Immigration & Language Adoption

U.S.-born Latinos mostly get their news in English and prefer it in English, while immigrant Latinos have much more varied habits.

Across more than 20 countries surveyed, a median of 91% say being able to speak their country’s most common language is important for being considered a true national. And 81% say sharing their country’s customs and traditions is important for true belonging.

Most U.S. Latinos speak Spanish: 75% say they are able to carry on a conversation in Spanish pretty well or very well. But not all Latinos are Spanish speakers, and about half (54%) of non-Spanish-speaking Latinos have been shamed by other Latinos for not speaking Spanish.

The number of people ages 5 and older who speak Arabic at home in the U.S. has risen from 215,000 in 1980 to 1.4 million in 2021.

Across 49 focus groups with Asian immigrants, daily challenges related to speaking English emerged as a common theme. Participants also shared frustration, stress and at times sadness in dealing with cultural and language barriers, and described support they received from others.

Pew Research Center’s political typology sorts Americans into cohesive, like-minded groups based on their values, beliefs, and views about politics and the political system. Use this tool to compare the groups on some key topics and their demographics.

In some EU nations, sizable minorities speak something other than their country's national language in their household.

Recently arrived immigrants have markedly different education, income and other characteristics from those who have been in the U.S. for longer.

There were a record 44.4 million immigrants living in the U.S. in 2017, making up 13.6% of the nation’s population.

In 2016, a third of unauthorized immigrant adults were proficient in English – up from a quarter in 2007.