- Saturday, July 27, 2024
In Europe, India’s popularity was found to be fading in France, Spain, Germany, UK and Poland since 2008.
By: Shubham Ghosh
WHILE people in most countries of the G20 grouping view India favourably, the number of residents of various European nations who view the south Asian country positively has come down in the last decade and half, a Pew survey published on Tuesday (29) said.
The survey, which included more than 30,000 people across 24 countries, conducted between February and May by the Pew Research Center, a think tank based in the US, showed that India is seen favourably with 46 per cent median, while 34 per cent look at it unfavourably.
The survey asked people in 12 of these nations about their viewpoints on prime minister Narendra Modi and 40 per cent said they lacked confidence in him to do the right thing in global affairs. Thirty-seven per cent showed confidence in the Indian leader.
Countries such as Russia, China, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, which are part of the G20 grouping, were not among the 24 nations where the polling took place. India was also among them.
The survey results come out less than two weeks before India hosts world leaders at the G20 summit in New Delhi in the second week of September.
In the US, just over half of the respondents saw India favourably at 51 per cent, while 44 per cent held an opposite view, according to the survey. Only 21 per cent had a positive take on Modi as against 37 per cent who said they did not have confidence in him.
In Europe, India’s popularity was found to be fading as its favourability rating slumped 10 percentage points in France, Spain, Germany, UK and Poland since 2008, the survey said.
In France, only 39 per cent respondents held a positive image of India this year as against 70 per cent a decade-and-half ago. Modi visited Paris in July to be the chief guest at the Bastille Day celebrations.
(With Reuters inputs)
