Views of China and India Slide While UK’s Ratings Climb

Japan

Views of Japan’s positive influence have declined considerably in 2013, halting an improving trend that had been going for several years. On average, in the 21 tracking countries surveyed both in 2012 and 2013, 51 per cent hold positive views of Japan. This is seven points down from the 2012 level. At the same time, negative views have gone up six points to 27 per cent. This has dropped the country’s ranking from its first place position last year to fourth place. Despite this, the spread by country shows how global perceptions remain strongly positive. Out of the 25 countries surveyed in 2012, 20 lean positive, three lean negative, and two are split in their views (Mexico and Spain).
The most favourable views of Japan are found in Indonesia (82%, up five points) and in Nigeria (75%), although positive sentiment among Nigerians has dropped slightly (down five points) since 2012. Views of Japan are also quite high and have strengthened in Brazil with 71 per cent having positive views (up 11 points), while just ten per cent hold opposite views (down 12 points). All surveyed publics in South America have favourable perceptions of Japan. After Brazilians (71%, up 11 points), Chileans have the most favourable views in this region (66%, up nine points), and Peruvian attitudes have also warmed, with 64 per cent giving positive ratings to Japan (up seven points), while only 15 per cent have negative perceptions.
The global decline in views of Japan is driven by perceptions in the EU. Across all EU countries surveyed (excluding Greece and Poland, included in the survey this year for the first time), views of Japan’s influence have sharply declined since 2012—although the perceived influence of Japan in the world remains largely positive overall. Majorities in Poland (59%) and Greece (50%) approve of Japan’s influence. Positive views are the highest in Europe among the populations of the UK (59%) and France (56%), but they have fallen in both countries, by 11 and ten points respectively, concurrently with ten- and eight-point increases in negative ratings (to 27% and 32% respectively). Overall, attitudes toward Japan have deteriorated much more in Spain, where they have dropped 26 points (down to 36%), and in Germany, where positive ratings decreased by 30 points (to 28%). German views have thus shifted and the country has moved from leaning strongly positive in 2012 to leaning strongly negative this year (28% positive vs 46% negative). In Spain, the opinion is now divided (36% vs 32%).
The decline is also driven by worsening perceptions among Japan’s neighbouring countries. Views of Japan’s influence are the least favourable in China, with just 17 per cent holding positive views versus 74 per cent giving it negative ratings (up nine points). Continuing a downward trend started in 2011, South Koreans have a more unfavourable view of Japan’s influence than they did last year (21% positive, down 17 points, vs 67% negative, up nine points).
In other Asian countries surveyed, pluralities in Pakistan (45% positive) and India (33%, down nine points) remain favourable, but attitudes have cooled somewhat in both countries. Respondents in Australia also continue to lean positively, but less so than in 2012: the proportion of those holding positive views has dropped 12 points to 53 per cent, and negative views have risen by 13 points to 36 per cent.
In NAFTA countries, majorities of Canadians and Americans continue to hold favourable views of Japan (61% and 66% respectively), but these proportions have decreased by nine points in the case of Canada and eight in the case of the USA. Also, more respondents in Canada rate Japan negatively in 2013 compared to last year (23%, up seven points). In Mexico, the pattern of worsening attitudes holds: opinions have polarised since 2012, as 42 per cent now hold positive views of Japan’s influence, and 38 per cent hold negative views (up 12 points). Mexicans are now divided—a shift from their favourable inclinations in 2012.
Among the African countries not yet discussed, Japan’s influence remains positive overall. In Ghana, more respondents rate Japan favourably this year (59%, up 11 points) but there has also been an increase in those who rate it negatively (20%, up ten points). In the two other African countries surveyed, positive sentiment has declined since 2012: in Egypt, it has gone down 13 points to 44 per cent, and in Kenya, it has gone down ten points to 58 per cent. Nonetheless, there is still a sizeable gap between those who hold positive and negative views in all African countries.
 

