While Europe is considered to be the most cultured and accepting continent in the world, the 15 most racist countries in Europe may just change the impression for good.
Many people believe that racism is not even a thing in Europe and the countries there are accepting of people of all kinds, no matter what race or ethnic background they belong to. However, things are not as rosy as they seem. While most Europeans may look to be tolerant on the outside, when it comes to people they surround themselves with, well let’s just say that things tend to get a little bit murky.
Europeans often tend to turn a blind eye to racism, not willfully, but because of ignorance. They believe that their country is tolerant and liberal, and has funds dedicated to the welfare of their minorities. So, if a country does so much for its minorities, how can it be racist? However, what they fail to account for is the fact that the government sets these funds. If you look at the people of one country and observe them individually, you will find that racism still exists on some level. Sure, they may be better than the US in terms of racism, but after all, who isn’t? The fact that even in European countries people of color often don’t have the same level of wealth and educational opportunities that as their white counterparts speak volumes about the inherent racism in Europe.
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However, Europe is actually quite progressive, and apart from a few bad eggs, you will find that many people are accepting of people of different ethnicities, as witnessed by 10 Least Racist Countries In Europe in 2017.
In fact, after the Syrian Civil War erupted, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, many fled their country to European countries, with the refugees primarily comprising of Muslims. This showed that European hearts and arms were open to accommodate Muslims fleeing war. However, after a few untoward incidents, like hundreds of women being groped and robbed in Cologne, in events set to commemorate the New Year, the public support towards Muslims started to wane, and now, several European countries are anti-Muslim. For a more detailed approach to this, please head on over to the article about most racist Islamophobic European countries towards Muslims. As a Muslim, I can only hope that Islamophobia decreases on a global level and everyone simply learns to value humanity above anything else, including religion.
While you would think that racism in Europe would be a popular topic, there are surprisingly few studies carried out in this respect. It seems that questions such as “why is Europe so racist?” and “is Europe racist?” are not so frequent. Maybe it’s because of the belief that Europe is far too progressive to be engaging in such trivial, ancient human nature. Luckily for us though, after some painstaking research, we were able to determine two studies which encompassed most of the European countries and their mindset towards racism. The first study was commissioned by the European Commission, which is always trying to ensure that Europe’s progressive mindset is not impeded due the faults of some of its people. Of course, if you simply ask a person if they’re racist, even members of the Ku Klux Klan will tend to deny it. Hence, the questions handled the topic much more delicately, with the most telling question being if a person was okay with their child being in a relationship with a Black or Asian person. Furthermore, we also pinpointed another study, carried out by Harvard University (Project Implicit), which mapped racial incidents in countries for 14 years, between 2002-2016. We then determined the ranking of each country as per the respective study and the average of those ranking formed the basis of our list. We used multiple studies instead of one because no matter how objective the study may be, it has its inherent biases and limitations. Using multiple studies helps us to cancel out the bias and present a much more accurate account of the proceedings. With this in mind, let’s move on to the most racist countries in Europe!
15. Finland
Finland and racism? I can hear the shock in your voice as you read our first entry. How could one of the Nordic countries, which are famed for their acceptance and progressive way of life, be one of the most racist countries in Europe? Well, it’s not an opinion pulled out of thin air, it’s something they accept as well. When 66% of your population believes that the country is racist, it leaves little scope for any other beliefs a person may harbor.
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14. Hungary
Hungary has always been accused of rampant racism present in the country, and unfortunately, the country is failing to deal with the continuous spreading of hate. Furthermore, that led to the growth and legitimization of hard right movements, which use racism as a weapon to gain votes and support and threaten the liberal values that most Europeans hold dear.
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13. Portugal
Portugal is one of the countries which has attracted immense and deserved praise for the way it has managed to integrate immigrants seeking a better quality of life in the country. However, Portugal seems to be facing a problem not uncommon in the US; its police hates black people. Police brutality against black people is more common in Lisbon than other parts of the country, but unless action is taken to stop this despicable systematic abuse, Portugal will continue being one of the most racist countries in Europe.
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12. Poland
It is troubling to notice that Poland is among the European countries where racism and racist attacks are on the rise, even though they are in direct conflict with the values which are held so dearly throughout the continent by a vast majority. The incident where students from Bulgaria and Turkey were told to leave the country as Poland is for Poles serves to highlight this issue.
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11. Latvia
Latvia, one of the Baltic countries, has been unable to curb the rise of racism, maybe because the government does not seem as bothered as it should be. This may be why articles such as these exist. If you don’t feel like clicking the link, the article focuses on not just describing the joys of touring these countries, but the racism faced by the people of color who were present in the group.
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10. Greece
At number 10 on our list of most racist countries in Europe, we have Greece that is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, both in terms of natural beauty and the wealth of architectural history that is available. Sadly, this has been marred to a significant extent by the racist events that are a normal, daily occurrence. If you would like to learn more details about racist crimes in Greece, you should definitely consider consulting this report.
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9. Italy
You might have thought Italians would be more accepting of people of different backgrounds, considering how they have been stereotyped in American culture. But the truth is, they can be quite intolerant of anyone who is different.
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8. Romania
Romanians are another people who have faced rampant discrimination, even in other European countries. And while the government has taken initiatives to combat racism, incidents such as this one, where vandalism against Roma property was carried out shows that there is a long way to go.
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7. Estonia
Estonia seems to be heaven on Earth, with a mix between preserving the natural beauty surrounding the country along with modernization. However, unless the country deals with the influx or racist events, many people will opt to forego visiting the country.
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6. Malta
Racism in Malta, the next country on our list of most racist countries in Europe has been devastating for many of its victims. While some are simply able to brush it off and continue living their lives, for others, such dealings may have more drastic results, such as the black US businessman quitting Malta.
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5. Slovakia
We are continuing our list of most racist countries in Europe with Slovakia that is a hotbed for the growing alt-right movement which has taken Europe by storm. When you let such movements grow and prosper, you shouldn’t be surprised if a sportswear firm gets death threats for hiring a black model in their advert. And the best part is, it wasn’t just one or two people who sent the hate mail and the death threats, it was hundreds of people, which speaks volumes about the inherent racism problem festering in the country.
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4. Ukraine
Ukraine has come under fire for little action being taken to curb racism, which is why I’m not surprised to learn that insults and assaults are a daily feature for African students living there.
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3. Lithuania
In Lithuania that ranks third on our list of most racist countries in Europe, it’s not just the ordinary citizens who are at risk of facing racism, as evidenced by Barcelona midfielder Paulinho. If you read the article, he talks about how tough it was to reside in the country due to the incidents of racism that he and his friends used to face because of the color of their skin.
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2. Bulgaria
In Bulgaria, one of the alarming things is the vitriol against immigrants raised by the press and media. The fact that hate crimes have been rising is also a serious indication that things may go wrong for the refugees in Bulgaria.
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1. The Czech Republic
Topping the list of the most racist countries in Europe, the Czech Republic has shown extreme hostilities towards Muslim immigrants fleeing the civil war in Syria, maybe in a bid to preserve their culture and heritage which they consider to be threatened by the refugees.
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