What are western countries?

First of all, about the nationalities in the west.

Due to the large number of western countries, the number of ethnic groups in each country is different, so it

First of all, about the nationalities in the west.

Due to the large number of western countries, the number of ethnic groups in each country is different, so it is impossible to generalize.

For example, the main nationalities in Britain: English, Scots, Welsh and Irish.

Among the main ethnic groups in the United States, Americans are German, accounting for 15.2%. Followed by Irish, accounting for 10.8%. African descent ranked third, accounting for 8.8%. Among the top ten lineages of Americans, there are British, 8.7%; Mexican, 6.5%; Italian, 5.8%; Polish descent, 3.2%; French, 3%; American Indians, 2.8%; Scots, 1.7%.

Chinese Americans account for 0.9% (including 0. 1% in Taiwan Province province), Filipinos also account for 0.8%, and Koreans account for 0.4%.

Second, about the West.

West refers to the west or the west; It also refers to countries located in the western hemisphere and the northern hemisphere. Refers to Europe, the United States and Canada.

That is to say, countries in the western hemisphere and the northern hemisphere, European and American countries.

Third, the population and ethnic composition of major western countries.

1.uk

Before World War II, Britain was a homogeneous society. Except for the whites of the main ethnic groups (English, Scots, Welsh and Irish, and whites from other regions), the population only accounted for 1% of the national population.

After World War II, with the disintegration of the British Empire, a large number of non-British people flooded into Britain, mainly living in big cities. In 20 10, the population of Britain was 62.26 million, including 52.234 million in England, 5.222 million in Scotland, 3.006 million in Wales and 6.5438+0.799 million in Northern Ireland.

The ethnic composition of Britain is quite complicated. According to official statistics, the government classifies the national residents into 1 1 by race. According to the data of the British 200 1 census, the ethnic composition of the population is: the main ethnic group is white, accounting for 92.1%of the total population; Ethnic minorities account for 7.9% of the total population, including India 1.8%, Pakistan 1.3%, Bangladesh 0.5%, Chinese 0.4%, other Asians 0.4%, Caribbean blacks 1%, African blacks 0.8%, other blacks 0.2% and others.

2. Italy

Based on the reality of the country's complex and rich social, geographical and historical conditions, the Italian government does not regard the origin of * * * as the key to national identity, but divides nationalities by "standards" involving culture, religion and language. In 2008, the population of Italy was 59.85 million, of which the main ethnic group Italians accounted for about 93%.

Ethnic minorities are mainly composed of aborigines (indigenous minorities) and non-aborigines (immigrants). Indigenous people refer to the ethnic minorities determined according to their historical and linguistic characteristics, including the following 65,438+02 people: Provence, Catalonia, friuli, Ositan, Sardinia, Ladian, Albanian, German, French, Greek, Slovenian and Croatian. In the Italian Constitution of 1948, there are provisions to protect the spoken and written languages of these 12 ethnic groups. In 1999 and 200 1, the Italian government has adopted a series of laws, emphasizing the social and cultural rights of these ethnic groups. Non-indigenous people refer to ethnic minorities determined according to the characteristics of immigration source and immigration time. Therefore, they are often referred to as emerging ethnic minorities, mainly including immigrants from Asia, Africa, America and Australia and other countries and regions in continental Europe. According to the data published by the Italian National Bureau of Statistics, as of 2011,the Italian immigrant population was 45703 17, accounting for 7.5% of the total population of 608 13326.

3. France

In 2008, the population of France was 62.05 million, and the ethnic structure was mainly composed of indigenous people and immigrants. Among them, the ethnic groups are mainly French, Alsatians, bretons, Corsicans, Catalans and Basques, and the immigrants are mainly Arabs, Africans, Europeans and Asians. Article 2 of the current French Constitution (Constitution 2004/2005) stipulates that [2008-724] was last revised by the Modern Fifth Republic on July 23, 2008) and declares that "France is an indivisible, secular, democratic and social republic. It guarantees that all citizens are equal before the law, regardless of their origin, race or religion. It respects all beliefs. " Therefore, to be exact, France has no national policies and government agencies to coordinate and deal with ethnic issues, and the government has not listed ethnic composition and religious beliefs as the contents of population registration and census, let alone the official data of minority population. However, according to conservative statistics of non-governmental organizations such as the All-French Arab French Association and the Black French Association, in 2008, there were about 4 million to 7 million Arabs, 3 million to 5 million blacks and 6,543.8+0.5 million Asians. Because this data is a conservative estimate, the minority population has accounted for 22% of the total population of France.

