The 50th anniversary of the Loving v. Virginia case is soon approaching. The case struck down bans on interracial marriage, and continues to resonate today. With that in mind, I was curious to see any data on interracial marriages: Has the number gone up? Has societal disapproval gone down?

Let’s take a look:

Who’s Marrying Out?

• In 1970, less than 1% of all married couples were interracial.
• In 1980, 6%+ of newlyweds were interracial, and only 3% of all marriages were interracial.
• In 2013, 12% of newlyweds (a record high) married someone of a different race, and 6.3% of all marriages were interracial.

Who’s Down with Marrying Out?

• In 1986, only 30% of survey respondents felt interracial marriage is acceptable for everyone. But that same percentage of respondents did not feel interracial marriage was acceptable for anyone.
• In 2009, 83% of survey respondents were accepting of interracial marriage.
• In 2012, 93% of people approve of interracial marriage.

And let’s end on one more noteworthy statistic that warms my heart and gives me hope for the future:

“More than four-in-ten Americans (43%) say that more people of different races marrying each other has been a change for the better in our society.”