The European Union

The haemorrhage that affected the EU’s global influence ratings last year has stopped in 2013, and views of the supranational entity have started to recover, albeit slowly. On average, 49 per cent of respondents in the 22 tracking countries surveyed in 2012 and 2013 have positive attitudes about the Union—one point above the 2012 level. At the same time, negative perceptions have dropped by the same margin to 24 per cent. Of the 25 countries surveyed in 2013, 19 lean positive, three lean negative, and three are divided.
Strong and stable majorities continue to give the EU favourable ratings in France (68%) and in Spain (60%, and negative ratings have dropped eight points to 13%). Newly surveyed this year, Poland shows very favourable inclinations towards the EU, with 68 per cent of its citizens rating its influence positively—the second highest percentage in the survey, alongside France. However, in Greece, also surveyed for the first time this year, views are divided (35% positive vs 37% negative), and Greeks are the least positive towards the influence of the EU within Europe. Such attitudes are matched across the world in Australia, where views have remained stable: Australians continue to be divided in their attitudes towards the EU (41% positive vs 42% negative).
Positive views have plummeted in Germany, one of the core members of the EU. Only 59 per cent continue to rate the EU positively, compared to 73 per cent in 2012. This is by far the lowest proportion of positive ratings recorded in Germany since 2006. In the UK, the decrease in overall attitudes towards the EU started in 2010 has continued: now, for the first time since tracking began in 2006, more Britons feel negatively about how they perceive the influence of the EU than do positively. Forty-two per cent hold positive views, and 47 per cent hold negative ones.
In the EU’s closest neighbouring countries, perceptions among Russians have remained stable and positive (41% positive vs 19% negative), but Turkish opinion has shifted from leaning positive in 2011 (46% vs 29%) to leaning negative in 2013 (38% vs 46%).
In North America, the EU continues to enjoy favourable ratings, but positive perceptions have slipped in Canada, the US, and Mexico, continuing the decline started in 2011. In Canada and the US, positive ratings have decreased by ten points (respectively to 51% and 46%), but negative ratings have stabilised. The mood in Mexico has cooled due to a seven-point increase in negative ratings (to 34%) while a plurality of 42 per cent are still holding favourable views. In South America, positive views of the EU among Peruvians and Chileans have increased (48%, up 11 points in Peru; 60%, up nine points in Chile).
Among the BRIC countries, apart from previously mentioned Russia, views have markedly improved in Brazil and in India, and are back to levels similar before the big 2012 slip. Forty-seven per cent of Brazilians consider the influence of the EU to be mainly positive (up eight points since 2012), as do 33 per cent of Indians (up nine points). In both countries, the publics have shifted from being divided in 2012 to leaning positive this year. In China, a plurality of 40 per cent holds favourable views, but positive perceptions have cooled a little since 2012 (down six points).
In the Sub-Saharan countries surveyed, views are very solidly entrenched in positive territory. With 79 per cent of favourable opinion, surging up 31 points since 2012, Ghana is the most upbeat in the survey about the EU’s influence. In Nigeria and in Kenya, respondents continue to be very warm in their attitudes towards the EU with 58 and 60 per cent respectively giving positive ratings. To the north, however, Egyptian public sentiment has reversed since 2012: positive ratings have plunged so that only 29 per cent lean favourably towards the EU, compared to the 51 per cent observed last year. As a result, Egyptians are now divided in their opinions (29% positive vs 27% negative).
In Asia, South Koreans show high levels of satisfaction with the EU’s influence in the world stage. Sixty-five per cent give it positive ratings (stable) while just 15 per cent feel the opposite (down 11 points). Views among Japanese citizens have gotten much warmer thanks to a nine-point rise in positive ratings (to 32%) combined with a seven-point drop in negative ratings (to 11%).
Pakistan is the least favourable towards the EU out of all the countries surveyed, with less than a quarter of respondents (23%) rating the EU positively—even though this is up ten points since 2012. Perceptions in another Muslim country in the region, Indonesia, have evolved differently: positive views have reached 50 per cent (up 16 points) while unfavourable ratings have remained steady at 22 per cent.
 

The United States

 
Positive views of the USA have slid further down in 2013, continuing the slow decline started last year. In the 21 tracking countries surveyed both in 2012 and 2013, 45 per cent of respondents on average have positive views of American influence in the world (47% in 2012), while 34 per cent hold negative views (up one point from 33% in 2012). In terms of positive views, the USA still ranks eighth out of 17 countries rated, including the EU. Of the 25 countries surveyed about the USA’s influence in 2013, 13 countries hold positive views, seven hold negative views, and five are divided.
The most favourable views of the USA continue to be found in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Ghana, positive views have gone up 21 points over the past year, and 82 per cent of Ghanaians now have positive views of American influence. Ghana is followed by Kenya (69%), despite a ten-point drop in positive views, and Nigeria (67%).
In Latin American countries, attitudes are mostly positive. Chile is the most favourable towards the USA with 62 per cent of positive ratings (up 15 points), followed by Brazil and Peru, with 59 and 55 per cent respectively holding positive views. Positive ratings in the latter country have increased by nine points. Favourable views in Brazil have become more dominant due to a seven-point drop in negative views, from 30 to 23 per cent. Mexico, however, bucks this positive outlook among Latin American nations, as the country remains divided in its perceptions of its northern neighbour’s influence (41% positive vs 43% negative).
Views in Canada—the USA’s other neighbouring country—have deteriorated. Minor changes of opinions have caused the Canadians to shift from leaning somewhat positive in 2012 (48% positive vs 42% negative) to being divided in 2013 (45% vs 45%). These cooling views are also observed in other historically Anglo-Saxon countries, which are traditionally positive towards the United States. As in Canada, Australian views shifted from leaning positive in 2012 (50% vs 38%) to being divided this year (46% vs 42%). This attitudinal change is even more marked among Britons, where opinion is now also split. There, positive views of the USA have decreased 14 points while negative views have increased by the same amount, so that views are perfectly divided (46% vs 46%).
In the other European countries surveyed, Poland—a strong ally of the USA—holds the most favourable views, with 55 per cent leaning positive and just 15 per cent giving negative ratings to the United States’ influence in the world. The picture in other EU countries varies, with France and Spain being mostly positive, with 52 and 43 per cent respectively voicing favourable views, although French favour has cooled significantly, with a ten-point drop in positive views and a 12-point rise in negative ratings. Germans continue to be divided (35% vs 39%), while Greeks, surveyed for the first time, post very unfavourable views: a majority of 51 per cent says the USA’s influence is negative, with less than a quarter (23%) holding the opposing view. At the periphery of Europe, views continue to be negative: majorities of Turks (59%) and Russians (53%) have negative perceptions of American influence.
In Asia, South Koreans are the most favourable towards the USA, with 58 per cent posting positive ratings of USA influence. Japan and India continue to have pluralities leaning positively (42% and 40%, respectively), and views among Japanese have markedly improved—positive views are up ten points and negative views are down five points. Views in Indonesia have shifted from being somewhat positive in 2012 (43% positive vs 37% negative) to being somewhat negative this year (38% vs 44%). Views in China have worsened: only one in five Chinese respondents (20%) hold positive views (down nine points). With 57 per cent holding negative views (up nine points), China has the third-most negative attitude towards the USA, after Pakistan (stable at 64%) and Turkey.
 

