Top 10 Most Multicultural Countries in the World

You know that feeling when you walk through a neighborhood and hear five different languages in one block? When you can grab Thai curry for lunch, hit up a Polish bakery for dessert, and catch a Nigerian dance troupe in the park? That's the kind of real-life variety pack that multicultural countries serve up on a daily basis. These places aren't just melting pots. They're full of backgrounds, beliefs, and everyday surprises.

But multiculturalism goes beyond food and festivals. It means seeing mosques next to temples, celebrating Diwali and Christmas in the same city, and watching kids with roots from opposite ends of the globe learn side by side in the same classroom. It's not always smooth sailing. Blending cultures can come with growing pains. But it builds something rare, a society where people keep their traditions without losing sight of the bigger picture.

This list is your chance to weigh in on the countries that do multiculturalism right. Vote based on personal experience, global reputation, or maybe just a memorable visit where you felt completely welcome.

1. Australia

   

   Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of 7,617,930 square kilometres (2,941,300 sq mi), Australia is the largest country by area in Oceania and... read more

   I grew up in Australia as an immigrant and was granted naturalization to become a citizen. But I lived in a quite diverse suburb in Brisbane with a majority of my friends being Chinese, Indian, and Sri Lankan. Almost every one of my friends is also from New Zealand and South Africa. Basically, I think Australia has the highest migration rates in the world in terms of multicultural diversity.

   I've lived in multiple suburbs around Melbourne, and in all of them, it's been a complete mixed bag. Some suburbs have a bunch of different East Asian cultures, in others, it's more a mix of Southeast Asian cultures, and in some, it's a mix of Southern European and Middle Eastern cultures. But you'll rarely get a super homogeneous community.

2. India

   

   India, officially known as the Republic of India, is a country located in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area and the most populous country in the world, with over 1.4 billion people. It's also the most populous democracy in the world.... read more

   Such a great variety in every possible thing you can think of. It has all the seasons, all throughout the year, like everlasting winter in the north, equatorial climate in the south, fall in the center, drought-prone deserts, and rich floodplains, along with one of the highest amounts of rain in the world in states in the northeast.

   We've also got people stealing our culture as fashion without giving credit.

   It is a country that comes in the list of linguistic diversities. It is a home for all the possible religions you can think of. And it is one of the countries having the richest cultures and festivals. It also shows an amazing quality of cinema, diverse ancient civilizations, and architecture dating back to the times of Egyptian civilizations. According to the 2017 census, it is the world's largest growing economy.

3. Canada

   

   Canada is a country in North America that borders the United States, and it is the second-largest country in the world by area (9.985 million km²). The country has 10 provinces and 3 territories. Canada became a dominion on July 1, 1867.... read more

   The fact that only one-fifth of their population is actually born in Canada is spectacular. If you ask, Canada does not have a primary culture that is considered Canadian. Instead, it is cultures coming from all around the world that Canadians share. Canada is a country that runs and lives off immigration. Due to the size of the country, they need individuals to make more babies or to immigrate.

   Canada ranks in the top five of the safest countries with a growing economy, especially coming from Calgary. Canada is, in my opinion, the best country for a family to move to. Everybody is polite and nice in general, jobs are easy to find (may vary from province to province), and it offers free healthcare. Overall, Canada is the most multicultural country out there, with over 100 different ethnic groups.

4. United States

   

   The United States of America, or the U.S.A. for short, is a federal republic composed of 50 states. Forty-eight of them are contiguous states. The other two, Alaska and Hawaii, are located to the northwest and south of the contiguous states, respectively. The United States declared its independence from... read more

5. Papua New Guinea

   

   Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an Oceanian country that occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean north of Australia. Its capital and largest city is Port Moresby... read more

6. Indonesia

   

   Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia. Ruled by the Dutch for over 300 years and by Japan for 3 years and 6 months, the country gained independence on August 17, 1945. Jakarta is the capital city, located on the island of Java. Major languages include Bahasa... read more

7. United Kingdom

   

   The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly shortened to the United Kingdom, UK, or Britain, is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of Europe. It is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy currently led by Monarch King Charles III, and its current Prime Minister... read more

   This is the most multicultural.

8. New Zealand

   

   New Zealand is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.

   It is situated 1,500 kilometres (900 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington... read more

   New Zealand is so slept on. We are a VERY multicultural country. We accept, embrace, and love our indigenous culture and people. We not only celebrate their culture but also other Pacific Islands, Indian festivals, and Chinese New Year. Tell me what other country recognizes and praises its indigenous culture. I rest my case.

   The mix of cultures in Auckland is amazing. Auckland's North Shore is home to large South African, Korean, and European communities, while parts of South, East, Central, and West Auckland have large Pacific Island, African, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Cambodian communities. Our suburbs are ethnically diverse, which makes Auckland unique.

9. Ethiopia

   

   Ethiopia, officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a sovereign state located in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Kenya to the south, South Sudan to the west, and Sudan to the northwest.... read more

   Ethiopia is a country of love, peace, and a beautiful country. It has more than 80 nations and nationalities living together peacefully.

10. France

    

    France, officially the French Republic, is a sovereign state comprising territory in Western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European part of France, called metropolitan France, extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to... read more

The Newcomers
11. ?

    Sri Lanka

    

    Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and known as Ceylon until 1972, is an island country in South Asia located to the southeast of India. It has a population of over 22 million people and covers an area of approximately 65,610 square kilometers. The country's capital... read more

12. ?

