Racial or ethnic profiling is the act of suspecting, targeting or discriminating against a person on the basis of their ethnicity or religion, rather than on individual suspicion. Racial profiling often involves discrimination against minority population and is based on any negative stereotypes of the targeted demographic. Racial profiling, however, is not limited only to an individual's ethnicity, race or religion and can also be based on the individual's nationality. In European countries, the term "ethnic profiling" is also used instead of racial profiling.