Which countries suit Black expats? What survey and census data can and cannot say

Why there is no ranking of countries for Black expats

Census categories for race and colour differ from country to country, so national statistics cannot be lined up side by side. FRA itself recommends that EU countries collect equality data, including data on ethnic or racial origin, to assess the situation and monitor progress. That is why the best comparative evidence we found comes from one purpose-built survey.

The FRA, an EU body, surveyed people of sub-Saharan African descent in 13 member states: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. Outside the EU there is no comparable multi-country survey that we could verify, so for other regions we use censuses and official reviews, and we say what they cannot tell you.

Anything labelled best on this subject should therefore be read as an opinion. The United Nations' Second International Decade for People of African Descent, 2025 to 2034, has the theme Recognition, Justice and Development, and its page names systemic racism and persistent inequalities as challenges to address, noting that around 200 million people identifying as of African descent live in the Americas alone. We state what each source covers and let you judge.

Being Black in the EU: what 6,700 respondents reported

FRA's survey covers more than 6,700 people of African descent in 13 EU countries, with fieldwork from October 2021 to October 2022. It found that 45 per cent reported racial discrimination in the five years before the survey and 34 per cent in the past year, up from 39 and 24 per cent in 2016. Five-year rates were highest in Germany at 76 per cent, Austria at 72 and Finland at 63.

FRA gives housing as one example of the rise: the 12-month prevalence of discrimination in the housing market went from 6 per cent in 2016 to 28 per cent in 2022. Thirty per cent reported racist harassment in the five years before the survey, with Germany at 54 per cent and Finland at 52 highest and Portugal at 10 lowest. Four per cent reported a racist attack, and Finland's five-year rate was 11 per cent, the highest.

On policing, 26 per cent were stopped by police in the five years before the survey and 12 per cent in the past year. Of those stopped in the past year, 58 per cent saw their latest stop as racial profiling, ranging from 69 per cent in Germany and 66 in Spain to 22 in Luxembourg. Only 9 per cent of discrimination victims reported it, and 12 per cent of harassment victims reported their latest incident to an official body, which means official counts understate what happens.

How to read the EU figures without over-reading them

A low rate in a survey is not a clean bill of health. The sources we read do not explain why rates differ between countries, and the samples were between 419 and 579 respondents per country, so small differences should not be over-read. FRA's headline for the whole sample is that racism is not falling, not that any country is free of it.

The figures are also about the experience of people of African descent already living there, rather than newcomers on short stays, and they do not separate the two. FRA reports that 31 per cent of respondents said they were racially discriminated against when finding accommodation, which is worth knowing if you plan to rent.

Use the table as a starting point for questions to put to residents. Portugal's harassment figure of 10 per cent was the lowest in the survey, and our page on Lisbon lists apartments there; but a single statistic is not an assurance.

Brazil and Colombia: where Afro-descendant people are a large share

Brazil's 2022 census counted about 20.7 million people as preto, or Black, which is 10.2 per cent of the population, and about 92.1 million as pardo, or brown, at 45.3 per cent. Together that is 55.5 per cent. Wikipedia describes Brazil as having the largest Afro-descendant population outside Africa, and says more than 80 per cent of Salvador's population is Afro-descendant. It also says Afro-descendants still face socioeconomic disparities and racial discrimination, although it gives no figures. See Salvador for apartments there.

Colombia's 2018 census counted 4,944,400 people, or 9.34 per cent, as Afro-Colombian, though Wikipedia says they are likely undercounted and that other estimates range from about 14 to 26 per cent. The population is concentrated on the Pacific coast, in Chocó, Valle del Cauca and Cauca, and on the northwest Caribbean coast, and about three quarters live in cities. Wikipedia gives Afro-Colombians as about 21 per cent of Cartagena and 15 per cent of Cali in 2024 projections, and says they earn about a third of what white or mestizo Colombians earn on average, a figure from a secondary source that may be dated. See Cartagena.

A large population share is not the same as equal treatment. In both countries the sources point to inequality alongside high representation in the population.

Ghana and diaspora return: a state-led invitation

Ghana's government launched the Year of Return in September 2018, with President Nana Akufo-Addo announcing it in Washington, DC, to mark 400 years since the first enslaved Africans arrived in Hampton, Virginia in 1619. Wikipedia describes the initiative as encouraging people of African descent, especially from the United States, to visit, settle and invest in Ghana, and reports projections of up to 1.5 million tourists in 2019 and reported growth of 18 per cent in international arrivals.

That is evidence of policy intent and tourism, not of how any individual would be treated, and Wikipedia says the economic claims are contested. For practical information on settling in Ghana, read official government pages, and see Accra for apartment stays. Our guide to best places to live in Africa compares countries on non-racial indicators.

In the 2026 Global Peace Index as listed on Wikipedia, Ghana is 76th, Senegal 75th, Namibia 63rd, Botswana 50th and Mauritius 18th, while Rwanda is 114th and South Africa 123rd. That index measures peace, not race, so it is background only.

What peace, governance and quality-of-life indexes cannot show

Most expat rankings use safety, cost, healthcare and climate. None of those measures captures how a Black resident is treated. The Global Peace Index, for instance, puts Portugal 7th, the Netherlands 17th, Spain 27th, Germany 28th and the United Kingdom 39th, but it counts conflict, militarisation and societal safety, not discrimination. Germany is 28th on that index and has the highest reported five-year racial discrimination in the FRA survey, which shows why the two should not be mixed.

Our wider overviews, best countries to live in and best countries to live in Europe, use those indicators. Treat them as complements to the survey evidence above, not substitutes. For the same question applied to trans and gender-diverse people, see best countries for transgender expats.

How to do your own research before you move, and where an apartment fits

Published statistics narrow the list; people fill in the rest. Look for recent accounts from Black residents of the specific city, community organisations, and local equality bodies. Ask in advance how housing applications work, because FRA found rising discrimination in housing. If you are weighing a relocation, read official immigration pages in the destination for your situation, since we cannot advise on that.

Some people start with a month or two in a furnished apartment before signing a lease, which lets you test neighbourhoods first-hand. Serviced apartments for relocation explains how that works, and the listings on a city page show which areas have apartment-style stays. For women considering the same decisions, best countries for Black women to live adds data on gender equality and maternal health.

• Use the FRA survey for the 13 EU countries it covers.
• Use census data to see where Afro-descendant communities are large, noting categories differ.
• Do not infer treatment of Black residents from peace, safety or cost indexes.
• Speak to residents and community organisations in your destination city.