Germany

Global views of Germany have improved significantly in 2013, and the country has returned to its position as the most favourably viewed nation overall. On average, in the 21 tracking countries surveyed both in 2012 and 2013, 59 per cent of people rate Germany positively. This is the highest percentage out of all countries evaluated and represents a three-point increase since last year. At the same time, negative views have receded by one point globally, down to 15 per cent—the second lowest proportion after Canada. Of the 25 countries polled in 2012, 23 lean positive, one is divided (Pakistan), and one leans negative (Greece).
Perceptions of Germany have improved quite significantly in two EU countries. This is the case in the UK, where favourable attitudes have gone up by eight points (78%) while negative ratings have decreased nine points (12%). The movement is similar in Spain, with increased proportions holding positive views (68%, up eight points) and fewer holding unfavourable ones (13%, down 14 points). Among other European countries, the French have the most favourable views of their neighbour (81% positive, as in 2012, and the second highest percentage in the survey). Germany’s neighbour Poland has very favourable attitude as well, with two-thirds of Poles (67%) feeling positive, against a meagre eight per cent holding negative views.
At the periphery of the EU, views among Russians and Turks are also positive (55% and 46% respectively) even though favourable ratings in Russia have diminished by seven points since 2012. Greeks, who were asked to evaluate how they perceive German influence for the first time, have very different views. Greeks are the only respondents voicing a negative sentiment towards Germany, with a majority of 52 per cent giving negative ratings, against the 25 per cent giving positive ones.
In North America, attitudes have remained strongly favourable and stable overall, with positive majorities of 71 and 69 per cent in the US and Canada, respectively.
Other groups driving favourable sentiment toward Germany are found among the Asian OECD countries, such as Australia (76% positive vs 10% negative), South Korea (76% vs 8%), and Japan (47% vs 3%). Perceptions have remained stable among Australians and South Koreans, but the Japanese have warmed to the perceived influence of Germany, as positive ratings have gone up by 11 points since 2012.
Attitudes towards Germany in the BRIC countries are overall comfortably positive. After Russia, (55% positive), closely followed by Brazil (53%) where public opinion has improved after negative ratings plummeted (15%, down 15 points). Views in China are stable with a plurality of 48 per cent holding favourable views. India is also positive overall (27% positive vs 14% negative), but a large majority of 59 per cent express no a clear opinion about Germany.
In the rest of Latin America, Germany’s reputation is solid and improving in Chile (58% positive, up ten points), Mexico (54%, up 13 points), and Peru (43%, up eight points).
In Muslim countries, approval of Germany’s influence has improved in Pakistan, where opinion has shifted from leaning somewhat negative in 2012 (21% positive vs 26% negative) to being divided this year (29% vs 26%). The mood in Egypt has remained stable and favourable, with 43 per cent of respondent leaning positive, twice as many as those who lean negative (21%). In Indonesia, sentiment towards Germany remains very favourable (60% positive), despite an eight-point increase in negative ratings (21%).
In Africa, positivity prevails in Nigeria, though favourable views have gone down 11 points from the 2012 record of 80 per cent positive ratings.
In the rest of Africa, Ghanaians emerge as the most favourable toward Germany in 2013, with 84 per cent approving of its role in the world (up from 56% the previous year), while Kenyan attitudes have cooled a little while remaining firmly in positive territory overall (52% positive, down nine points).
 

