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Fancy yourself as a bit
of a Culture Vulture? Next time you feel like flying off to get your fix of
cultural diversity why not try one of these world cities?DayNews has gathered their list of the world's 10 most culturally diverse cities in the world that enable you to experience multiple cultures in one hit!
10. Dubai, United Arab Emirates
The majority of the people living in Dubai are originally from another country: two-thirds of the population is originally from Asia. Even though Arabic is the official language, many languages such as Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali and even Tagalog can be heard in the shops, restaurants and parks in the richest city in the world.
Travelling to Dubai on business? Did you know you may not actually meet many local Arabs when doing business? Chances are you'll work with someone from the expat community. Read more > Doing Business in the Middlle East
9. Singapore
A quarter of the Singaporean citizens are of foreign descent and as more than 5.3 million people call the city their home. The four official languages of the country, Mandarin, Malay, Tamil and English, clearly show that Singapore is one of the most multicultural cities in the world. However, English is the main language in business and education.
Did you know that business is still quite formal in Singapore? Discover more about Singapore culture and read > Singapore - Language, Culture and Customs
8. Hong Kong
If we say Hong Kong, you say “fusion:” the city has been a mixture of east and west for almost as long as it's existed. The IMB World Competitiveness Yearbook 2011 awarded the city with the highest ranking in Global Competitiveness, not in the least because of the city’s cultural diversity. The “basic law” of Hong Kong allows its residents to practice any religion they wish, whether it’s Taoism or Christianity.
Did you know you should never give things in odd numbers as many consider it unlucky? Read more at Hong Kong - Language, Culture and Customs
7. San Francisco, United States
This American city is known for its vast population of Asians that make up almost a quarter of its inhabitants. No wonder the biggest Chinese New Year celebration can be found in San Fran! The Latin community is also fairly large in the City by the Bay, with 21.7% of the people being of Latin American descent. Vallejo and Fairfield, areas nearby the city, even have the highest number of Latin American and Asian immigrants in the entire United States.
Did you know that all Americans in one way or another trace their ancestry back to another culture, whether Irish, German, Italian or Scottish? Read more at USA - Culture and Customs
6. Sydney, Australia
Sydney has a population of 4.6 million people, of which almost 40% were not born in Australia itself. The city’s immigrants have their roots in the UK, Vietnam, the Philippines and even Italy. Add this up to the Aborigines that inhabit the city and you have a population that speaks languages such as Arabic, Greek and Mandarin.
Did you know the initial population of Australia was made up of Aborigines and the British/Irish? After World War II there was heavy migration from countries like Greece, Italy, Germany, Lebanon, and Turkey. Find out more at > Australia - Language, Culture and Customs
4. Los Angeles, United States
A staggering 57% of LA residents speak more than one language. The city is known for its many cultural enclaves which range from the common Chinatown to the more exotic neighbourhoods of Little Armenia and Little Ethiopia. The biggest ethnic group of the city are the Hispanics, which make up 44% of the population. When you include the areas of Long Beach and Santa Ana, whites are second with 32%, with Asians as second runners up with 15%.
Did you know as a result of the high Latin American and Hispanic community in the USA, marketers now specifically target them? Find out how > Marketing to the Latino and Hispanic Community
3. Manchester, England
If you take its size into consideration, Manchester is the most linguistically diverse city in the world. The city’s 503,000 inhabitants speak at least 153 different languages. Compared to much bigger cities such as Paris and New York, this number is massive. It is believed that two-thirds of children in Mancherster speak two languages, which include Chitralli, Konkani (both spoken in India), Dagaare (spoken in Ghana and Burkina Faso) and Uyghur (spoken in northwest China).
Heard of Cheetham Hill Road? Read our
recent blog post > The
UK's most culturally diverse street found in Manchester
2. London, England
Britain’s capital is the home of cultural diversity. Its 8.2 million inhabitants have emigrated to the city from all parts of the globe you can imagine, varying from China, Poland, Jamaica and Nigeria. There are 50 non-indigenous communities in the city of the Big Ben, which adds up to 10,000 residents. In 2011, almost 37% of the city’s inhabitants were born elsewhere, which makes London the city with the second largest immigrant population on the planet.
Did you know over 300 languages are spoken in London? Find out how Twitter identified languages used in London
1. New York City, United States
More than 8 million people inhabit the city that never sleeps; unsurprisingly, this has resulted in a population that is very culturally diverse. Close to half of the New York residents are multilingual, and three million people speak a language that is not English. Almost a quarter of the people in the new York-northern New Jersey-Long Island area is Hispanic, followed by the African Americans and the Asian community that make up 16 and 10% of the population respectively. As new York is home to the biggest immigrant population in the world, it is safe to say it is the most culturally diverse one as well!
Reading this article gave me a big perspective of how population and “cultures” itself are being distributed around the globe. I have to say that what really called my attention while reading the article was the fact that San Francisco is also seen as an area where cultural diversity can be found easily; specially when we talk about Chinese people. I believed that San Francisco’s population was practically conformed by Native Americans and Latin’s. However, what doesn’t strike me at all is the fact that New York is “on top” when talking about cultural diversity, as it is a city full of opportunities and acceptance for all foreign people. I really enjoyed readying each question with fun facts at the end of each paragraph.
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