The least racist countries in the world are setting a good example for the world to follow. Racism is one of the curses of the society that is still prevalent in some parts of the world even when we have achieved great heights in every field of modernism. Some countries are still crippled under its grasp even though the awareness of the importance of anti-racist laws is gaining momentum every day. However, some countries have been proactive in recognizing its evils and working towards the achievement of a more harmonized and diversified society.
But, really how do we measure racism? The current list of the least racist countries in the world is based on a World Values Survey, which purports to study the attitudes of people in different countries. The survey consisted of questioning people around the countries if they would disapprove of living next door to persons belonging to certain races. The answers were taken into account and the countries where most people said they wouldn’t mind having neighbors from different races were declared to be the least racist ones. We see most of Latin America and America fare pretty well as non-racist closely followed by some Scandinavian countries.
The results, however, are open to debate. If it is indeed a good yardstick of measurement is definitely questionable since most people who hold racist tendencies generally do not advertise them openly. Sometimes it is only a harbored sentiment that surfaces only in certain situations and often in very subdued remarks and gestures. Only the notable cases make it to the news while the little everyday incidents generally escape our attention. But in no way does that mean that they don’t qualify as racism. In fact if you compare the countries on this list with The 10 Most Racist Countries in the World, there might actually be some contradictory views. That is because even though some of the least racist countries in the world have advocated anti-racist laws in their system and are widely aware of the evil, sometimes there are concealed racist tendencies within their conduct.
Nevertheless, the list can be a good insight into the countries who express the least racist tendencies, so read on to know which ones have qualified.
13. Belgium
Belgium has a notable history in the practice of racism, however; they have been deliberately working towards eradicating the ills of it from their system. Their anti-racist law came into force in 1981 and it prescribes punishment for hate speech and acts of discrimination.
12. New Zealand,
Residents of New Zealand are generally known as more tolerant and among the friendlier bunch. For their hospitable and affable behavior they qualify as one of the least racist countries in the world.
11. Australia,
Australia has a fair amount of immigrants and most of its population is multi-ethnic. It has laws in place against racism and discrimination and is known as an advocate of protecting religious choices. Notably, almost 25.6% of the residents in the country are ones who were born overseas.
10. Latvia,
Latvians might not be the most open people on the planet but once you get to know them they are generally friendly and have tolerant tendencies.
9. Norway,
Norway has been increasingly becoming aware of the evils of racism and has been working towards a racism-free environment. They are generally welcoming to visitors to their country.
8. Sweden,
The country is very progressive and is known to accept and welcome a heavy influx of foreign exchange students and workforce. They work towards elimination of racism from their environment which even led them to change the names of certain birds which might have been as racist or derogatory.
7. Britain,
Britain’s residents are as diverse as possible. The country has been a hot spot for immigrants for many years and even though scattered cases of racism have been reported, they are generally welcoming to people of all races and ethnicity.
6. Guatemala,
The Central American country is fairly tolerant of other races and ethnicities. Noted racist incidents in Guatemala have by far been scattered and relatively small in numbers.
5. Colombia,
Colombia has seen an inflow of immigrants over the years and is now very much ethnically diverse as the core population includes people from various ethnicity including Spanish, Africans and Middle Eastern. Needless to say they have been able to look beyond the differences to become one of the most tolerant countries.
4. Argentina,
Yet another Latin American country that has been setting a strong example. Argentina is also a hub for immigrants like most of the new settlements and is often referred to as crisol de razas or the crucible of races.
3. Brazil,
The flamboyant country of Brazil is also a melting pot of ethnic confluence and the population is a fair mix of all races. Brazilians generally live in harmony looking beyond the differences and there is hardly any discrimination based on the criteria.
2. Canada,
Canadians are mostly friendly folk and with the immigrant count being quite large they also exhibit abundant tolerance and are one of the most welcoming countries in this regard.
1. United States,
For long now United States has been the pioneer of anti-racist talks and activities. Most of the urban population is tolerant and there exists a very large diversity among the residents. Some may disagree to U.S being one of the least racist countries in the world, but open racism is relatively much less in the country.