Canada

Global views of Canada have improved in 2013, erasing the dip that was observed last year. In the 21 tracking countries surveyed both in 2012 and 2013, 55 per cent of people on average have positive views of Canadian influence in the world (53% in 2012), and 13 per cent hold negative views (down one point). In terms of positive views, Canada has gone up one rank to reach second place out of all countries rated. Perceptions of Canada are positive globally: of the 25 countries surveyed in 2013, all are on balance positive about Canada’s influence except Pakistan, where opinion continues to be divided (27% positive vs 29% negative), as in 2012.
The most favourable views about Canada are found in the US (84% and stable), France (82% and stable), the UK (80%, up seven points), and Australia (79%, but down five points).
In other EU countries, views are also very favourable, as in Poland (61% positive vs 4% negative) and Greece (56% vs 10%). In Spain, sentiment towards Canada has improved strikingly, with a 19-point increase in positive ratings (74%). This contrasts with the sudden cooling of German views: favourable perceptions have dropped 24 points, leaving a small majority of 51 per cent leaning positively.
At the periphery of Europe, Russia and Turkey continue to have pluralities who feel positively about the perceived influence of Canada in the world—40 and 43 per cent respectively. However, with 34 per cent holding negative views, the Turks are the second most negative group about Canada’s influence out of all countries surveyed.
African countries are positive about Canada’s influence, particularly in Ghana where favourable ratings have gone up 23 points to 70 per cent. The pictures in Nigeria and in Kenya have remained fairly stable, if slightly cooler, with 52 and 43 per cent respectively leaning positively towards Canada. A small plurality of Egyptians (27%) holds favourable views, but opinion in the country has become more undecided compared to last year, with drops recorded both for positive ratings (down ten points) and negative ratings (down seven points to 15%). This leaves high numbers of Egyptians unable or unwilling to take a clear stance (58%, up 17 points).
Views of Canada in the Americas have become much warmer overall. The highest proportion of positive ratings there is found in Chile, with 58 per cent (up nine points). In Brazil, positive views have also strengthened (51, up ten points), and this concurred with a strong drop in negative ratings (17%, down 13 points). Perceptions of Canada in Peru have improved, with 11 per cent more leaning favourably (46%) compared to 2012. In Mexico, a country with strong ties to Canada through NAFTA, views have remained stable and positive (45% positive vs 27% negative).
In Asia, views have remained quite stable overall. They have barely moved in India, where a small plurality of 26 per cent leans positive against the 13 per cent who lean negative, leaving the opinion highly undecided overall (61%). No change is seen in Japanese opinion, either: 40 per cent lean positive and just 1 per cent are negative—the lowest percentage of negative views of Canada in the survey. Meanwhile, overall attitudes have improved in South Korea, with negative ratings dropping 13 points to reach an all-time low of 4 per cent, while 77 per cent of South Koreans posted favourable ratings of Canada’s influence in 2013. There has also been an improvement in Indonesia (49% positive, up seven points) and in China, where a majority of 55 per cent give positive ratings to Canada compared with just 15 per cent who feel the opposite (down seven points).
 

France

Views of France’s influence in the world have stabilised in 2013, following the sharp decline observed in 2012. In the 21 tracking countries surveyed both in 2012 and 2013, 49 per cent of respondents on average say that French influence in the world is positive. This is up one point compared to the previous year. At the same time, negative views have ebbed a little, down to 21 per cent from 22 per cent in 2012. Out of all countries rated, France has gone up one position to rank fifth in terms of positive views regarding its influence in the world. Of the 25 other countries polled in 2013, 22 lean positive, two lean negative (Turkey and Mexico), and one is divided (Pakistan).
France’s most favourable ratings are distributed around the world. Ghanaians are the most upbeat about the perceived French influence, with 68 per cent holding positive views thanks to an impressive 29-point increase since 2012. Opinion is also very positive—and stable—in Nigeria, where 61 per cent of the public acknowledges favourable perceptions of France. Stable and comfortable majorities with positive views are also found in South Korea (64%, where negative views have dropped 12 points to 13%), Chile (63%), Canada (60%), and Australia (57%).
Respondents in all surveyed European countries have strong and increasingly positive sentiment about France, except in Germany. Countries polled for the first time, namely Poland and Greece, post 60 per cent and 49 per cent positive views respectively, while just 8 and 17 per cent report negative attitudes. Poland is thus the most favourable country toward France in the EU. In Spain and in the UK, views have improved significantly after being moderately positive in 2012. A majority of 51 per cent of Spaniards holds favourable views (up eight points), while negative ratings have dropped ten points to 26 per cent. The picture is similar among the British (50% positive vs 34% negative), as negative views have decreased by seven points since last year. Bucking this favourable trend in Europe, however, views have dramatically cooled in Germany, where just 48 per cent continue to have favourable views of French influence—a 24-point drop since 2012 and the lowest percentage of positive views of France recorded in Germany since 2005.
Moving further afield, in the periphery of Europe, views have further deteriorated in Turkey since the last time the country was surveyed. Just above one in five Turks (21%) feel favourably toward France, compared with 64 per cent who feel French influence is negative—by far the highest proportion in the survey. As a result, Turkish opinion is now strongly negative overall, shifting from being divided in 2011 (36% positive vs 39% negative). Yet in Russia, views of France continue to be relatively stable and comfortable, with a plurality of 49 per cent seeing the country positively.
In the other BRIC countries, the public’s perceptions are positive and improving. Attitudes in China have continued to warm in 2013: a majority of 51 per cent now holds favourable views towards France (up seven points), while only 19 per cent feel negatively, down from 28 per cent in 2012. In Brazil, further improvement is seen with an eight-point drop in negative ratings (to 19%) while positive views remained stable (50%). In India, where opinion was divided in 2012, a very small shift in attitudes has resulted in the public being now somewhat positive (29% positive vs 23% negative).
Other countries with favourable views of France include Indonesia (56%, up seven points); Kenya, where a six-point drop in positive ratings (49%) was more than compensated by a 15-point drop in negative ratings (to 10%); Peru (43% positive, up ten points); the USA (48% positive, a similar result to last year); and Japan (33% positive and just 4% negative, a stable finding from last year).
In Egypt, the public remains positive (36% vs 26%) but overall attitudes have largely cooled following a 15-point drop in favourable perceptions. Views continue to be muted in Pakistan, but a 12-point increase in positive ratings has continued the gradual improvement in attitudes since 2010, making the opinion shift from negative to divided in 2013 (33% vs 31%).
Positive attitudes toward France among Mexicans has dropped 14 points, down to 31 per cent, while negative feelings have surged to 43 per cent (up from 21%). This shifts the overall opinion from comfortably positive in 2012 to negative in 2013.
 

