Which country has the highest Ethnic Fractionalization Index (HIEF)?

Liberia has the highest Ethnic Fractionalization Index (HIEF) in 2013, at 88.9%, followed by Uganda (88.3%) and Togo (88.0%).

Which country has the lowest Ethnic Fractionalization Index (HIEF)?

Japan has the lowest Ethnic Fractionalization Index (HIEF) in 2013, at 1.9%.

What is the median Ethnic Fractionalization Index (HIEF) across countries?

The median is 44.4% across the 156 countries with data in 2013.

Where does this most racially diverse countries data come from?

Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Historical Index of Ethnic Fractionalization - Harvard.EDU; Historical Index of Ethnic Fractionalization Data Set - Harvard.EDU; List of countries ranked by ethnic and cultural diversity level - Wiki; Economic Effects of Domestic and Neighbouring Countries’ Cultural Diversity - Erkan Gören.

Country rankings

Most Racially Diverse Countries

Name: Most Racially Diverse Countries
Creator: Rankodex

Liberia has the highest Ethnic Fractionalization Index (HIEF) in 2013 (88.9%), followed by Uganda (88.3%) and Togo (88.0%). Japan has the lowest (1.9%).

Culture211 countries · 4 metricsUpdated Nov 30, 2025Original page

7 sources

Showing

Year

156 of 235 countries

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Ethnic Fractionalization Index (HIEF), 2013

Darker means higher. Click a place to highlight it.

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Ranking

Highest first: the first 15 and last 5 of 156 countries.

Distribution Median and middle halfThe median is the middle value: half of places are above it, half below. The middle half is the range holding the central 50% of places.More in the glossary →

Each dot is one country; the lines mark the median and the middle half.

Median

44.4%

Middle half 23.1% – 68.7%

Average

45.7%

156 countries

Highest

88.9%

Liberia

Lowest

1.9%

Japan

Over time · 2005–2013

The top 5 in 2013, against the median.

Median of all countries
Liberia
Uganda
Togo
Nepal
South Africa

Data

Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.

156 countries · # = rank by Ethnic Fractionalization Index (HIEF)

#
1	Liberia	88.9%
2	Uganda	88.3%
3	Togo	88.0%
4	Nepal	86.0%
5	South Africa	85.6%
6	Kenya	85.5%
6	Chad	85.5%
8	Mali	85.2%
9	Nigeria	85.0%
10	Guinea-Bissau	80.8%
11	Philippines	80.7%
12	Indonesia	80.3%
13	Timor-Leste	80.2%
14	Sierra Leone	80.1%
15	Malawi	79.1%
16	Central African Republic	79.0%
17	Gabon	78.9%
18	Ethiopia	78.3%
19	Angola	77.9%
20	Burkina Faso	76.7%
21	Kuwait	76.5%
22	Benin	76.4%
23	Afghanistan	76.3%
24	Gambia	76.2%
25	Namibia	76.0%
26	Pakistan	74.8%
27	Senegal	74.7%
28	Sudan	74.6%
29	Iran	74.3%
30	Ghana	73.6%
31	Ivory Coast	73.1%
32	Canada	73.0%
33	Guinea	72.7%
34	Mauritania	71.3%
35	Qatar	70.8%
36	Zambia	70.6%
37	Republic of the Congo	70.4%
38	DR Congo	70.0%
39	Guyana	69.5%
40	United Arab Emirates	68.4%
41	Spain	66.9%
42	Niger	66.6%
43	Eritrea	65.9%
44	Trinidad and Tobago	65.5%
45	Bhutan	65.1%
46	Djibouti	64.9%
47	Colombia	63.9%
48	Bosnia and Herzegovina	63.7%
49	Laos	63.4%
50	Peru	61.8%
51	Panama	61.2%
52	Oman	59.7%
53	Belgium	59.2%
54	Tanzania	59.1%
55	Myanmar	59.0%
56	Mexico	58.7%
57	Bahrain	58.2%
58	Bolivia	57.2%
59	Malaysia	57.0%
60	Morocco	56.6%
61	North Macedonia	56.2%
62	Brazil	55.9%
63	Latvia	54.7%
64	Nicaragua	54.4%
65	Kazakhstan	53.8%
66	Ecuador	52.8%
66	Fiji	52.8%
68	United States	52.7%
69	Turkey	52.1%
70	Venezuela	52.0%
71	Cuba	51.7%
72	Guatemala	51.1%
73	Kyrgyzstan	48.7%
74	New Zealand	48.5%
75	Mauritius	46.6%
76	Estonia	45.8%
77	Dominican Republic	45.3%
78	Iraq	44.6%
79	Cape Verde	44.2%
80	Chile	43.9%
81	Moldova	42.7%
82	Zimbabwe	41.5%
83	United Kingdom	39.9%
84	Costa Rica	39.8%
85	Serbia	39.6%
86	Singapore	39.5%
86	Botswana	39.5%
88	Eswatini	39.0%
89	Russia	37.6%
89	Israel	37.6%
91	Taiwan	37.3%
92	Algeria	37.2%
93	Ukraine	37.0%
94	Tajikistan	36.7%
94	Switzerland	36.7%
94	Georgia	36.7%
97	Netherlands	35.4%
98	Thailand	35.2%
99	Cyprus	34.7%
100	Sri Lanka	32.3%
101	Mongolia	31.5%
102	Uzbekistan	31.3%
102	Lesotho	31.3%
104	Belarus	30.9%
105	Burundi	30.8%
106	Bulgaria	28.9%
107	Lithuania	28.4%
108	Rwanda	28.0%
109	Australia	27.6%
110	Vietnam	26.3%
111	Czechia	26.2%
112	Libya	25.9%
113	Slovenia	25.8%
114	Turkmenistan	25.5%
115	Austria	24.8%
116	Slovakia	24.1%
117	Hungary	23.2%
118	Honduras	22.9%
119	Saudi Arabia	22.4%
120	Somalia	22.2%
121	Portugal	22.0%
122	Sweden	21.9%
123	Syria	21.3%
124	Jamaica	21.0%
125	Romania	20.7%
126	Madagascar	19.4%
127	China	19.0%
128	Germany	18.9%
129	Paraguay	17.9%
130	Denmark	17.7%
131	Uruguay	17.6%
132	Ireland	17.4%
133	Croatia	17.1%
134	Greece	16.7%
135	El Salvador	16.5%
136	Argentina	15.8%
136	Cambodia	15.8%
138	Norway	15.1%
139	Albania	13.9%
140	Finland	13.8%
141	Lebanon	13.3%
142	Yemen	12.6%
143	Azerbaijan	12.2%
144	Italy	11.0%
145	Haiti	10.5%
146	Solomon Islands	9.7%
147	South Korea	9.5%
148	Poland	6.9%
149	Comoros	5.4%
150	Armenia	4.5%
151	Jordan	4.4%
152	Egypt	4.1%
153	Tunisia	3.4%
154	Bangladesh	2.5%
155	North Korea	2%
156	Japan	1.9%

