Israel and Iran Share Most Negative Ratings in Global Poll
Most people believe Israel and Iran have a mainly negative influence in the world with almost as many saying the same
about North Korea and the United States, according to a BBC World Service poll of 28,000 people across 27 countries.
People were asked to rate 12 countries – Britain, Canada, China, France, India, Iran, Israel, Japan, North Korea,
Russia, the USA, Venezuela – and the European Union, as having a positive or negative influence.
Canada, Japan, the European Union, and France were judged most positively. Britain, China, and India received more
positive than negative evaluations while Russia was viewed slightly more negatively than positively. Opinions about
Venezuela were evenly divided.
(Details of the evaluations of the United States were released separately by the BBC on 23 January).
The BBC has been tracking opinions about countries’ influence in the world over three years (2005 – 2007). During that
time most ratings have remained relatively stable. There has been improvement in ratings of India, a slight decline in
views about Britain and a significant fall in positive evaluations of the United States. Russia, China, and France also
lost ground over the period, mainly between 2005 and 2006.
Steven Kull, Director of PIPA, commented: “It appears that people around the world tend to look negatively on countries
whose profile is marked by the use or pursuit of military power. This includes Israel and the US, who have recently used
military force, and North Korea and Iran, who are perceived as trying to develop nuclear weapons.”
“Countries that relate to the world primarily through soft power, like Japan, France, and the EU in general, tend to be
viewed positively,” he added.
GlobeScan president Doug Miller said: “India is the only country that has significantly improved its global stature in
the past year, and is now even with China. Britain, while slipping a bit since 2005, appears to be avoiding the steep
decline that its war partner, the US, is suffering. And it is fascinating that Chavez’s Venezuela seems to be appealing
to as many people as it is displeasing.” The poll was conducted for the BBC World Service by the international polling
firm GlobeScan together with the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the University of Maryland.
GlobeScan coordinated the fieldwork between November 2006 and January 2007. Each country’s rating is based on
half-samples.
More Details
The BBC survey gave respondents a list of 12 countries and asked whether they had a “mostly positive or mostly negative
influence in the world.” The country with the highest number of mostly negative responses overall is Israel (56%
negative, 17% positive), followed by Iran (54% negative, 18% positive), the United States (51% negative, 30% positive),
and North Korea (48% negative, 19% positive).
Israel also stands out for having the largest number of countries (23 of 27) viewing it negatively. Iran is regarded
unfavourably in 21 countries, the United States and North Korea in 20.
The most positive ratings were given to Canada (54% positive, 14% negative), Japan (54% positive, 20% negative), the
European Union (53% positive 19% negative) and France (50% positive, 21% negative). Japan is viewed favourably by 24
countries, France by 25 countries, and the EU by 24 countries.
Another three countries tend to be viewed more favourably than unfavourably: Britain (45% positive, 28% negative), China
(42% positive, 32% negative), and India (37% positive, 26% negative). Views of Russia, however, lean slightly negative
(40% negative, 28% positive).
Views are divided about Venezuela, an oil rich country whose President is an outspoken opponent of US policy. Equal
numbers say Venezuela’s global influence is negative and positive (27% each). Nearly half (46%), however, decline to
offer an opinion.
In total 28,389 citizens in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Great Britain,
Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Lebanon, Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South
Korea, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and the United States were interviewed between 3 November 2006 and 16 January 2007.
Polling was conducted for the BBC World Service by the international polling firm GlobeScan and its research partners in
each country. In 10 of the 27 countries, the sample was limited to major urban areas. Given that country ratings were
given by half-samples, the margin of error per country ranges from +/-3.1 to 4.9 percent. For more details, please see
the Methodology section or visit www.globescan.com or www.worldpublicopinion.org.
The 19 countries polled in 2005, 2006, and 2007, and for which tracking results are available, include: Argentina,
Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Philippines,
Poland, Russia, South Korea, Turkey and the United States.
For detailed results for each country rated, please see the full release available here (PDF).
ENDS