The 10 least racist countries in Asia demonstrate that racial equality and tolerance are still alive in a world that seems to be getting darker every day. Racism has been a hot topic on a global scale, since time immemorial. The United States has seen slavery and race issues divide the country, as in the civil war, which took place in the early 1900s, though it took until the 1960s for the country to ostensibly recognize black people as equal to the whites.
However, this does not mean that the picture is perfect right now. Even now, racism is still a major issue in the country, with black people much more likely to be apprehended than a white person. A white man’s chances of being imprisoned is 1 in 7 and a black man’s chances is 1 in 3. Furthermore, as everyone is aware of the police shootings against black citizens which have triggered massive outrage and protests throughout the country. All of this has happened despite the fact that the nation elected its first black President in history, Barack Obama who served for 8 years.
When such incidents could occur freely while he was the leader, it is not surprising to find out that they these events have actually increased in number in the short time that Donald Trump has been in charge. After Trump had won the election, an election for which he used racism as a key tool in his campaign, racist incidents started to spike, with over 200 being reported in the first week after he was elected. Considering the way things are going ever since Trump became President, I fear that the rate of such incidents will keep on increasingly sharply.
However, this doesn’t mean that the rest of the world is quite pure in its ways. Take South Africa for example, which enforced the apartheid era, for nearly half a century, ensuring systematic segregation between the black and the white population of the country. And again, while it has been around 25 years since apartheid was abolished, racism still exists in the country.
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On the other hand, some countries are more xenophobic than racist. The thing is, many people often confuse the two words to mean the same thing, which ends up with them considering racist countries as xenophobic and vice versa. However, there is a clear distinction between the two. A xenophobic country is one where the citizens and the government are afraid or hostile towards people who are from a foreign country. A racist country is one where the citizens and the government are afraid or hostile towards people who belong to a different race. Just to hammer this point home, a person who is against blacks is racist while a person who is against people from South Africa is a xenophobe.
It turns out that Asians can be pretty racist as well, with some countries such as India, being considered one of the least racially tolerant countries in the world. However, since the continent is host to a variety of countries, there are many which are not racist as well. To determine these countries, we consulted the World Values Survey Report, which contains data up to 2014. The report asks respondents from nearly 60 countries regarding dozens of different questions. One of the questions asked was ‘On this list are various groups of people. Could you please mention any that you would not like to have as neighbors?’ Among the options included for selection was ‘People of a different race’. The participants were then told to select the options presented and the results were tabulated according to the percentage of people who selected ‘People of a different race.’ It is important to note that only a few thousand people were asked the question from each country, so the results may be skewed or an inaccurate reflection of the true preferences of these countries. We filtered the countries which are in Asia, and thus, came up with the least racist countries in Asia. If you prefer a global perspective, you can learn more by visiting the 13 Least Racist Countries in the World.
Now let’s finally see which countries are the least racist countries in Asia!
10. Hong Kong
Percentage of people who did not want people of a different race as neighbors: 18.8%
We are continuing our list of least racist countries in Asia with Hong Kong that suffered from silent racist abuse in the 1990s and even the early 2000s, where the overwhelming Chinese majority meted out abuse to people of color, though for some reason, whites were given God-like status. However, it took the death of an Indian due to the hospital’s negligent approach in providing care, which resulted in the movement against racism growing. This, in turn, led to the enactment of legislation providing protection to minorities in 2003, which has perhaps been one of the catalysts of change, and a reason why racism in Hong Kong has decreased over the years.
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9. Russia
Percentage of people who did not want people of a different race as neighbors: 17.2%
To be honest, I was surprised to discover that Russians are very tolerant of people of other races, and is one of the reasons why I wonder whether the sample population in the survey is representative of the entire population. As an avid fan of football, I have seen too many disturbing incidents of black footballers suffering horrible verbal abuse from fans of Russian clubs, which has often led to bans and fines for the club in charge, to little success. In fact, over 100 incidents have taken place during the course of 2 seasons, which is especially alarming considering Russia is set to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup. I used football as an example, because evidence shows that the likelihood of a minority being attacked is much higher when there is a football match to be played, as the game evokes passion, and that can result in unpleasant instances. However, it is sad to note that the government has done little to nothing to crack down against the racists, which is why the practice is set to continue.
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8. Pakistan
Percentage of people who did not want people of a different race as neighbors: 15.7%
Perhaps the reason why Pakistan is so tolerant of other races is that many Pakistanis have faced discrimination in one form or another. Due to the terrorist activities which have destroyed the progress of the country and alienated it to most of the world, most people do not consider Pakistanis to be trustworthy or reliable, which has resulted in the citizens facing discrimination on three fronts; the color of their skin, their country, and their religion. Furthermore, people of various ethnicity and backgrounds reside in the country, which is why most Pakistanis are simply used to such situations and do not consider them threatening or negative.
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7. Uzbekistan
Percentage of people who did not want people of a different race as neighbors: 14%
Like Pakistan, the reason Uzbekistan is one of the least racist countries in Asia is due to the fact that it has citizens of various ethnic groups, which number around 120! When you spend your entire life, and even generations, around people of different races, it is much easier to accept that as one of you. Furthermore, it was unlikely that the minorities, mostly comprising of Russians and Tajiks, reported complaints regarding racial discrimination.
6. Singapore
Percentage of people who did not want people of a different race as neighbors: 12.6%
Singapore is another country on our list of least racist countries in Asia whose recent surge in wealth and population is mainly due to people of different nationalities and different backgrounds coming together to make it an important financial hub and one of the most important ports in the world. Of course, that doesn’t mean the country is squeaky clean when it comes to racist incidents, and discrimination based on race can occur often.
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5. Kazakhstan
Percentage of people who did not want people of a different race as neighbors: 11.2%
While most people from Kazakhstan, the next in line on the list of least racist countries in Asia stated it would not be an issue for them if their neighbor belonged to a different race, controversy emerged when a footballer for a national club, Mickael Antoine-Curier, stated that he suffered from blatant racism, a claim which was refuted by the coach of the club, who pointed to Kazakhstan’s history of hosting people from different colors in peace and harmony to support his statement.
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4. China
Percentage of people who did not want people of a different race as neighbors: 10.5%
Nearly 90% of the people in China that ranked 4th on our list of least racist countries in Asia stated that they were not against a neighbor of a different color, but perhaps most of them have never had to deal with a person of a different color, since Chinese make up the overwhelming majority in the country. The truth is, that racism is still present in the country, especially because lighter skin is considered a positive trait in the country.
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3. Qatar
Percentage of people who did not want people of a different race as neighbors: 8.8%
I would agree that Qatar is not racist, as it is more likely xenophobic, considering how it treats workers from third world countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and India, for whom generally only menial jobs are available in addition to a lack of opportunity.
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2. Taiwan
Percentage of people who did not want people of a different race as neighbors: 8.4%
Most Taiwanese also believe that racism is a minor problem, if it exists at all. The truth is that racism does exist and a viral video of racism against a British man proved that point. Let’s see the number one on our list of least racist countries in Asia.
1. New Zealand
Percentage of people who did not want people of a different race as neighbors: 2.9%
We know there is a debate on whether or not New Zealand is in Asia, but we’ve decided to include since it is officially part of the Asia-Pacific. While New Zealand still hosts some racist people, the vast majority of the country is open to people of other races, which is why it tops the list of the 10 least racist countries in Asia.
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