List of countries by ethnic and cultural diversity level

This is a list of countries by ethnic and cultural diversity level, as per Fearon's analysis.

List of countries by ethnic and cultural diversity level. List based on Fearon's analysis

Methodology

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The lists are commonly used in economics literature to compare the levels of ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious fractionalization in different countries.[1][2]

Fractionalization is the probability that two individuals drawn randomly from the country's groups are not from the same group (ethnic, religious, or whatever the criterion is). In Fearon's analysis, only groups containing over one percent of the country's population were considered. This limit made Papua New Guinea an outlier; as none of its thousands of groups included more than one percent of the population, it was considered to have zero groups and thus have a perfect fractionalization score of 1.

The two lists have been described by Alesina and Ferrara as follows:[1]

Fearon[3] and Alesina et al.[4] have compiled various measures of ethnic heterogeneity which try to tackle the fact that the difference amongst groups manifests itself in different ways in different places. The two classifications are constructed differently. Alesina et al.[4] do not take a stand on what ethnicity (or language or religion) are more salient than others and adopt the country breakdown suggested by original sources, mainly the Encyclopædia Britannica. Fearon[3] instead is trying to construct the 'right list' of ethnic groups which 'depends on what people in the country identify as the most socially relevant ethnic groupings'. This approach has the advantage of being closer to what the theory would want and the disadvantage of having to make judgement calls (or adopt others' judgement calls) about what is the 'right list'.

List based on Fearon's analysis

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In the Fearon list, ethnic fractionalization is approximated by a measure of similarity between languages, varying from 1 = the population speaks two or more unrelated languages to 0 = the entire population speaks the same language.[3] This index of cultural diversity is biased towards linguistic variations as opposed to genetic diversity and other variations. It should also be noted that the date of collection for data regarding ethnicity varies drastically between countries from 1981 to 2001 while data for linguistic and religious fractionalisation was collected in 2001.[4]

