Here at Rickshaw Travel, we offer a unique selection of trips to destinations all over the world – as our travellers will know first-hand. From Asia to Central America, we traverse the globe, and each country we visit is intrinsically different from the last – which is what makes this big, beautiful world of ours so wonderful! Every country has its own history and culture which impacts on everything – from the food to the music, to the architecture.
What’s even more fascinating is that, more often than not, each country’s identity is created from a blend of the many diverse communities, beliefs and backgrounds that belong to it. Canada, for example, is very much a blend of both its North American and French influences, while Cuba is a colourful mix of Caribbean, Latin American and Spanish culture.
In our shiny, new Global Diversity Index we have taken an eagle-eyed look into which countries around the world are the most diverse – weighing up everything from religious beliefs and multilingual communities, to freedom for diversity. Want to find out more? Read on below to find out the results of our research and more about how we carried out our study.
Coming out as the most culturally diverse country in the world is Benin, a small, French-speaking country in West Africa, known as the birthplace of the voodoo religion. While the main language spoken in Benin is French, the country is actually home to 56 different languages – pretty impressive! In Benin, there are around 42 different African ethnic groups which call the country home, each of which settled in the country at different times. Benin is also home to a melting pot of religious beliefs.
Following on from Benin, the 9 other top-ranking countries which made up the top 10 are:
Belgium
Suriname
Brazil
Mozambique
Cote d’Ivoire
Canada
Switzerland
South Africa
Estonia
Belgium is ranked in second place, and anyone who has ever visited will see why! The country is very closely aligned with France in many ways – with a large portion of the country, including the capital of Brussels, speaking French as their main language. There’s also an overlap between Belgium and France in the cuisine of choice in each country – such as the popular moules et frites, which is often associated with France but is actually a Belgian speciality. And let’s not even get into the French fries debate!
Elsewhere in Belgium however, the Flemish language (which is a variation of Dutch) is spoken, while German is also an official language in the country and is spoken as a first language by just 1% of the population. As well as combining lots of different European inspirations, Belgium also has one of the higher rates of immigration – meaning that as more and more people move to Belgium from other parts of the world, they’ll be putting their own stamp on the country’s identity.