Regarding the basic situation of the ethnic composition of France, another unofficial research data earlier can better explain the situation: the population of France is 58 1995, and its main ethnic group is about 48.93 million French. The main ethnic minorities are Alsace (6.5438+0.5 million), Brittany (3.7 million), Corsica (300,000), Catalonia (6.5438+0.6 million), Basque (6.5438+0.7 million) and immigrants from other nationalities or countries (Arabs and Africans, Europeans and Asians). This shows that France is actually a multi-ethnic country.

4. Spain

Spain is a multi-ethnic country, and the ethnic composition is mainly composed of three parts: the main ethnic group, the indigenous ethnic group and the immigrants. According to statistics, on June 0, 20/kloc-0+65438, the registered population in Spain was 47.02 million, of which the immigrant population was 5.7477 million, accounting for 12. 12% of the total population.

The main ethnic group is Castilians, that is, Spaniards, accounting for about 73% of the total population except immigrants. There are 20 other ethnic minorities, the most important of which are Catalans, Galicians and Basques, accounting for about 15%, 7% and 5% of the total population except immigrants respectively.

5. America

The United States is the largest immigrant country in the world at present, and its ethnic composition is mainly composed of immigrants from all over the world, their descendants and local aborigines. It can be said that the United States is one of the most complicated countries in the world. The federal government of the United States classifies different ethnic groups in China according to "race". 1790 The question of "race" was raised in the first census in the United States. Although the practice of counting ethnic groups according to racial classification has always been controversial, the US government insists that racial classification reflects the specific situation of American society, rather than the definition of biology, anthropology or genetics, and recognizes that this classification includes race, country of origin or socio-cultural groups. Because the household registration method in the American census is "self-reported", the household items in the census registration forms are not consistent, which often leads to confusion in statistics and proportion.

According to the data of 20 10 U.S. census, the total population of the United States in 20 10 was 308 million, of which the proportion of races in the total population was 72.4% for whites, 2.6% for blacks or African Americans10, 0.9% for Indians and Alaska natives, 4.8% for Asians and 4.8% for Asians. The population of two or more races (mixed race) accounts for 2.9% of the total population. At the same time, compared with the 2000 census data, the population growth rate of ethnic minorities and nationalities in the United States in the past decade was significantly higher than that of whites, among which the Asian population grew the fastest, reaching 43.3%.

In addition, it is worth noting that the US government began to pay attention to the Hispanic (Hispanic and Latino) population among whites from the 1970 census. In the 1980 census, the Hispanic population was classified as "other" from the previous "white" statistics. This is obviously intended to pay attention to the rapidly growing Hispanic population in the United States and the obvious cultural differences between non-Hispanic whites and Hispanic whites in white society. According to the principle of "self-reporting", in 1980, the Hispanic population in the United States was 2.062 million, accounting for only 0.9% of the total population (65438+88 million); In 2000, the Hispanic population was 35.305 million, accounting for 65.438+02.5% of the total population. In 20 10, the Hispanic population increased to 50.477 million (including mixed-race children who still consider themselves Hispanic), accounting for 16.3% of the total population. From 2000 to 20 10, the Hispanic population increased by 15 172000, an increase of 43%. At present, the total Hispanic population has surpassed blacks to become the largest minority (although it was not listed as one of the racial standards in the government census, it was listed as a separate item for investigation). At the same time, the non-Hispanic white population only increased by 2.265 million in ten years, with an increase of only 1.2%.

According to the US Census Bureau's prediction in 2008, by 2050, the population of ethnic minorities and nationalities in the United States will account for 54% of the total population, and the Hispanic population will account for 30% of the total population.

Undoubtedly, with the gradual changes in the racial and ethnic structure of the American population, it will inevitably have a far-reaching impact on the future inter-ethnic relations in the United States, as well as social and cultural aspects, just like the history of the United States since its founding more than 230 years ago.

Four. Ethnic problems in major western countries

1.uk

At present, there are two main ethnic problems in Britain: one is nationalism in Northern Ireland and Scotland; The second is the issue of ethnic minorities and racial discrimination. The former is mainly due to the differences between traditional culture and religious factors, which has caused the Scots and Irish people's dissatisfaction with the long-term rule of the English people and their cultural and religious control in history, mainly manifested in the demand for greater autonomy and even the pursuit of independent statehood in these two regions. The latter is mainly caused by Britain's long-term racist policy, which is mainly manifested in racial barriers, discrimination and violent ethnic conflicts.

