race.
Composition of Multiracial Americans
% of all American adults who are multiracial
6.9%
% of multiracial Americans who are...
Note: Multiracial adults are two or more races (based on backgrounds of self, parents or grandparents). Multiracial subgroups and “some other combination” are non-Hispanic and mutually exclusive. The multiracial Hispanic subgroup includes Hispanics who are also any two or more races. *Multiracial subgroups may not add to 100% because of rounding.
Source: Pew Research Center survey, Feb. 6-April 6, 2015 (n=21,224 sampled adults including 1,555 multiracial adults)
Composition of Multiracial Americans
% of all American adults who are...
Note: Multiracial adults are two or more races (based on backgrounds of self, parents or grandparents). Multiracial subgroups and “some other combination” are non-Hispanic and mutually exclusive. The multiracial Hispanic subgroup includes Hispanics who are also any two or more races. *Multiracial subgroups may not add to 100% because of rounding.
Source: Pew Research Center survey, Feb. 6-April 6, 2015 (n=21,224 sampled adults including 1,555 multiracial adults)
Among all multiracial Americans...
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White and black biracial Americans are three times more likely to say they have a lot in common with people who are black than people who are white. But white and Asian Americans say they have more in common with people who are white than people who are Asian.
Likewise, among multiracial adults, there’s a spectrum of experiences with discrimination. For example, Americans who are white and black or black and American Indian are far more likely to say they have been unfairly stopped by police or have received poor service at a restaurant or other businesses than Americans who are white and Asian or white and American Indian.
But multiracial Americans share some common views. About six-in-ten multiracial Americans say their racial heritage has made them more open to other cultures, and 55% say it has made them more understanding of people of different racial backgrounds. They are also more likely than other Americans to have friends or be married to other multiracial people.
Only a few feel ashamed of their racial background or see it as a liability. In fact, about four times as many say being multiracial has been an advantage rather than a disadvantage in their life; but most say it hasn’t made a difference.