Germany is the most positively viewed nation in the world in this year’s annual Country Ratings Poll for the BBC World Service.
More than 26,000 people were surveyed internationally for the poll.
They were asked to rate 16 countries and the European Union on whether their influence in the world was “mainly positive” or “mainly negative”.
Germany came out top, with 59% rating it positively. Iran was once again the most negatively viewed.
Global views of Europe’s biggest country have improved significantly in 2013, according to the poll.
It was conducted for the BBC by GlobeScan and PIPA, who conducted face-to-face and telephone interviews with randomly selected people in 25 countries.
“There were high positive ratings for Germany in recession-hit Spain and France – though not in Greece – despite the well-publicised placards depicting Chancellor Angela Merkel as a Nazi, paraded during anti-austerity protests in Europe.”
But in debt-laden Greece a majority of people polled gave Germany negative ratings. (Full Story BBC)
I would hardly expect Greeks to give positive ratings. After all, it’s the perception people have from a country in such a poll not the real experience. The perception of Germany in Greece has not be the best during the last three years and this is based on real harsh austerity experience after Germany’s incredible pressure. 🙂
PS Greeks may have found most popular country Fidji Islands, Dubai or Vanuatu, but they were not on the poll list…
