Cape Town - South Africa is one of the least welcoming countries in the world when it comes to offering refuge to people fleeing war and persecution.
Amnesty International released their first Refugee Welcome Index, which ranks countries according to the percentage of people surveyed who said they would welcome refugees into their country, city or neighbourhood.
China topped the list as the most welcoming destination for refugees, while South Africa came in at number 20 out of 27 countries.
Globally, 80 percent of respondents said they would welcome refugees into their country. Thirty percent would welcome refugees in their neighbourhood, and 10 percent would welcome refugees into their home. However, 31 percent of South Africans would not even let refugees into the country.
Amnesty International surveyed 27 000 people across 27 countries, telephonically and in person. On average, 80 percent of people surveyed said they would welcome refugees into their areas.
Looking at demographics across the countries surveyed, Amnesty International found that women were slightly more friendly towards refugees than men. The least welcoming age group was between 35 and 65 years old, and friendliness tended to increase with wealth and education.
When asked whether they would let refugees fleeing war and persecution into their country, 69 percent of South Africans said yes. The only countries in the world who were less friendly were Russia and Poland.
Nearly half of all Chinese people surveyed would welcome refugees into their household. Germany and Spain were also welcoming, but preferred to welcome refugees into their neighbourhood or city rather than inviting them into their homes.
Amnesty International also gauged how respondents viewed their government’s efforts to help refugees.
An average of 66 percent of people around the world thought their government was not doing enough to help refugees.
Again, China topped the list, with 86 percent saying “yes” to the question, “Should your government do more to help refugees fleeing war or persecution?”
South Africa came 19th in this question, with 63 percent wanting more action from the government to aid refugees - just below the global average.
Sixty-five percent of South African respondents thought people should even be allowed to take refuge in other countries when they were threatened with war or persecution in their home state.
This was below the global average of 73 percent, which was led by Germany at 94 percent.
Cape Argus