The results of a new poll from Zenter show that, of those polled, most Icelanders do believe prejudice is a common occurrence in their country, Fréttablaðið reports. However, a statistically high proportion believe it is either a rare occurrence or neither common nor rare. As always, politically affiliations underlined some stark contrasts of opinion.
The poll asked simply, “How common or rare do you believe racism is in Iceland?”. Zenter sent this question to some 2,500 people aged 18 and older from June 15th to June 18th, with a response rate of 50.5%.
Overall, only 10% of respondents said they believed prejudice is very common in Iceland, while about 47% said it was rather common. By contrast, about 25% said they believed prejudice in Iceland is rare, while 17% said they believed it was neither common nor rare. A more precise picture comes into focus when the results are broken down by party affiliation.
The overwhelming majority of voters for the Pirate Party and the Leftist-Greens believe prejudice is indeed common, at 74% and 71% respectively. 67% of Social Democrats said the same, as did 57% of People’s Party and 56% of Reform Party voters. However, only 39% of conservative Independence Party voters believed prejudice is common in Iceland, with 41% contending that it is rare. 44% of voters for both the Progressive Party and the Centre Party also believe prejudice is a rare thing in Iceland, while 37% and 34% respectively believe it is common. Remaining percentages from 100% for each party believed prejudice is neither rare nor common.
In terms of other demographics, the vast majority of women (72%) said they considered prejudice to be a common thing in Iceland, but only 43% of men said the same. Those in the 25 to 34 years old age bracket were the most likely to say prejudice is common, with that belief becoming less likely the older the respondents get. At the same time, there was very little difference of opinion between Icelanders who live in the greater Reykjavík area and those who live in the countryside.
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