National and Cultural Identity

More than half of foreign-born Latinos describe themselves using the name of their origin country, versus 39% among U.S.-born adult children of immigrants.

Debates over who is Hispanic have fueled conversations about identity among Americans who trace their heritage to Latin America or Spain.

Here are some key facts for Hispanic Heritage Month about the United States' Latino population by age, geography and origin groups.

One-quarter of United States lawmakers mentioned the term on Facebook or Twitter during the 116th Congress.

Some 6.2 million U.S. adults – or 2.4% of the country’s adult population – report being two or more races.

The term Latinx has emerged in recent years as a gender-neutral alternative to the pan-ethnic terms Latino, Latina and Hispanic. However, awareness of Latinx is relatively low among the population it is meant to describe.

About half of U.S. Hispanics said in our December 2019 survey that they had serious concerns about their place in the country.

The outbreak has altered life in the U.S. in many ways, but in key respects it has affected black and Hispanic Americans more than others.

Sizable shares say men have more opportunities for high-paying jobs and that men should have preferential treatment when jobs are scarce.

Racial categories, which have been on every U.S. census, have changed from decade to decade, reflecting the politics and science of the times.