Most People Would Welcome Refugees Into Their Own Country, Global Survey Finds
The survey of 27 countries shows that 80% of the world — and 71% of the U.S. — would welcome refugees.
Most of the world would gladly accept refugees, including 71% of the Americans interviewed, according to a survey conducted in 27 countries by Amnesty International.
Migrants waiting to enter a Slovenian refugee camp in Oct, 2015.
Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images
Pål Nesse, senior adviser of the Norwegian Refugee Council, told BuzzFeed News that taking a relatively small sample size of a large population is standard practice for these kinds of surveys.
"If you have a good pre-determined base it can be statistically sound," he said.
Respondents were asked to agree or disagree with two statements: "People should be able to take refuge in other countries to escape from war or persecution," and "Our government should do more to help refugees fleeing war or persecution."
They were then asked how closely they would "personally accept" refugees, giving them the options of allowing them into their household, neighborhood, city, country, or refusing refugees entry entirely.
Amnesty International