A map of the world’s most and least racially tolerant countries

BIV · May 17, 2013

A fascinating map of the world’s most and least racially tolerant countries

By Max Fisher, Published: May 15, 2013 at 3:28 pmE-mail the writer

When two Swedish economists set out to examine whether economic freedom made people any more or less racist, they knew how they would gauge economic freedom, but they needed to find a way to measure a country’s level of racial tolerance. So they turned to something called the World Values Survey, which has been measuring global attitudes and opinions for decades.

Among the dozens of questions that World Values asks, the Swedish economists found one that, they believe, could be a pretty good indicator of tolerance for other races. The survey asked respondents in more than 80 different countries to identify kinds of people they would not want as neighbors. Some respondents, picking from a list, chose “people of a different race.” The more frequently that people in a given country say they don’t want neighbors from other races, the economists reasoned, the less racially tolerant you could call that society. (The study concluded that economic freedom had no correlation with racial tolerance, but it does appear to correlate with tolerance toward homosexuals.)

Unfortunately, the Swedish economists did not include all of the World Values Survey data in their final research paper. So I went back to the source, compiled the original data and mapped it out on the infographic above. In the bluer countries, fewer people said they would not want neighbors of a different race; in red countries, more people did.

If we treat this data as indicative of racial tolerance, then we might conclude that people in the bluer countries are the least likely to express racist attitudes, while the people in red countries are the most likely.

Update: Compare the results to this map of the world’s most and least diverse countries.

Before we dive into the data, a couple of caveats. First, it’s entirely likely that some people lied when answering this question; it would be surprising if they hadn’t. But the operative question, unanswerable, is whether people in certain countries were more or less likely to answer the question honestly. For example, while the data suggest that Swedes are more racially tolerant than Finns, it’s possible that the two groups are equally tolerant but that Finns are just more honest. The willingness to state such a preference out loud, though, might be an indicator of racial attitudes in itself. Second, the survey is not conducted every year; some of the results are very recent and some are several years old, so we’re assuming the results are static, which might not be the case.

Here’s what the data show:

• Anglo and Latin countries most tolerant. People in the survey were most likely to embrace a racially diverse neighbor in the United Kingdom and its Anglo former colonies (the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) and in Latin America. The only real exceptions were oil-rich Venezuela, where income inequality sometimes breaks along racial lines, and the Dominican Republic, perhaps because of its adjacency to troubled Haiti. Scandinavian countries also scored high.

• India, Jordan, Bangladesh and Hong Kong by far the least tolerant. In only three of 81 surveyed countries, more than 40 percent of respondents said they would not want a neighbor of a different race. This included 43.5 percent of Indians, 51.4 percent of Jordanians and an astonishingly high 71.8 percent of Hong Kongers and 71.7 percent of Bangladeshis.

• Wide, interesting variation across Europe. Immigration and national identity are big, touchy issues in much of Europe, where racial make-ups are changing. Though you might expect the richer, better-educated Western European nations to be more tolerant than those in Eastern Europe, that’s not exactly the case. France appeared to be one of the least racially tolerant countries on the continent, with 22.7 percent saying they didn’t want a neighbor of another race. Former Soviet states such as Belarus and Latvia scored as more tolerant than much of Europe. Many in the Balkans, perhaps after years of ethnicity-tinged wars, expressed lower racial tolerance.

• The Middle East not so tolerant. Immigration is also a big issue in this region, particularly in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, which often absorb economic migrants from poorer neighbors.

• Racial tolerance low in diverse Asian countries. Nations such as Indonesia and the Philippines, where many racial groups often jockey for influence and have complicated histories with one another, showed more skepticism of diversity. This was also true, to a lesser extent, in China and Kyrgyzstan. There were similar trends in parts of sub-Saharan Africa.

• South Korea, not very tolerant, is an outlier. Although the country is rich, well-educated, peaceful and ethnically homogenous – all trends that appear to coincide with racial tolerance – more than one in three South Koreans said they do not want a neighbor of a different race. This may have to do with Korea’s particular view of its own racial-national identity as unique – studied by scholars such as B.R. Myers – and with the influx of Southeast Asian neighbors and the nation’s long-held tensions with Japan.

• Pakistan, remarkably tolerant, also an outlier. Although the country has a number of factors that coincide with racial intolerance – sectarian violence, its location in the least-tolerant region of the world, low economic and human development indices – only 6.5 percent of Pakistanis objected to a neighbor of a different race. This would appear to suggest Pakistanis are more racially tolerant than even the Germans or the Dutch.

