Brussels, 25/08/2011 (Agence Europe) - European countries have the most negative attitude towards immigration and the benefits it brings, according to an Ipsos survey conducted in 23 countries around the globe in June of this year. The poll reveals that 72% of Belgians, 71% of Britons and 67% of Spaniards and Italians believe that “there are too many immigrants” in their countries. These are followed by India, Argentina and the United States. In Germany 53% of respondents, and in France 52%, shared this view. With fewer than 30% taking this stance, Poland and Sweden are the European countries where this opinion is least common.
It is in Belgium that most respondents (72%) felt that immigration has had a negative effect on their country; ahead of South Africa and Russia and the UK, where 64% took this view. The poll also surveyed how immigration was perceived against each country's economic difficulties. Among Russians, 75% felt that immigration had made it more difficult to find work - a view not quite so strongly felt in the EU countries surveyed. However, 76% of people in the UK, 70% of Spaniards and 68% of Belgians believe that immigration is a burden on public services, in particular health and education, Ipsos reveals.
Ipsos notes that, overall, the idea that immigration is a good thing for the economy does not have majority support in any country, with the exceptions of Brazil and Canada, the only two countries where it is believed that “immigrants help make the country a more interesting place to live”. (S.P./transl.rt)