npr:

The youngest generation in the U.S. is entering adulthood as the country’s most racially and ethnically diverse generation and is on its way to becoming the best educated generation yet, according to a Pew Research Center report released Thursday.

While there is no agreement so far on what to call these young people born after 1996 — some say Generation Z, others iGen — researchers say there are demographic trends that separate them from millennials, who were once also heralded for their broad racial and ethnic makeup.

The researchers analyzed post-millennials who are currently between the ages of 6 and 21. They found nearly half — 48 percent — are from communities of color.

A “bare majority,” the report notes, of 52 percent are non-Hispanic white, compared to 61 percent of millennials in 2002 when they were in the same age range.

“There’s much more Hispanic and Asian presence among the nation’s children and youth today,” says Richard Fry, a senior research at Pew who co-authored the report with Kim Parker.

They were part of a team that analyzed data from the Census Bureau to produce Pew’s first-ever report focused on the post-millennial generation.

Generation Z Is The Most Racially And Ethnically Diverse Yet

Image: Hansi Lo Wang/NPR