Since a landmark 1898 Supreme Court decision<\/a>, courts have generally held<\/a> that the 14th Amendment covers everyone except children of foreign diplomats, members of occupying foreign forces or members of Native American tribes. Congress extended birthright citizenship to Native Americans by statute in 1924.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This Pew Research Center analysis looks at birthright citizenship laws around the world. It comes as the U.S. Supreme Court considers a case<\/a> challenging the historic interpretation of the 14th Amendment\u2019s citizenship clause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pew Research Center works to help the public, media and decision-makers understand important topics. This analysis builds on our previous work on immigration and migration<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We relied on a dataset of nations\u2019 citizenship laws compiled by the Global Citizenship Observatory<\/a>, a research project at the European University Institute\u2019s Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies. Specifically, we analyzed the GCO\u2019s categorization and typology of laws relating to how citizenship can be acquired in 191 countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We focused on two specific modes of acquiring citizenship: birth in a given country, and birth in a given country across two generations. These were the modes most congruent with what in the U.S. is commonly called \u201cbirthright citizenship.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Within those modes, we looked at specific provisions in national laws and constitutions, especially limitations based on residency status, gender and membership in particular groups (racial, ethnic or religious). In a few cases where we needed additional information, we directly examined constitutional or legal texts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s worth noting that laws in two countries, Bangladesh and Tanzania, appear to allow for U.S.-style birthright citizenship. However, the GCO\u2019s researchers have found that in practice, both countries require at least one parent to be a citizen for a child to be granted citizenship. Accordingly, we excluded both countries from our count of birthright-citizenship countries.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n Thirty-two other countries around the world, most of them in the Western Hemisphere, have birthright citizenship laws that are substantially similar to the U.S., according to a Pew Research Center analysis. Another 50 or so countries have more limited variations of birthright citizenship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This analysis examines the many ways that countries decide who is and isn\u2019t a citizen and who can and can\u2019t become one. It\u2019s based on a dataset of national citizenship laws compiled by the Global Citizenship Observatory<\/a>, a research project at the European University Institute\u2019s Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many countries have more than one way of acquiring citizenship, or different rules for different groups, so the categories discussed below can and sometimes do overlap.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAbout this research<\/summary>\n
Why did we do this?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
How did we do this?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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