Brazil

Views of Brazil occupy a middle ranking position relative to the other countries (and the EU) evaluated in 2013, ranking seventh overall in terms of positive ratings. However, the overall picture for Brazil is less favourable than it was in 2012, owing to an increase in global negative ratings. On average, in the 21 tracking countries surveyed both in 2012 and 2013, 46 per cent say they have mainly positive perceptions of Brazil’s influence—this is one point above the proportion observed in 2012. However, at the same time, unfavourable views have increased by three points to 21 per cent. Out of the 25 countries surveyed in 2013, 19 lean positive, five are divided, and only one leans negative (Germany).
Brazilians themselves are the most positive about their country’s influence in the world, with 77 per cent mainly positive about it, although this has declined by 11 points in 2013. Fellow South American countries are the next-most positive about Brazil with a 12-point increase seen in Chile (73%, up 12 points), and a stable and strong majority of 65 per cent Peru.
Brazil does not enjoy particularly positive views among its BRIC counterparts, with India giving the fewest positive responses about Brazil’s influence of all countries surveyed. Only 18 per cent of Indians lean positive about Brazil (down nine points since 2012) and opinion has shifted from leaning positive in 2012 to being split in 2013 (18% vs 20%) with a majority undecided. China also has seen a decrease in its public’s positive views of Brazil, now down to 34 per cent following a seven-point decrease; the Chinese are also divided in 2013 (31% negative), a shift from 2012 when the opinion leaned positive (41% vs 31%). Incidentally, this is lowest proportion of positive ratings ever given by the Chinese about Brazil’s influence since tracking began there in 2008. Bucking this downward trend seen in India and Brazil, Russian views of Brazil have remained stable and positive (38% positive vs 8% negative).
NAFTA countries generally show positive views of Brazil, with some variations from one country to another. In Mexico, views have improved somewhat with 49 per cent holding favourable impressions (up six points) about Brazil, almost double the proportion of those holding unfavourable views (25%). The picture is similar in the US, where a majority of 50 per cent leans positive, but negative views have increased by nine points to 26 per cent. Strongly positive in 2012, views in Canada have declined to now be the least positive among NAFTA countries. Forty-four per cent of Canadians now think positively about Brazil, a decline of 13 points, while negative perceptions have risen ten points at the same time, reaching 29 per cent.
Brazil also enjoys strongly positive perceptions among two sub-Saharan African countries with Nigeria and Ghana the fourth and fifth most positive countries toward Brazil respectively. Positive views in Ghana have surged to 60 per cent, an increase of 29 points, while they have remained stable among Nigerians at 62 per cent. There is a marked difference in Kenya, where positive views have dropped nine points to 42 per cent, though views are still positive overall (42% vs 16%). In North Africa, views among Egyptians have cooled a little with a ten-point decrease in positive ratings (32%), though like in Kenya, overall attitudes remain favourable (32% vs 19%).
Among EU countries, views toward Brazil are wide-ranging, with the most positive views found in Spain (58%, up eight points), and France (54%). Views in France, however, have evolved differently from those in Spain, deteriorating sharply thanks to a nine-point drop in positive ratings combined with a 12-point increase in negative views (32%). Attitudes in the UK are positive overall and have remained stable (49% positive vs 27% negative). Newly asked this year, Poles and Greeks lean favourable with respective pluralities of 39 and 33 per cent, while in the European periphery, Turks are split in their views of Brazil (38% positive vs 34% negative).
Completely at odds with the overall positive perceptions in Europe, Germany comes out again as the least positive European country toward Brazil, and the second-least positive country overall, with just 19 per cent of Germans viewing it positively. With a dramatic 21-point increase in negative views (now at 40%), opinion has shifted from being divided in 2012 (22% vs 19%) to leaning negatively in 2013.
There has been an increase in positive views among the selected Asian countries, notably in Indonesia, where 54 per cent of the population are positive about Brazil, a ten-point increase since last year. Japan has also seen an increase of eight points since 2012, to 40 per cent positive. Pakistan, while sharing similarly low positive views with India, has nonetheless seen an eight-point increase in positive views to 27 per cent, but remains divided overall (27% vs 26%). Views among South Koreans have remained stable (49% vs 24%). Contrasting with this relatively positive regional outlook, views have greatly deteriorated among Australians: as with the Chinese, they have shifted from leaning positive in 2012 to being divided in 2013 (now 39% vs 37%) because of a 13-point rise in negative ratings and a six-point drop in positive ratings.
 

