Study finds people think racism is much worse in the US than in their own countries

According to a new study conducted by the Pew Research Center, concerns about racial and ethnic discrimination are widespread in most of the 17 major economies surveyed. But while the majority of adults surveyed say racism is a somewhat serious problem in their own societies, they see it as being much worse in the U.S.

"A median of 89% across the 16 non-U.S. publics surveyed describe racial and ethnic discrimination in the U.S. as a somewhat or very serious problem," Pew's researchers stated. "That includes at least nine-in-ten who take this position in New Zealand, South Korea, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden."

In most places, younger adults are more likely to see discrimination as a problem than their older counterparts, and in general, women see it more as a problem than men.

"...for example, 80% of women say discrimination against people based on their race or ethnicity is a somewhat or very serious problem, compared with 68% of men. Gender differences of around 10 percentage points are also evident in Canada, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, New Zealand and South Korea, both when it comes to discrimination locally and in the U.S."

Read the full study over at pewresearch.org.