Update: I’ve heard some version of one question from an overwhelming number of readers: “I’ve met lots of Indians and Americans and found the former more racially tolerant than the latter. How can these results possibly be correct?” I’d suggest three possible explanations for this, some combination of which may or may not be true. First, both India and the U.S. are enormous countries; anecdotal interactions are not representative of the whole, particularly given that people who are wealthy enough to travel internationally may be likely to encounter some subsets of these respective populations more than others.

Second, the survey question gets to internal, personal preferences; what the respondents want. One person’s experiences hanging out with Americans or Indians, in addition to being anecdotal, only tell you about their outward behavior. Both of those ways of observing racial attitudes might suggest something about racial tolerance, but they’re different indicators that measure different things, which could help explain how one might contradict the other.

Third, the survey question is a way of judging racial tolerance but, like many social science metrics, is indirect and imperfect. I cited the hypothetical about Swedes and Finns at the top of this post, noting that perhaps some people are just more honest about their racial tolerance than others. It’s entirely possible that we’re seeing some version of this effect in the U.S.-India comparison; maybe, for example, Americans are conditioned by their education and media to keep these sorts of racial preferences private, i.e. to lie about them on surveys, in a way that Indians might not be. That difference would be interesting in itself, but alas there is no survey question for honesty.
Click to expand...

Mags · May 17, 2013

Shocking.

NuttyJim · May 17, 2013

I know where I'm moving to once I win Powerball!

Psychopath · May 17, 2013

The rude French stereotype still holds true.

stevethrower · May 17, 2013

Psychopath said: ↑

The rude French stereotype still holds true.
Click to expand...

Don't forget the filthiness of their cities/people, being surrender monkeys and racial intolerance...

Guilty Spark · May 17, 2013

Fascinating stuff, thanks

BIV · May 17, 2013

tattered · May 17, 2013

They never asked me. I aint living next to no fucking ni.....

gorram · May 17, 2013

tattered said: ↑

They never asked me. I aint living next to no fucking ni.....
Click to expand...

Nigerian?

Stig Helmer · May 17, 2013

The question is not specific enough. I bet results would vary if you were asked more specific about the three major races, or even ethnic lines. As the question is now one race you would like to see as neighbour gets bungled in with some you would not.

Very few white europeans would like to have a somali or a gypsy as neighbour but wouldn't mind a korean or chinese.

It also doesn't account for wealth. If you are wealthy then it probably doesn't matter what race your neighbour is because they have acted responsibly in life since they can afford the same house or the same rent. If you are a in a lower class race and ethnicity and their behaviour show themselves more. I also believe that some countries score low on this because they already are ethnicaly segregated for the most part when it comes to where they live. They say one thing to feel better about themselves but act another.

tattered · May 17, 2013

show_reference said: ↑

Nigerian?
Click to expand...

Thats one of em

Atomic Fireball · May 17, 2013

tattered said: ↑

They never asked me. I aint living next to no fucking ni.....
Click to expand...

He said "The neighbor is near"

Woo-hoo! Go East coast!

tattered · May 17, 2013

Atomic Fireball said: ↑

He said "The neighbor is near"

Woo-hoo! Go East coast!
Click to expand...

Yay where im at is deep red

JoeyDVDZ · May 17, 2013

tattered said: ↑

They never asked me. I aint living next to no fucking ni.....
Click to expand...

Nickelback loving nice people from niagra falls, the Canada side of course.

Atomic Fireball · May 17, 2013

tattered said: ↑

Yay where im at is deep red
Click to expand...

I'm having a hard time lighting up Los angeles - c'mon people, be tweetin'

jnoble · May 17, 2013

if you zoom in, does a specific house on Long Island stand out as more red than the others?

Party Rooster · May 17, 2013

BIV said: ↑

Click to expand...

What's the record number of likes on one of THP's posts? We may have a contender here.

SatansCheerledr · May 17, 2013

I don't believe Japanese are really that tolerant for a second.

d0uche_n0zzle · May 17, 2013

SatansCheerledr said: ↑

I don't believe Japanese are really that tolerant for a second.
Click to expand...

My experience has been they are the most racist out of the Asians. No wonder they embraced the Axis during WWII.