Ethnic, linguistic and religious fractionalization (2003)[4]
Country Ethnic
fractionalization
Linguistic
fractionalization
Religious
fractionalization
  Afghanistan 0.7693 0.6141 0.2717
  Albania 0.2204 0.0399 0.4719
  Algeria 0.3394 0.4427 0.0091
  American Samoa 0.0000 0.1733 0.6395
  Andorra 0.7139 0.6848 0.2326
  Angola 0.7867 0.7870 0.6276
  Antigua and Barbuda 0.1643 0.1063 0.6840
  Argentina 0.2550 0.0618 0.2236
  Armenia 0.1272 0.1291 0.4576
  Aruba 0.0000 0.3889 0.4107
  Australia 0.0929 0.3349 0.8211
  Austria 0.1068 0.1522 0.4146
  Azerbaijan 0.2047 0.2054 0.4899
  Bahamas 0.4228 0.1855 0.6815
  Bahrain 0.5021 0.4344 0.5528
  Bangladesh 0.0454 0.0925 0.2090
  Barbados 0.1423 0.0926 0.6934
  Belarus 0.3222 0.4666 0.6116
  Belgium 0.5554 0.5409 0.2127
  Belize 0.7015 0.6303 0.5813
  Benin 0.7872 0.7905 0.5544
  Bermuda 0.0000 0.0000 0.7112
  Bhutan 0.6050 0.6056 0.3787
  Bolivia 0.7396 0.2240 0.2085
  Bosnia and Herzegovina 0.6300 0.6751 0.6851
  Botswana 0.4102 0.4110 0.5986
  Brazil 0.5408 0.0468 0.6054
  Brunei 0.5416 0.3438 0.4404
  Bulgaria 0.4021 0.3031 0.5965
  Burkina Faso 0.7377 0.7228 0.5798
  Burundi 0.2951 0.2977 0.5158
  Cambodia 0.2105 0.2104 0.0965
  Cameroon 0.8635 0.8898 0.7338
  Canada 0.7124 0.5772 0.6958
  Cape Verde 0.4174 0.0000 0.0766
  Central African Republic 0.8295 0.8334 0.7916
  Chad 0.8620 0.8635 0.6411
  Chile 0.1861 0.1871 0.3841
  China 0.1538 0.1327 0.6643
  Colombia 0.6014 0.0193 0.1478
  Comoros 0.0000 0.0103 0.0137
  DR Congo 0.8747 0.8705 0.7021
  Congo 0.8747 0.6871 0.6642
  Costa Rica 0.2368 0.0489 0.2410
  Ivory Coast 0.8204 0.7842 0.7551
  Croatia 0.3690 0.0763 0.4447
  Cuba 0.5908 0.0000 0.5059
  Cyprus 0.0939 0.3962 0.3962
  Czech Republic 0.3222 0.3233 0.6591
  Denmark 0.0819 0.1049 0.2333
  Djibouti 0.7962 0.6558 0.0435
  Dominica 0.2003 0.0000 0.4628
  Dominican Republic 0.4294 0.0395 0.3118
  East Timor 0.0000 0.5261 0.4254
  Ecuador 0.6550 0.1308 0.1417
  Egypt 0.1836 0.0237 0.1979
  El Salvador 0.1978 0.0000 0.3559
  Equatorial Guinea 0.3467 0.3220 0.1195
  Eritrea 0.6524 0.6530 0.4253
  Estonia 0.5062 0.4944 0.4985
  Ethiopia 0.7235 0.8073 0.6249
  Faroe Islands 0.0000 0.0000 0.3147
  Fiji 0.5479 0.5479 0.5682
  Finland 0.1315 0.1412 0.2531
  France 0.1032 0.1221 0.4029
  French Guiana 0.0000 0.1154 0.4959
  French Polynesia 0.0000 0.6078 0.5813
  Gabon 0.7690 0.7821 0.6674
  Gambia 0.7864 0.8076 0.0970
  Gaza Strip 0.0000 0.0104 0.0342
  Georgia 0.4923 0.4749 0.6543
  Germany 0.1682 0.1642 0.6571
  Ghana 0.6733 0.6731 0.7987
  Greece 0.1576 0.0300 0.1530
  Greenland 0.0000 0.2188 0.4592
  Grenada 0.2661 0.0000 0.5898
  Guadeloupe 0.0000 0.0933 0.3069
  Guam 0.0000 0.7320 0.4082
  Guatemala 0.5122 0.4586 0.3753
  Guinea 0.7389 0.7725 0.2649
  Guinea-Bissau 0.8082 0.8141 0.6128
  Guyana 0.6195 0.0688 0.7876
  Haiti 0.0950 0.0000 0.4704
  Honduras 0.1867 0.0553 0.2357
  Hong Kong 0.0620 0.2128 0.4191
  Hungary 0.1522 0.0297 0.5244
  Iceland 0.0798 0.0820 0.1913
  India 0.4182 0.8069 0.3260
  Indonesia 0.7351 0.7680 0.2340
  Iran 0.6684 0.7462 0.1152
  Iraq 0.3689 0.3694 0.4844
  Ireland 0.1206 0.0312 0.1550
  Isle of Man 0.0000 0.0000 0.4729
  Israel 0.3436 0.5525 0.3469
  Italy 0.1145 0.1147 0.3027
  Jamaica 0.4129 0.1098 0.6160
  Japan 0.0119 0.0178 0.5406
  Jersey 0.0000 0.0000 0.5479
  Jordan 0.5926 0.0396 0.0659
  Kazakhstan 0.6171 0.6621 0.5898
  Kenya 0.8588 0.8860 0.7765
  Kiribati 0.0511 0.0237 0.5541
  South Korea 0.0020 0.0021 0.6604
  North Korea 0.0392 0.0028 0.4891
  Kyrgyzstan 0.6752 0.5949 0.4470
  Kuwait 0.6604 0.3444 0.6745
  Laos 0.5139 0.6382 0.5453
  Latvia 0.5867 0.5795 0.5556
  Lebanon 0.1314 0.1312 0.7886
  Lesotho 0.2550 0.2543 0.7211
  Liberia 0.9084 0.9038 0.4883
  Libya 0.7920 0.0758 0.0570
  Liechtenstein 0.5726 0.2246 0.3343
  Lithuania 0.3223 0.3219 0.4141
  Luxembourg 0.5302 0.6440 0.0911
  Macau 0.0000 0.2519 0.5511
  North Macedonia 0.5023 0.5021 0.5899
  Madagascar 0.8791 0.0204 0.5191
  Malawi 0.6744 0.6023 0.8192
  Malaysia 0.5880 0.5970 0.6657
  Mali 0.6906 0.8388 0.1820
