The term used to refer to people who share common cultural characteristics is called

The term used to refer to people who share common cultural characteristics is called an ethnic group.

An ethnic group is constituted by a group of people who share a common cultural background together with a sense of identity. It is usually an inherited status based on the society where each person lives. Therefore a society is a wider social aggregate which may contain several ethnicities, as they can be formed by groups with different cultural backgrounds who coexist.