Buster H · May 17, 2013

oandapartycock said: ↑

What's the record number of likes on one of THP's posts? We may have a contender here.
Click to expand...

I know my post outing HHD was up around 20-25 likes

Edit: just looked it up. 38!!!!
https://www.wackbag.com/threads/the...-and-the-epic-failure-of-a-dolt.148146/page-6

fletcher · May 17, 2013

oandapartycock said: ↑

What's the record number of likes on one of THP's posts? We may have a contender here.
Click to expand...

The fact that he picked black for the color of Wackbaggia might keep some people away.

BIV · May 17, 2013

Buster H said: ↑

I know my post outing HHD was up around 20-25 likes

Edit: just looked it up. 38!!!!
https://www.wackbag.com/threads/the...-and-the-epic-failure-of-a-dolt.148146/page-6

Click to expand...

*shakes a tiny fist*

BIV · May 17, 2013

fletcher said: ↑

The fact that he picked black for the color of Wackbaggia might keep some people away.
Click to expand...

It's actually the darkest red I could find on Google. So we're all good.

Sure looks black after I .jpg-ized it though.

Party Rooster · May 17, 2013

Buster H said: ↑

I know my post outing HHD was up around 20-25 likes

Edit: just looked it up. 38!!!!
https://www.wackbag.com/threads/the...-and-the-epic-failure-of-a-dolt.148146/page-6

Click to expand...

BRB. Going to unlike that post now...

tattered · May 17, 2013

oandapartycock said: ↑

BRB. Going to unlike that post now...
Click to expand...

Thats just mean man

A map of the world’s most and least racially tolerant countries

BIV I'm Biv Dick Black, the Over Poster.

Mags Edgelord
Donator

NuttyJim Registered User

Psychopath Plata O Plomo

stevethrower Got Sig?

Guilty Spark It's freeing and refreshing

BIV I'm Biv Dick Black, the Over Poster.

tattered Uber-Aryan
Wackbag Staff

gorram ;)

Stig Helmer Registered User

tattered Uber-Aryan
Wackbag Staff

Atomic Fireball Well-Known Member
Donator

tattered Uber-Aryan
Wackbag Staff

JoeyDVDZ That's MR. MOJO, Motherfucker!

Atomic Fireball Well-Known Member
Donator

jnoble Lingering longer for a longering linger

Party Rooster Unleash The Beast

SatansCheerledr Ideologically Unsound

d0uche_n0zzle Negative_Creep

Buster H Alt-F4
Wackbag Staff

fletcher Darkness always says hello.
Donator

BIV I'm Biv Dick Black, the Over Poster.

BIV I'm Biv Dick Black, the Over Poster.

Party Rooster Unleash The Beast

tattered Uber-Aryan
Wackbag Staff

Share This Page

A map of the world’s most and least racially tolerant countries

BIV I'm Biv Dick Black, the Over Poster.

Mags Edgelord Donator

NuttyJim Registered User

Psychopath Plata O Plomo

stevethrower Got Sig?

Guilty Spark It's freeing and refreshing

BIV I'm Biv Dick Black, the Over Poster.

tattered Uber-Aryan Wackbag Staff

gorram ;)

Stig Helmer Registered User

tattered Uber-Aryan Wackbag Staff

Atomic Fireball Well-Known Member Donator

tattered Uber-Aryan Wackbag Staff

JoeyDVDZ That's MR. MOJO, Motherfucker!

Atomic Fireball Well-Known Member Donator

jnoble Lingering longer for a longering linger

Party Rooster Unleash The Beast

SatansCheerledr Ideologically Unsound

d0uche_n0zzle **Negative_Creep**

Buster H Alt-F4 Wackbag Staff

fletcher Darkness always says hello. Donator

BIV I'm Biv Dick Black, the Over Poster.

BIV I'm Biv Dick Black, the Over Poster.

Party Rooster Unleash The Beast

tattered Uber-Aryan Wackbag Staff

Share This Page

Mags Edgelord
Donator

tattered Uber-Aryan
Wackbag Staff

tattered Uber-Aryan
Wackbag Staff

Atomic Fireball Well-Known Member
Donator

tattered Uber-Aryan
Wackbag Staff

Atomic Fireball Well-Known Member
Donator

d0uche_n0zzle Negative_Creep

Buster H Alt-F4
Wackbag Staff

fletcher Darkness always says hello.
Donator

tattered Uber-Aryan
Wackbag Staff