  Malta 0.0414 0.0907 0.1223
  Marshall Islands 0.0603 0.0734 0.5207
  Martinique 0.0000 0.0000 0.2336
  Mauritania 0.6150 0.3260 0.0149
  Mauritius 0.4634 0.4547 0.6385
  Mayotte 0.0000 0.7212 0.0620
  Mexico 0.5418 0.1511 0.1796
  Micronesia 0.7005 0.7483 0.6469
  Moldova 0.5535 0.5533 0.5603
  Monaco 0.6838 0.7305 0.3047
  Mongolia 0.3682 0.3734 0.0799
  Morocco 0.4841 0.4683 0.0035
  Mozambique 0.6932 0.8125 0.6759
  Burma 0.5062 0.5072 0.1974
  Namibia 0.6329 0.7005 0.6626
  Nauru 0.5832 0.6161 0.6194
  Nepal 0.6632 0.7167 0.1417
  Netherlands Antilles 0.0000 0.2508 0.3866
  Netherlands 0.1054 0.5143 0.7222
  New Caledonia 0.0000 0.6633 0.5462
  New Zealand 0.3969 0.1657 0.8110
  Nicaragua 0.4844 0.0473 0.4290
  Niger 0.6518 0.6519 0.2013
  Nigeria 0.8505 0.8316 0.7421
  Northern Mariana Islands 0.0000 0.7754 0.4811
  Norway 0.0586 0.0673 0.2048
  Oman 0.4373 0.3567 0.4322
  Pakistan 0.7098 0.7190 0.3848
  Palau 0.4312 0.3157 0.7147
  Panama 0.5528 0.3873 0.3338
  Papua New Guinea 0.2718 0.3526 0.5523
  Paraguay 0.1689 0.5975 0.2123
  Peru 0.6566 0.3358 0.1988
  Philippines 0.2385 0.8360 0.3056
  Poland 0.1183 0.0468 0.1712
  Portugal 0.0468 0.0198 0.1438
  Puerto Rico 0.0000 0.0352 0.4952
  Qatar 0.7456 0.4800 0.0950
  Réunion 0.0000 0.1578 0.1952
  Romania 0.3069 0.1723 0.2373
  Russia 0.2452 0.2485 0.4398
  Rwanda 0.3238 0.0000 0.5066
  Saint Lucia 0.1769 0.3169 0.3320
  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 0.3066 0.0175 0.7028
  Western Samoa 0.1376 0.0111 0.7871
  San Marino 0.2927 0.0000 0.1975
  São Tomé and Príncipe 0.0000 0.2322 0.1866
  Saudi Arabia 0.1800 0.0949 0.1270
  Senegal 0.6939 0.7081 0.1497
  Serbia 0.5736 - -
  Seychelles 0.2025 0.1606 0.2323
  Sierra Leone 0.8191 0.7634 0.5395
  Singapore 0.3857 0.3835 0.6561
  Slovakia 0.2539 0.2551 0.5655
  Slovenia 0.2216 0.2201 0.2868
  Solomon Islands 0.1110 0.5254 0.6708
  Somalia 0.8117 0.0326 0.0028
  South Africa 0.7517 0.8652 0.8603
  Spain 0.4165 0.4132 0.4514
  Sri Lanka 0.4150 0.4645 0.4853
  Saint Kitts and Nevis 0.1842 - 0.6614
  Sudan 0.7147 0.7190 0.4307
  Suriname 0.7332 0.3310 0.7910
  Swaziland 0.0582 0.1722 0.4444
  Sweden 0.0600 0.1968 0.2342
  Switzerland 0.5314 0.5441 0.6083
  Syria 0.5399 0.1817 0.4310
  Taiwan 0.2744 0.5028 0.6845
  Tajikistan 0.5107 0.5473 0.3386
  Tanzania 0.7353 0.8983 0.6334
  Thailand 0.6338 0.6344 0.0994
  Togo 0.7099 0.8980 0.6596
  Tonga 0.0869 0.3782 0.6214
  Trinidad and Tobago 0.6475 0.1251 0.7936
  Tunisia 0.0394 0.0124 0.0104
  Turkey 0.3200 0.2216 0.0049
  Turkmenistan 0.3918 0.3984 0.2327
  Tuvalu 0.1629 0.1372 0.2524
  Uganda 0.9302 0.9227 0.6332
  Ukraine 0.4737 0.4741 0.6157
  United Arab Emirates 0.6252 0.4874 0.3310
  United Kingdom 0.1211 0.0532 0.6944
  United States 0.4901 0.5647 0.8241
  Uruguay 0.2504 0.0817 0.3548
  Uzbekistan 0.4125 0.4120 0.2133
  Vanuatu 0.0413 0.5794 0.7044
  Venezuela 0.4966 0.0686 0.1350
  Vietnam 0.2383 0.2377 0.5080
  U.S. Virgin Islands 0.0000 0.3140 0.6359
  West Bank 0.0000 0.1438 0.3095
  Yemen 0.0000 0.0080 0.0023
  Yugoslavia 0.8092 0.6064 0.5530
  Zambia 0.7808 0.8734 0.7359
  Zimbabwe 0.3874 0.4472 0.7363

References

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  1. ^ a b A. Alesina, E. Ferrara (2005). "Ethnic Diversity and Economic Performance" (PDF). Journal of Economic Literature: 762–800. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  2. ^ Natalka Patsiurko, John L. Campbell and John A. Hall (2012). "Measuring cultural diversity: ethnic, linguistic and religious fractionalization in the OECD" (PDF). Ethnic and Racial Studies. 35 (2): 195–217. doi:10.1080/01419870.2011.579136. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 25, 2012. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
  3. ^ a b c James Fearon (2003). "Ethnic and Cultural Diversity by Country". Journal of Economic Growth. 8: 188. doi:10.1023/A:1024419522867.
  4. ^ a b c d Alberto Alesina; et al. (2003). "Fractionalization". Journal of Economic Growth. 8: 184–189. doi:10.1023/a:1024471506938.