What correlates with Ethnic Fractionalization Index (HIEF) (2013)?

Pearson r against 1,472 other country metrics sharing at least 94 countries. Correlation is not causation.

Higher together

Places that have a higher Ethnic Fractionalization Index (HIEF) tend to score higher on these

Linguistic Diversity IndexLinguistic Diversity Index by Country
r = +0.66 · strong · n = 151
Plot
% Of World Languages UNESCOLinguistic Diversity Index by Country
r = +0.64 · strong · n = 153
Plot
% of People with BlindnessBlind Population by Country
r = +0.51 · strong · n = 155
Plot
Estimated Fertility RateTotal Fertility Rate
r = +0.51 · strong · n = 156
Plot
2025 GrowthPast and Projected Future Population by Country
r = +0.50 · moderate · n = 154
Plot
Aged 0-14Age Structure by Country
r = +0.50 · moderate · n = 156
Plot

Opposite directions

Places that have a higher Ethnic Fractionalization Index (HIEF) tend to score lower on these

Life ExpectancyHappy Planet Index by Country
r = −0.52 · strong · n = 139
Plot
EPI Safe Drinking Water ScoreWater Quality by Country
r = −0.51 · strong · n = 144
Plot
EPI Sanitation & Drinking WaterEnvironmental Performance Index by Country
r = −0.51 · strong · n = 147
Plot
Median AgeMedian Age by Country
r = −0.50 · strong · n = 156
Plot
Average Age Upon Birth of First Child (CIA)Average Age of Having First Child by Country
r = −0.50 · moderate · n = 105
Plot
Life ExpectancyPast Life Expectancy by Country
r = −0.50 · moderate · n = 156
Plot

Quick answers

Which country has the highest Ethnic Fractionalization Index (HIEF)?: Liberia has the highest Ethnic Fractionalization Index (HIEF) in 2013, at 88.9%, followed by Uganda (88.3%) and Togo (88.0%).
Which country has the lowest Ethnic Fractionalization Index (HIEF)?: Japan has the lowest Ethnic Fractionalization Index (HIEF) in 2013, at 1.9%.
What is the median Ethnic Fractionalization Index (HIEF) across countries?: The median is 44.4% across the 156 countries with data in 2013.
Where does this most racially diverse countries data come from?: Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Historical Index of Ethnic Fractionalization - Harvard.EDU; Historical Index of Ethnic Fractionalization Data Set - Harvard.EDU; List of countries ranked by ethnic and cultural diversity level - Wiki; Economic Effects of Domestic and Neighbouring Countries’ Cultural Diversity - Erkan Gören.