Pakistan

Views of Pakistan have deteriorated again in 2013, following the slight improvement that had been seen in 2012. On average, in the 21 tracking countries surveyed in both years, 15 per cent of respondents have favourable views of Pakistan, which is one point less than last year. This is the smallest percentage of positive ratings in the survey, along with Iran. At the same time, negative views have increased to 55 per cent, up four points since last year. Overall, Pakistan remains the second-worst rated country after Iran. Out of the 25 countries surveyed this year, 23 lean negatively in their views of Pakistan, and only Indonesians join Pakistanis themselves in saying they see the country as a positive influence, with a plurality of 43 per cent holding favourable views.
The most unfavourable views continue to be found in Western countries. Increasing proportions of Americans (83%) and Australians (79%, up seven points) say Pakistan’s influence in the world is mainly negative. The other Anglophone countries surveyed, Canada and the UK, are also very negative, but views are stable (72% and 69% negative respectively). In continental Europe, the picture looks very unfavourable as well. Negative views of Pakistan have dramatically worsened in Spain (85%, up 19 points to give the highest proportion of negative ratings of Pakistan) and in Germany (82%, up 15 points). Other EU countries also give very unfavourable ratings of Pakistan’s influence: 73 per cent in France, 57 per cent in Poland, and 49 per cent in Greece give negative responses. All of these continental European countries have fewer than ten per cent of their public saying the influence of Pakistan is positive.
At the periphery of Europe, views have shifted in Turkey. Largely positive the last time they were asked in 2011 (56% vs 28% negative), the Turks now are emphatically negative about Pakistan (22% vs 48%). Positivity has also deteriorated in Nigeria, dropping 11 points (down to 28%) while negative ratings are now given by a majority (54%, up eight points). In Egypt, overall views are unfavourable (15% positive vs 30% negative) but the opinion has grown more undecided than it was in 2012: a majority of 55 per cent does not have a clear opinion about Pakistan this year, as compared to a third in 2012. Public opinion in Ghana is also negative but has become more polarised (36% vs 47%, while a strong majority of 62% had no clear opinion in 2012), while Kenyans’ views have shifted from being divided in 2012 (33% vs 37%) to leaning negative in 2013 (23% vs 32%).
In Latin America, respondents continue to rate Pakistan negatively. Brazilians’ attitudes are the most unfavourable here (63% hold negative views), closely followed by Mexicans, among whom impressions have sharply deteriorated (58% hold negative views, up 19 points). In Peru and Chile, pluralities of 44 and 46 per cent respectively (both up six points) also continue to lean negatively.
In Asia, views among South Koreans and Japanese continue to be very negative, with proportions of 57 and 39 per cent respectively holding unfavourable views: only 15 and 6 per cent lean positive. Perceptions of Pakistan in neighbouring India have remained stable and negative (11% positive vs 45% negative). In China, a stable plurality leans negative (36%) but out of all the countries that lean negatively towards Pakistan, China’s attitudes are the most tempered by positive views (28%).
Pakistanis have become more positive in 2013 about their own perceived self-influence. While the public had a negative opinion of the country’s role in the world stage in 2012, following a 12-point increase in positive ratings (to 38%) and a five-point drop in negative views (to 30%), dominant opinions have now shifted and become positive overall.
 

Israel

Evaluations of Israel’s influence in the world have slipped a little further into negative territory in 2013. On average, in the 22 tracking countries surveyed both in 2012 and 2013, 52 per cent of respondents had negative views of Israel’s influence in the world, an increase of two points from last year. At the same time, the proportion of respondents giving Israel a favourable rating has remained stable at 21 per cent. Out of the 25 countries polled in 2013, 20 lean negative, three lean positive, and two are divided.
The USA is the only Western country surveyed holding favourable views of Israel, and the only country in the survey with a majority of positive ratings (51%, stable). Views in Canada and in Australia have remained entrenched in negative territory with respectively 57 and 69 per cent of unfavourable views.
In the EU countries surveyed, views of Israeli influence are all strongly negative and have either hardened further or remained stable. The UK is the most unfavourable country towards Israel in the EU with 72 per cent of Britons holding negative ratings, a figure in line with the percentage observed in 2012. The UK is followed by Spain (70% negative) where views have deteriorated due to a loss of positive ratings, now at just 4 per cent (down from 12%). Positive views have dropped eight points in Germany over the past year, down to 8 per cent in 2013 while negative inclinations have remained stable at 67 per cent. In France, the picture is stable with 21 per cent giving positive views (vs 63% negative) France is the EU country with the highest proportion of favourable ratings. Newly asked countries Poland and Greece have negative pluralities of 44 and 46 per cent respectively, while just 15 per cent lean positively towards Israel in both countries.
In peripheral Europe, views have cooled in Russia with the opinion shifting from being divided in 2012 (25% positive vs 26% negative) to leaning negative in 2013 (23% vs 32%). In Turkey, public sentiment towards Israel remains as strongly negative as in 2011. Over four in five Turks (81%) hold unfavourable views of Israel while just 8 per cent hold positive ones.
The picture is even more negative in Egypt where unfavourable views have reached a record high of 96 per cent in 2013 (up 11 points since 2012). Only 1 per cent of Egyptians hold positive views (down from 7%).
Apart from the USA, the most favourable views of Israel are found in two sub-Saharan countries. In Ghana, views have notably improved since 2012 and shifted from being divided to leaning positive this year. Forty-four per cent of Ghanaians say they consider Israel’s influence in the world mainly positive. This is up 25 points since 2012, but views have also become more polarised with an increase in negative views (32%, up 13 points). In Kenya, a stable plurality leans favourably towards Israel (42%), and overall views have gotten warmer as negative views have dropped 16 points to 15 per cent. Nigeria bucks this favourable trend, where public opinion has shifted from leaning strongly positive in 2012 (54% positive vs 29% negative) to being divided in 2013 due to a 19-point drop in positive views combined with an 11-point increase in unfavourable ratings (35% positive vs 38% negative).
In the Latin American countries surveyed, views have remained fairly stable and negative in Chile (29% positive vs 41% negative), Brazil (15% vs 58%), and Peru (16% vs 40%). In Mexico, views have soured. A majority of 53 per cent leans negatively towards Israel—by far the highest percentage recorded among Mexicans since tracking began there in 2007—and only 13 per cent post favourable ratings (down six points).
Indonesia and Pakistan complete the increasingly negative picture seen among the Muslim countries surveyed regarding perceptions of Israel. Views have continued to worsen in Pakistan (65% negative, up 15 points) and in Indonesia, where negative ratings have gone up nine points to 70 per cent.
In the rest of Asia, negative attitudes have also increased among the Japanese: 54 per cent lean unfavourably in 2013, up from 45 per cent last year. Indian attitudes remain stably negative (16% positive vs 26% negative). South Koreans also have negative perceptions but the picture is less critical than it was last year, as the proportion of unfavourable ratings has diminished to 56 per cent (down 13 points) while positive ratings have remained stable at 23 per cent. Finally, the views of the Chinese public have become much warmer and shifted from leaning strongly negative in 2012 (23% vs 45%) to being divided this year due to a significant decrease in negative ratings and a rise in positive views (32% vs 33%).
 

