Nationality is your legal membership in a particular country. When someone asks your nationality, they're asking which country you're a citizen of. Someone with Mexican citizenship has Mexican nationality. Someone with Japanese citizenship has Japanese nationality. Your nationality usually determines which passport you carry and which country's government protects your rights when you travel.

Most people get their nationality from the country where they're born, but the rules vary. In the United States, almost everyone born on American soil becomes an American citizen. Some countries, like Ireland or Italy, also grant nationality based on ancestry: if your parents or grandparents were Irish or Italian citizens, you might be able to claim that nationality even if you've never lived there.

People can change their nationality through a process called naturalization. When someone moves to a new country and meets certain requirements (like living there for several years and learning the language), they can apply to become a citizen of that country. Some countries allow dual nationality, meaning you can be a citizen of two countries at once, while others require you to give up your original nationality when you become a citizen somewhere new.

Nationality is different from ethnicity, which describes your cultural background and heritage. Someone might have American nationality but Chinese ethnicity, meaning they're a U.S. citizen whose family came from China.