Society: Luxembourg residents believe there is less discrimination overall in their country than the EU average, and are readier to support political candidates from a minority group, a new study has found.

Fifty-three percent of those surveyed in Luxembourg said discrimination based on ethnic origin was “widespread” in the Grand Duchy, close to the EU27 average of 56%, according to a Eurobarometer poll released on Thursday. Thirty-seven percent said it was “rare” in Luxembourg in contrast to 43% across the EU.

Only 31% of Luxembourg residents said discrimination against handicapped persons was “widespread,” versus an EU27 country average of 46%. Two-thirds in the Grand Duchy said sex discrimination was “rare” in contrast to the 58% European average; 43% said it was “rare” for gay, lesbian and bisexual people, compared to 59% in the EU; and 51% said it was rare to see discrimination based on religious convictions, in contrast to 63% in the EU27.

However, in Luxembourg, respondents said they would be markedly more comfortable with a female, disabled, gay or ethnic minority senior elected official than the EU average--giving 10% or higher positive scores for all the groups.

At the same time, more than half of Luxembourg respondents believed companies were likely to discriminate based on age (56%) and the “look” of a candidate (59%) in hiring equally qualified applicants, while more than a third thought a handicap and ethnic origin would be a drawback.

More than half of the Grand Duchy’s respondents also said the economic crisis had worsened discrimination based on age and ethnic origin, but a third or less said it had for gender and sexual orientation.

Eurobarometer is the European Commission’s polling agency. The discrimination study involved face-to-face interviews with more than 26,000 EU residents, including just slightly more than 500 in the Grand Duchy.