Almost half of all racist incidents recorded by police were against people of Asian origin, according to new statistics.
People of Asian origin remained the ethnic minority most targeted by racists, with 46% of all 4907 incidents being against victims of that background.
The figures released on Tuesday showed a decline in racist incidents and crimes recorded by police forces in the past year.
One of the few ethnic groups that saw a rise in the number of incidents was White Irish, which, according to the publication released by the Scottish Government, increased from 87 to 131 in 2010 to 2011 compared to the previous year.
People of a Bangladeshi origin were targeted by racists more than the previous year, with 62 incidents compared to 95, while people of Pakistani origin were the victims in the largest number of incidents, with those of a “White British” ethnicity in second in the publication.
The number of crimes involving racism also decreased from 6470 to 6169, but the clear up rate of those had fallen slightly from 67.5% to 67.2%.
In response to the statistics, Community Safety Minister Roseanna Cunningham said: "Hatred of any kind has no place in modern Scotland and we need to do everything we can to stop it wherever and whenever it occurs, whilst tackling the root causes. Along with tough enforcement through record numbers of police officers on our streets, community engagement and education is driving home the message that there is no place for racism of any kind in Scotland.
"While these figures show a decrease in incidents in 2010 to 11, we cannot be complacent, particularly as we saw new prosecution figures being published last month which show an increase in racist charges this year. That is why we must continue with the work we are doing to tackle racism and hatred in all its forms whilst constantly looking at new ways of getting across the message to the next generation of young Scots."
The majority of incidents took place in the street, but there was an increase in those that occurred at schools, sporting venues and on public transport. The number of racist crimes involving violence and indecency rose from 60 to 74, according to the report.
According to the publication, White British made up the majority of the perpetrators of the incidents and crimes with 4181, while the number of incidents where the perpetrator was Black rose to 64.
Glasgow saw the highest number of racist incidents with 1328, while Edinburgh had the second highest with 844 and Aberdeen had the third with 464.
