Across 36 countries surveyed, an average 45 percent of people hold a positive view of India, while 41 percent view the country unfavorably. Washington-based research organization Pew Research Center disclosed the findings after surveying adults in 36 countries.
The survey was conducted from February 9 to May 13 this year. According to the report published on the research organization’s website, negative views of India are more common among most people in the United States, and are also rising in several countries in Europe and Latin America.
By contrast, views of India are broadly positive among people in African countries. Views among neighboring countries are mixed. For instance, most people in Sri Lanka hold a positive view of India, while the picture in Pakistan is the exact opposite. More than half of people in Bangladesh do not hold a positive view of India.
According to the Pew Research survey, here is how views of India vary by country:
North America
Fifty percent of survey respondents in the United States do not hold a positive view of India. In Canada, that figure is 40 percent. Meanwhile, 51 percent of Canadians and 45 percent of Americans hold a positive view of India.
Pew Research said positive views of India among US citizens have fallen to their lowest level since 2008, with a particularly sharp decline since 2023, when 51 percent of Americans reported a positive view of India.
Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are more likely to hold positive views of India than Republicans and Republican-leaning independents. Americans aged 65 and older hold more positive views of India, while the figure stands at 42 percent among those aged 18 to 29.
American respondents were also asked about India’s global influence. More than half (54 percent) said it has remained about the same in recent years. Thirty percent said India’s global influence has strengthened, while 13 percent said it is weakening.
Europe
Among European countries, views of India are quite favorable in the United Kingdom. Seventy-one percent of UK respondents hold a positive view of India, while 24 percent hold a negative view.
Meanwhile, positive views of India stand at 63 percent in Germany, 56 percent in Italy, 55 percent in Sweden, 50 percent in France, 49 percent in the Netherlands, 40 percent in Hungary, 39 percent in Greece, and 37 percent each in Poland and Spain.
Africa and the Middle East
India’s bilateral relationship with Israel is quite warm. Sixty percent of Israelis hold a positive view of India, while 29 percent hold a negative view. In the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, only 18 percent of residents hold a positive view of India.
Seventy-two percent of survey respondents in Turkey hold a negative view of India, with only 15 percent holding a positive view.
In South Africa, 38 percent hold a positive view of India and 46 percent a negative view. Meanwhile, views are quite positive in Kenya (71 percent), Ghana (50 percent), and Nigeria (47 percent).
Latin America
Positive views of India stand at 37 percent in Brazil, 36 percent in Colombia, 30 percent in Mexico, 29 percent in Peru, 25 percent in Chile, and 24 percent in Argentina.
Asia-Oceania
Fifty-five percent of respondents in Japan and Thailand hold quite positive views of India. In Singapore, that figure is 51 percent. Meanwhile, positive views stand at 50 percent in Indonesia, 49 percent in the Philippines, 44 percent each in South Korea and Australia, and 41 percent in Malaysia.
Neighboring countries
Only three South Asian countries were included in the survey on views of India. Among them, Pakistan has a historically adversarial relationship with India, and this is reflected in the survey. Only 7 percent of Pakistani respondents said they hold a positive view of India, while 91 percent hold a negative view.
The picture in Sri Lanka is the opposite. Only 11 percent of people there hold a negative view of India, while 79 percent report a positive view — up from 65 percent in 2024.
More than half (51 percent) of people in Bangladesh do not hold a positive view of India, while 42 percent report a positive view. Pew Research said the last survey in Bangladesh was conducted in 2024. Compared to that survey, positive views of India have fallen by 15 percentage points. Notably, 24 percent of respondents in that earlier survey declined to give an opinion — that figure has now fallen to just 7 percent in the current survey.
Views vary by ideology
Pew Research said political ideology drives differences in opinion among survey respondents in several countries. For instance, in the United States and Canada, people with left-leaning political views were found more likely to hold positive views of India compared to those on the right.
In the United States, 54 percent of liberal respondents and 40 percent of conservative respondents hold positive views of India. Meanwhile, in Canada, 58 percent of left-leaning respondents and 45 percent of right-leaning respondents hold positive views of India.
The picture in Israel is completely reversed. Forty-six percent of left-leaning Israelis hold positive views of India, compared to 68 percent among the country’s right-leaning respondents.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report