Iran

Global views of Iran continue to remain the most negative of any country tested in 2013, and they have deteriorated at an increased rate this year. On average, in the 22 tracking countries surveyed both in 2012 and 2013, 59 per cent have a negative view of Iran’s influence in the world, an increase of four points since 2012 and the highest negative percentage in the survey. At the same time, positive views have decreased by one point to 15 per cent—the lowest percentage in this year’s survey, along with Pakistan. Of the 25 countries surveyed in 2013, 22 lean negative, two are divided, and only one leans positive (Pakistan).
In Pakistan, a majority of 52 per cent give positive ratings to Iranian influence. This represents a 14-point increase since 2012 and is the highest proportion in the survey. Positive views toward Iran are high in Indonesia (34% positive) or Nigeria (27%). However, views in these two countries have deteriorated a great deal over the past year. While positive views among Indonesians have remained stable, the proportion of those holding negative views has increased by 12 points (to 36%): as a result, Indonesia has shifted from leaning positive in 2012 to being divided this year. Negative by a narrow margin in 2012 (40% positive vs 48% negative), Nigerian opinion has hardened its views in 2013 with a 13-point decrease in positive ratings combined with a six-point rise in negative perception.
In Egypt and in Turkey, positive inclinations towards Iran are very weak (respectively, down 12 points since 2012 to 15%, and down 19 points since 2011 to 17%), while negative perceptions are high (48% in Egypt, 57% in Turkey). Positive views in these two countries are much less prevalent than in Chile (23%), China (24%), and Ghana (37%), all non-Muslim countries that give the highest positive ratings to Iran after Pakistan, Indonesia, and Nigeria.
Ghanaian views have become much polarised in 2013, following a 21-point increase in positive views and a 19-point rise in negative ratings. These sharp movements have made the Ghanaian opinion shift from being somewhat negative in 2012 (16% positive vs 22% negative, with high numbers of undecided) to being divided in 2013 (37% vs 41%). Ghana is the only African surveyed country where there has been a marked improvement in perceptions of Iran, as Kenya has followed an identical pattern to that of Nigeria or Egypt, with a decline in positive views since 2012 (19%, down ten points).
The EU countries polled continue to exhibit very negative views of Iran’s influence. This trend has been stable for several years now and has been heightened in Germany (85% negative, up by 11 points). Populations in the UK (84%), France (82%), and Spain (80%) are also among the most negative out of the countries surveyed. With just 2 per cent holding positive views, Spaniards show the lowest proportion of positive ratings of Iran in the survey.
In North America, the picture is very similar to that seen in much of the EU, with negative ratings close to or above 80 per cent. Americans have the highest proportion of negative views towards Iran’s perceived influence (87%, up seven points from 2012), while a stable proportion of Canadians feel the same (79%). Views in Mexico are increasingly negative towards Iran, but they remain at lower level than their NAFTA counterparts with 59 per cent of unfavourable views (up 11 points).
Further south, Chileans’ opinions of Iran’s influence are a great deal more positive than its regional counterparts, with 23 per cent holding favourable views of its influence—an increase of ten points since 2012, and a notable contrast with Peru (10%) or Brazil (8%, down seven points). However, negative views have also increased in Chile (now 49%, up eight points).
Views in India are negative overall, with a plurality of 30 per cent holding unfavourable views, as was the case in 2012. However, there is a strong strain of uncertainty in India, with a majority of 53 per cent remaining undecided. Among South Koreans and Japanese publics, views are much more negative (73% and 55% respectively), while Australians’ attitudes are very similar to other Western nations (6% positive vs 83% negative, a stable finding).
 

