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Fact check: Which countries have the highest rates of racism against black people?
Executive Summary
Surveys and reports show widespread and rising experiences of anti-Black discrimination in multiple Western countries, with particularly high reported rates in parts of the European Union and persistent perceptions of systemic racism in the United States. Comparative claims about “which countries have the highest rates” depend on different methodologies and questions — victim self‑reports, perception polls, and frequency measures — so ranking countries requires caution when mixing these sources.
1. Why Germany, Austria and Finland appear near the top of European rankings
A 2023 EU‑focused survey reported that Germany and Austria had the highest shares of respondents reporting discrimination or harassment (64% each) with Finland at 54%, and that one third of respondents felt racially discriminated against in the prior 12 months, a marked increase from the previous wave [1]. The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights’ broader 2025 study corroborates that people of African descent face widespread and entrenched prejudice across the EU, finding 47% experienced discrimination on any ground in the five years prior and over a third within the past year, with many individuals reporting repeated incidents [2]. These two outputs together highlight both country‑level spikes and an EU‑wide pattern of recurrent discrimination rather than isolated events [1] [2].
2. How U.S. data reflects perception versus measured victimization
U.S. polling captures high public awareness and perception of anti‑Black racism: Gallup found 64% of Americans considered racism against Black people widespread, a view held especially strongly by Black respondents (84% in one poll; 83% in a 2025 update) [3] [4]. These results document perceived prevalence rather than a direct count of discriminatory acts; perception surveys track public sentiment and lived sense of systemic barriers, which is an important but distinct measure from event‑level victimization reported in victim surveys used in the EU studies [1] [3]. Comparing perception polls to incident‑report surveys can overstate or understate cross‑country rankings because they capture different dimensions of racism — felt experience versus belief about societal prevalence [3] [1].
3. France and broader Western patterns: high reported frequency but differing metrics
Research summarized in 2024 indicated very high self‑reports of discrimination in France, with 85% citing discrimination based on skin color and significant shares experiencing incidents in public and at work, while Germany’s self‑report rate of 77% was also highlighted [5]. These figures signal that multiple Western countries report pervasive anti‑Black experiences, but each study frames questions differently — some ask whether respondents have ever experienced discrimination, others about recent incidents or feelings of exclusion — making direct country‑to‑country ranking fraught unless the same instrument is used across contexts [5] [2]. The pattern across sources is consistent: anti‑Black discrimination is common across Europe and the U.S., but exact ordering depends on method.
4. Reconciling differences: methodology, sample, and question framing matter
The apparent discrepancies between datasets stem from methodological differences: EU Agency and regional surveys often use standardized questions to capture incidents and frequencies among people of African descent [2] [1], while Gallup focuses on general population perceptions and subgroup breakdowns in the U.S. [3] [4]. Timeframes vary (past year, past five years, lifetime), respondent populations differ (general public vs. people of African descent), and question wording shifts from “have you experienced discrimination” to “do you believe racism is widespread.” These measurement choices directly affect reported rates and any resulting rankings, so policy conclusions should rely on comparable instruments or careful caveats before asserting which country is “worst” [2] [3].
5. What the evidence permits us to conclude and where uncertainties remain
The combined sources offer a clear, fact‑based conclusion: anti‑Black racism is common and in many cases increasing across Western Europe and the United States, with particularly high self‑reported rates in Germany, Austria, Finland, France and persistent perceptions of widespread racism in the U.S. [1] [2] [5] [3] [4]. However, because the studies use different populations, questions, and time windows, a definitive, comparable ranking of countries by “highest rates” is not supported by the supplied data without harmonizing methodology. Analysts and policymakers should prioritize standardized, repeated surveys of affected populations to produce robust international comparisons and to guide targeted interventions [2] [1].