[sopas ej]

I find it interesting that a number of European nations don't even keep statistics on race; I would think that people would be curious to know the racial makeup of their populations. I discovered this some years ago when I wanted to know what percentage of the people in France are black, and couldn't find any statistics.

My own experience growing up in the United States, California in particular, back when affirmative action policies were in place at public colleges and universities, keeping track of race and ethnicity doesn't faze me. Also, filling out job applications, there's always that section where you may state your race/ethnicity, but it's always with the disclaimer that filling out that section is "for statistical purposes only and is entirely voluntary, and will not affect your chances of getting hired" or however it's worded.