2. America

Because the United States has long pursued a notorious racist policy, its domestic racial violence and racial discrimination have gained worldwide fame. Undeniably, since the 1960s, with the development of the American civil rights movement and the implementation of the Civil Rights Act, racism in the United States has been hit hard, and institutional discrimination no longer exists. At the same time, the political, economic and social status of ethnic minorities such as blacks, Indians and Asians has been significantly improved under the implementation of a series of policies aimed at ethnic minorities, including affirmative action preferential policies. Therefore, in recent years, many Americans believe that "anti-discrimination action" has been successful and there is no need to continue. Even some state governments, such as California, passed the "209 Act" as early as 1996, canceling the preferential policies provided by state governments to ethnic minorities. However, the actual situation is just the opposite. Because of deep-rooted racist ideas, there are still many "white supremacy" organizations in the United States. For example, there are at least three "white supremacy" groups active in San Francisco, which mainly attack ethnic minorities and immigrants. Racial discrimination against ethnic groups, including blacks, "second-class whites" Hispanics, Asians and Indians, is still the most prominent racial problem in American society, and barriers, contradictions and conflicts among ethnic groups in the United States still exist. Especially after the "9. 1 1" incident, prejudice and discrimination against Muslim groups have increased. According to a survey conducted by the Associated Press on May 20th, 20 10, in the United States, 6 1% of the respondents think that Hispanics are obviously discriminated against, and 52% of the respondents think that blacks are obviously discriminated against. According to a survey conducted in The New York Times on October 28th, 20 10, more than 60% of Hispanic residents said that discrimination has become the main problem they face every day, and this problem has become more serious in recent three years.

According to the survey, in new york, black men aged 15-29 are the most likely victims of murder. This group is less than 3% of the population of new york, but it accounts for 33% of all murder victims in 20 10. According to the report of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in 20 10, there were 6,628 hate crimes in the United States, of which 220 1 targeted African-Americans, 534 Latinos and 575 whites. Racial prejudice, religious prejudice and national prejudice accounted for 47.3%, 20% and 12.8% respectively. According to the report released by center for american progress in October11August, in the past 10 years, seven American foundations used more than 42.6 million dollars to incite anti-Muslim hatred in the United States.

At the same time, due to the long-term racist policy of the United States, the structural differences between ethnic groups still exist, and the "de facto inequality" of ethnic minorities in education, employment, income and many other aspects still exists. Take education as an example. In 2005, the proportion of American whites with a college degree or above was 28%, that of blacks was 17.6%, and that of Hispanics was only 12%. Compared with whites, the proportion of blacks and Hispanics with college education or above is 10.4 and 16 percentage points respectively. In 2000, the differences were 9.6 and 15.5 percentage points respectively. 1990 is 10.4 and 12.8 percentage points respectively; At 1980, it is 8.7 and 9.5 percentage points respectively.

It can be seen that in the past 25 years, compared with whites, the gap between blacks and Hispanics with higher education has not narrowed, but has gradually widened. In terms of income, although the income inequality between blacks and whites has narrowed since the 1960s, the property inequality has actually expanded. For example, 1972, the income ratio of blacks and whites in the United States is 57.5%, and 1990 is 58.4%. It increased to 66.3% in 2000 and dropped to 6 1% in 2005. The net asset ratio of black and white families was 65,438+09,965,438+0, which was 65,438+00.4% in 2004 and dropped to 9.9% in 2004. In addition, with another round of economic recession in the United States since 2000, especially affected by the "subprime mortgage crisis" in 2007 and the subsequent global economic crisis, the ethnic structural differences in American society have once again become prominent. For example, the unemployment rate, 1999, is 3.7% for whites, 8.0% for blacks and 6.4% for Hispanics in the United States. In 2004, the unemployment rate was 5.0% for whites, 65,438+0.65% for blacks and 7.0% for Hispanics. In 2009, the unemployment rate was 9.5% for whites, 15.7% for blacks and 13. 1% for Hispanics. In the past decade, the unemployment rate of white Americans has increased by 5.8 percentage points, that of blacks by 7.7 percentage points and that of Hispanics by 6.7 percentage points. From this, we can at least see that in this round of economic recession, blacks and Hispanics are more likely to lose their jobs than whites. For another example, in 2000, the poverty rate of whites in the United States was 7.5%, that of blacks was 22. 1%, and that of Hispanics was 2 1.2%. In 2006, the poverty rate was 8.2% for whites, 24.9% for blacks and 24.3% for Hispanics.

In 20 10, the poverty rate was 9.9% for whites, 27.4% for blacks and 26.6% for Hispanics. In the past decade, the number of poor blacks and Hispanics in the United States has been increasing, and the poverty rate of the population has risen higher than that of whites in the same period. In short, in recent years, the structural differences between ethnic groups in American society have expanded again, which will aggravate the barriers, prejudices and even discrimination among ethnic groups to a certain extent, thus affecting the harmonious development of ethnic relations in American society. With the increasing proportion of ethnic minorities in the American population, racial discrimination in the United States will once again attract the attention of the world.

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