    Germany

    

    Germany was formally united in 1871 under the initiative of Bismarck, with King Wilhelm of Prussia as emperor. The previous Holy Roman Empire, essentially a continuation of the empire of Charlemagne (Karl der Große), was dissolved in 1806.... read more

The Contenders

13. Philippines

    

    The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It is situated in the western Pacific Ocean and consists of around 7,641 islands, broadly categorized under three main geographical divisions from north to south: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.... read more

14. Nigeria

    

    Nigeria, an African country on the Gulf of Guinea, has many natural landmarks and wildlife reserves. Protected areas such as Cross River National Park and Yankari National Park have waterfalls, dense rainforest, savanna, and rare primate habitats. One of the most recognizable sites is Zuma Rock, a 725-meter-tall... read more

    Nigeria has 371 ethnic groups and tribes, and it's the third-largest country in Africa.

15. Switzerland

    

    Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal republic in Europe. It consists of 26 cantons, and the city of Bern is the seat of the federal authorities.

    The country is situated in Western-Central Europe and is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the... read more

16. Malaysia

    

    Malaysia is a Southeast Asian country occupying the Malaysian Peninsula and part of the island of Borneo. It is known for its beaches, rainforests, and mix of Malay, Chinese, Indian, and European influences.

    The sprawling capital, Kuala Lumpur, is home to colonial buildings, busy shopping districts... read more

    I'm Malaysian. I speak English, Malay, Mandarin, Hokkien, and Spanish. I can do that in a single sentence. Often, foreigners argue that it's because I went to an international school, but that's not the reason. It's the nature of Malaysians. Many college friends attended public school and can speak the same number of languages, if not more, than me.

    Malay, Chinese, Indian, Iban, Kadazandusun culture, and more flourish in Malaysia. You can get all kinds of cuisine within one block of shops. In one street, you can see a mosque, Buddhist temple, Hindu temple, and church all having prayer sessions at the same time.

    You can see Chinese wearing Baju Kurung (Malay traditional outfit), Malays wearing sarees (Indian traditional outfit), and Indians wearing cheongsam (Chinese traditional outfit) even on an ordinary day. It would be shocking if a Malaysian said they knew less than three languages. It would be practically impossible for a Malaysian not to have tasted another culture's food. Even as a vegetarian, I have access to over 300 vegetarian restaurants nearby serving various cultures' foods.

17. South Africa

    

    South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is the southernmost sovereign state in Africa. It is bounded on the south by 2,798 kilometers of coastline of Southern Africa stretching along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans, on the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana,... read more

    South Africa is one of the most multicultural countries in the world.

18. Brazil

    

    Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At 8.5 million square kilometers (3,300,000 sq mi) and with over 214 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area and the sixth most populous.... read more

    I like to call Brazil the giant multicultural center. We may not have a lot of people speaking many different languages, but our version of Portuguese has a mishmash of all types of languages. African culture is huge, and there are places in the south where European culture is really big.

    A giant Asian, and most notably Japanese, presence exists in "Liberdade," a district in São Paulo. The indigenous people are also very relevant. Almost everyone has a Black, indigenous, Latin, European, and sometimes Asian descendant. It's crazy how those cultures got together to form Brazilian culture.

    But unfortunately, there are some groups trying to make people believe that Brazil is a racist and misogynist country, which is total BS.

19. Mauritius

    

    Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean, about 2,000 kilometers off the southeast coast of the African continent.

    Mauritians are so kind.

20. Netherlands

    

    The Netherlands, informally Holland, is a country located in northwestern Europe with overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

    The Netherlands consists of twelve provinces and borders Germany to the east and Belgium... read more

    Most strange country. Love it.

    Number one ranked.

21. Singapore

    

    Singapore, officially known as the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It is situated approximately one degree of latitude (137 kilometers or 85 miles) north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It borders the Strait of Malacca to... read more

    Best in multiculturalism.

22. Belgium

    

    Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the southwest, and the North Sea to the northwest. It covers an area of 30,689 km² (11,849 sq mi) and has... read more

    Belgium has a variety of cultures spread throughout it.

23. Morocco

    

    Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the northwesternmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to the east and the disputed territory of Western Sahara to the south.... read more

    Seriously? Morocco deserves the top 3. So many cultures are merged to create this great country: Arabic, Amazigh, European, African, Jewish, and even Asian.

24. Democratic Republic of The Congo

    

    The Democratic Republic of the Congo, also known as DR Congo, DRC, DROC, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo, is a country located in Central Africa. It is the second-largest country in Africa by area and the fourth most populous, with Kinshasa as its capital and largest city. The country is rich in... read more

25. Turkey

    

    Turkey, officially the Republic of Turkey, is a transcontinental country in Eurasia, mainly in Anatolia in Western Asia, with a smaller portion on the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Greece and Bulgaria to the northwest. Georgia to the northeast. Armenia,... read more

26. Italy

    

    Italy (Italian: Repubblica Italiana) is a sovereign state and unitary parliamentary republic in south-central Europe.

    Italy covers an area of 301,338 km². With almost 62 million inhabitants, it's the third most populous EU member state. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares... read more

27. England

    

    England, previously the Kingdom of England, is a constituent country of the United Kingdom along with Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

    England can trace its history as far back as the 10th century, but modern England began with the Norman Invasion of 1066. In 1535, England annexed Wales... read more