The shocking statistics were revealed to promote trans awareness.

Nearly twice as many Americans claim to seen a ghost than a trans person, according to statistics released by a trans activist.

18% of people across the USA claim they have been in the presence of or have seen a ghost, according to according to a 2009 survey.

However, only 9% of US adults claim to have met a trans person, with just 24% saying they did not know what the word ‘transgender’ meant.

A further 5% said they had never even heard the term before, according to a Public Religion Research Institute survey from 2013.

The shocking statistics were highlighted by trans activist Faye Seidler, who hopes to encourage more trans people to come out and speak openly about what it is to be trans – but only if it is safe to do so.

Ms Seidler says that after she came out as trans, she was repeatedly misgendered and discriminated against the hospital she worked.

Following her transition, she says she felt she was left with no choice but to leave her job.

She says her experiences led her to work to fight for employment and social rights for trans people across the country.

“As a trans leader, offering education and outreach for my community, I’m not afraid to fight,” she said in a recent profile in the New York Times.

“And most importantly, that I will never give up the fight to be treated human.”

The statistics come shortly after Trans Day of Remembrance, on which the world commemorated the 271 trans people reported murdered in the past year.

The murders took place between 1 October 2014 and 30 September 2015.

Most note that the list is almost definitely longer, but many homicides against trans people go unreported.

The number of those killed has gone up from last year’s report which showed that 226 trans people were murdered.

TDoR is held to remember people who have died as a result of their actual or perceived transgender identity.