Uganda tops list of most ethnically diverse countries

Uganda has been revealed as the most ethnically mixed country on the planet according to a new scientific study that blows apart misconceptions that western nations are the most racially diverse.

Academics at Harvard University's Institute for Economic Research spent a painstaking 11 years studying 650 different ethnic groups across 190 countries, a UK based newspaper the Dialy Mail  has reported.

Using data from sources including national censuses, Encyclopedia Brittanica, the CIA, Minority Rights Group International and a 1998 study called 'Ethnic Groups Worldwide', scientists gave each country.

Using that data, they worked out an 'ethnicity rating' for each country based on the question: If you picked two people at random in any nation and asked them their ethnicity, what are the chances that they would give a different answer?

Uganda is home to more than 40 different indigenous ethnic groups, including the Baganda, Iteso, Basoga and Banyankore - all of which have their own languages, cultures and customs.

While the East African nation tops the list, at the bottom came South Korea which was classed the world's most homogenous nation.

But perhaps what will prove most surprising to some, Europe is revealed as the least ethnically diverse continent on the planet, with the UK and France as two of the most.

Meanwhile, the US came almost exactly in the middle with Canada ranked more diverse than its southern neighbour.

The study comes after the global social attitudes study claimed that the most racially intolerant populations are all in the developing world, with Bangladesh, Jordan and India in the top five.

By contrast, the study of 80 countries over three decades found Western countries were most accepting of other cultures with Britain, the U.S., Canada and Australia more tolerant than anywhere else.