Ethnicity is the identity of similar groups of people connected to their ancestral, social, national, cultural, and common language. Important factors form the basis of a person’s ethnicity such as joint ancestry, origin myth, homeland, history, cultural heritage, and language. Cultural heterogeneity is about the existence of diverse cultures in a certain population living in a territory or country.
The demographics and socioeconomic distribution of distinct cultural groups in a country or territory is called ethnic fractionalization. The data below is based on a study conducted by Fearon, where 1 is the most culturally diverse and 0 is the least. This measure of cultural diversity is heavily based on languages spoken, as language can be a convenient indicator of ethnicity and diversity. Papua New Guinea is the most diverse country in the world, followed by Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda.
The 5 Most Diverse Countries in the World
1. Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea is the world's most linguistically diverse country , a fact that contributes to its status as the most ethnically diverse country in the world. There are thousands of ethnic groups in the country, each with their own languages and customs. Incredibly, there are languages in Papua New Guinea that have no relation to one another despite their geographic proximity.
2. Tanzania
More than one hundred ethnic groups live in
Tanzania. Many of these groups speak their own languages. In addition to this, there are also a number of foreign residents who live in Tanzania, many of whom are from Asia and Europe. The population of Tanzania is 55,572,201.
3. Democratic Republic of the Congo
DR Congo has a population of 81,680,000 of which there are over 200 ethnic groups who speak about 242 languages with French as the official language. Christianity has about 80% adherents while 10% are Muslims, and the other 10% follow native faiths.
4. Uganda
Uganda's population of 37,873,253 people is composed of Ugandans and more than ten ethnic groups. Christians make up 85% of the population, and 12.1% are Islam adherents.
5. Liberia
Liberia is the world's fifth most diverse country. The population is 4,503,000 people strong of which 95% are Liberians, and the rest are of 16 ethnic groups who speak 31 dialects in addition to English as the official language.
Other Ethnically Diverse Countries
The rest of the world's most diverse countries are all in Africa, and include Togo, South Africa, Republic of the Congo, and Madagascar.
Most Ethnically Diverse Countries In The World
Rank Country Ethnic Diversity Score
1 Papua New Guinea 1.0000
2 Tanzania 0.9530
3 Democratic Republic of Congo 0.9330
4 Uganda 0.9300
5 Liberia 0.8990
6 Cameroon 0.8870
7 Togo 0.8830
8 South Africa 0.8800
9 Congo 0.8780
10 Madagascar 0.8610
11 Gabon 0.8570
12 Kenya 0.8520
13 Ghana 0.8460
14 Malawi 0.8290
15 Guinea-Bissau 0.8180
16 Somalia 0.8120
17 India 0.8110
18 Nigeria 0.8050
19 Yugoslavia (1943–1992) 0.8010
20 Central African Republic 0.7910
21 Ivory Coast 0.7840
22 Lebanon 0.7800
23 Chad 0.7720
24 Indonesia 0.7660
25 Mozambique 0.7650
26 Gambia 0.7640
27 Sierra Leone 0.7640
28 Ethiopia 0.7600
29 Angola 0.7560
30 Mali 0.7540
31 Afghanistan 0.7510
32 Bolivia 0.7430
33 United Arab Emirates 0.7370
34 Senegal 0.7270
35 Zambia 0.7260
36 Namibia 0.7240
37 Soviet Union (1922–1991) 0.7110
38 Sudan (1955–2011) 0.7080
39 Kuwait 0.7080
40 Burkina Faso 0.7040
41 Bosnia and Herzegovina 0.6810
42 Kyrgyzstan 0.6790
43 Nepal 0.6770
44 Iran 0.6690
45 Guinea 0.6690
46 Kazakhstan 0.6640
47 Colombia 0.6560
48 Ecuador 0.6550
49 Eritrea 0.6470
50 Trinidad and Tobago 0.6470
By Ronaldo Y. Wee
•culled from www.worldatlas.com
Trinidad isn't more ethnically diverse than Surinam. And where's Brasil?
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