Naturally, the most multicultural countries in the world are those countries with the highest percentage of foreign-born population.
The latest refugee crisis caused by the Syrian Civil War has seen more than 4.8 million people fled their country, seeking shelter from the war. The refugees have overwhelmed Turkey and Europe, causing one of the greatest humanitarian crisis in the last few decades. At the same time, a large number of Afghani and Iraqi migrants are also on the move, trying to secure asylums in EU countries. The public reaction so far has been mostly negative, citing various concerns ranging from terrorist infiltrating countries masked as refugees to the ability of host countries to accommodate such large numbers of emigrants. Considering the numbers that are flooding into Europe alone, those concerns do seem valid. In 2015 alone, there were more than 1.3 million asylum claims in EU countries, a majority of them coming from Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
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All this can seriously test European commitment to human rights and multiculturalism and endanger open borders agreements member countries share. A seemingly unending stream of migrants has already caused one country to exit the union. The main argument that Brexit proponents used in their campaign was fear of migrants, which they used relentlessly in order to mobilize their voters. Evidently, the tactic worked and Brexit vote has passed.
French presidential candidate and the leader of far-right National Front Marine Le Pen is using similar techniques in her campaign. Her xenophobic rhetoric has pushed her into the second round of the election, facing a centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron. At the moment, polls suggest that she doesn’t stand a chance of winning, with just 36% of voters supporting her, opposed to 67% supporting Macron. Still, the mere fact that she managed to pass into the second round is eerily reminiscent of last year’s US elections, where Hillary Clinton was seen as a sure pick for the 45th President of the United States. Yet, the exact same rhetoric that is being used by Le Pen secured a win for Donald Trump.
Among all the clashes over the future of the Western world, many seem to forget the simple fact that many of the countries fighting tooth and nail to prevent migrants from coming over owe a lot to foreigners that choose to build a life for themselves and their families away from their respective home countries. It does appear cynical that the United States, a nation of immigrants, is barring the latest generation of refugees from entering the country. America isn’t alone in this. Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are also in the same boat, being countries that are founded by white settlers, much to the detriment of the native population. According to the OECD data, many of the most multicultural countries in the world are also among the Richest Countries in the World by GDP Per Capita. Migrants, refugees included, are responsible for a significant part of that success. Their capitals are some of the Most Ethnically Diverse Cities in the World, a fact that, among other things, makes them huge tourists attractions, further increasing their wealth. All this begs the question, at what point do we draw a line and say no more and do we have a moral right of even thinking about drawing it? Now, let’s see the list of most multicultural countries in the world.
