UK one of the least racist countries in the world according to new study - despite UN warning the ‘UK is institutionally racist’
27 April 2023, 16:36 | Updated: 27 April 2023, 16:53
The UK is one of the least racist nations in the world a new study has found, just months after the United Nations labelled it 'institutionally racist’.
According to results released on Thursday by the World Values Survey (WVS), just 2% of Britons now feel uncomfortable about the idea of living next door to somebody of a different race.
Collated by the Policy Institute at King’s College London as part of the WVS, the survey compares a sample of 3,056 UK adults aged 18+ and remains one of the most widely used social surveys in the world.
The UK are also among the most likely to say they trust people in their neighbourhood (84%) according to the study.
The results make striking reading when contrasted by comments made in January by the United Nations (UN).
According to the organisation, systematic racism is rife within the UK and is eroding the rights of black people according to findings by experts from the UN's Human Rights Council.
Comparing the results of the survey between 1981 and 2022, the share of the public who cited they did not wish to live next door to immigrants or foreign workers decreased from one in eight (13%) in 1981 to just 5% in 2022.
During the same period, the proportion of UK citizens who said they would not like to live next to people of a different race dropped from one in 10 (10%) to just 1%.
The results showed Iran had the broadest objection to immigrants and foreign neighbours (42%) in 2022, while Russia followed close behind (32%), as Sweden proved the most tolerant (3%) alongside Brazil.
However, the survey showed increasing intolerance in other areas.
Asking those surveyed whether they'd be unhappy living next door to particular groups has long been a standardised way of gathering information on racism, among other topics.
When it comes to the UK, results show citizens have become less accepting of drug addicts and heavy drinkers as neighbours.
In 2022, 83% of the public said they would not like to have drug addicts as neighbours – notably higher than the 63% who said the same in 1990.
When it came to living next door to heavy drinkers, the results were similar albeit less striking, with those saying they would not like to live beside such a group rising from 48% in 1981 to 57% in 2022.
Following a landmark tour of the Uk in January, the United Nations said that “from the perspective of people of African descent, racism in the UK is structural, institutional and systemic".
Findings from the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent – part of the UN's Human Rights Council, said they had "serious concerns about impunity and the failure to address racial disparities in the criminal justice system, deaths in police custody, ‘joint enterprise’ convictions and the dehumanising nature of the stop and strip search”.
The new study's results appear to contrast this significantly.
When it comes to the WVS study, the UK's figures are compared to two dozen countries to judge global standards of trust and “acceptance of the people who live alongside us”.
The study has become one of the largest and most widely used social surveys globally since its inception in 1981.
According to the results, just 4% of the UK public say they would not like to live next to people who have AIDS, with only Germany (6%) and Brazil (6%) coming close to such levels of acceptance.
Similarly, the UK ranks as the least likely to take issue with someone who speaks a different language being their neighbour with just 4% taking umbrage.
Other higher-income democracies such as Greece (14%) and Australia (10%) fare worse on this measure.
Only 1% of the UK have a problem with unmarried couples or people of a different religion being their neighbours – the lowest among nations analysed.
% of people who would not like to have immigrants/foreign workers as neighbours
Iran 42%
Russia 32%
Japan 30%
China 26%
Greece 26%
Morocco 23%
South Korea 22%
Egypt 20%
Poland 19%
Italy 18%
Philippines 17%
Indonesia 17%
Mexico 14%
Spain 13%
Nigeria 13%
France 10%
Australia 9%
Canada 9%
United States 8%
Norway 5%
United Kingdom 5%
Germany 4%
Brazil 3%
Sweden 3%