South Korea

Globally, views of South Korea have strongly deteriorated in 2013 but continue to be in positive territory. On average, in the 21 tracking countries surveyed both in 2012 and 2013, 36 per cent hold positive feelings toward the South Korean influence, which is one point lower than the proportion observed in 2012. At the same time, 31 per cent lean negatively—a marked increase of four points over the past year that has cancelled the nice improvement in attitudes toward Seoul seen in 2012. Out of 25 countries surveyed in 2012, 13 lean positive, eight lean negative, and four are divided. Within each region, views about South Korea are quite diverse and wide-ranging.
The most positive views of South Korea are to be found within the country itself, with 64 per cent having a mainly positive view (up seven points since 2012), while negative views toward their own country have concurrently dropped 12 points to 22 per cent.
Views of South Korea among its fellow Asian countries are highly polarised, with Indonesia the second-most positive after South Korea itself, posting 58 per cent of positive ratings (up eight points since 2012). Japan, however, is the third-least positive country toward South Korea. Positive views have decreased by 15 points down to 19 per cent while negative perceptions have increased by 12 points to 28 per cent, making Japanese opinion shift from leaning positive in 2012 to leaning negative this year.
China, while positive overall, has seen a decline in positive views by eight points to 44 per cent. Pakistan has transitioned from being split in 2012 to holding favourable views overall in 2013, with a seven-point increase in positive ratings (29%) and stable negative views (21%). In India, the opinion has shifted from leaning positive in 2012 to being perfectly divided this year, with 19 per cent giving positive ratings (down six points, vs 19% negative). Sixty-two per cent of Indians do not take a clear stance on their perceived influence of South Korea, the highest proportion in the survey. In Australia, the mood of the public has remained relatively stable and positive with a plurality of 45 per cent leaning favourably.
Sub-Saharan Africa tends to have a positive view of South Korea, with Ghana and Nigeria respectively posting the third and fourth most positive figures out of all countries. Ghana has seen a significant increase of 19 points in positive views, now at 55 per cent, although negative views have also increased by seven points to 15 per cent. Despite its positive stance on South Korea relative to most other countries surveyed, Nigeria has seen a 15 point decline in positive views (now at 48%) and an increase of eight points in negative views (now at 32%), showing a clear deterioration of public sentiment. Kenya is something of an outlier, with just 34 per cent posting positive ratings (down nine points), although overall attitudes remain positive with just 21 per cent of respondents giving negative ratings.
Equally split in 2012 (30% vs 30%), opinion in Egypt has shifted and is now leaning negative, with a ten-point decline in positive ratings to 20 per cent dipping below the 27 per cent who hold unfavourable perceptions.
Chile gives the most positive ratings of South Korea among South American countries at 40 per cent, an increase of 15 per cent, though negative views have also risen: they are now at 26 per cent after a seven-point increase. Views in Peru are somewhat positive with 31 per cent positive views, but negative perceptions are twice as high than they were in 2012 (25%, up 13 points), indicating a certain cooling of Peruvian attitudes. In Brazil, the overall picture is negative with 30 per cent of Brazilians holding positive views against a plurality of 38 per cent who feels negative. In Mexico, views have gone further into negative territory because of a 15-point increase in unfavourable ratings (45%) while positive ratings have remained stable (24%).
In North America, views have deteriorated over the past year. Americans remain positive toward South Korea with 47 per cent positive views, but negative views have increased by 11 points to 37 per cent. Meanwhile, Canadians have shifted from being strongly positive in 2012 (52% positive vs 32% negative) to being split this year, after a 14-point decline in positive views combined with an increase of nine points in negative views (now 38% vs 41%).
Overall sentiment toward South Korea in EU countries is rather lukewarm. Except in Spain, where views have dramatically reversed from leaning negative in 2012 to leaning positive this year (43% positive vs 21% negative), all countries have negative perceptions—or are divided, as in the UK (41% vs 40%) and Poland (31% vs 29%). Germans are the least positive toward South Korea of all publics tested at 17 per cent positive, and are by far the most negative about it, with 65 per cent leaning unfavourably (up 19 points). Greek opinion is also quite negative, with only 18 per cent holding favourable views against 33 per cent feeling the opposite way. In France, views have shifted from being somewhat positive in 2012 (45% positive vs 40% negative) to leaning negative this year following an eight-point decline in positive ratings (down to 37%) and a seven-point rise in negative ratings (47%). In peripheral Europe, Russians remain positively inclined toward South Korea (now 34% vs 24%), while the Turkish populace view South Korea’s influence negatively (30% vs 40%).
 

North Korea

Perceptions of North Korea have become more entrenched in negative territory in 2013. On average, in the 22 tracking countries surveyed both in 2012 and 2013, 54 per cent of respondents feel negative about the world influence of the Pyongyang regime. This represents a four-point increase in negative ratings since 2012. At the same time, positive views have remained stable at 19 per cent—the third lowest percentage in the survey, ahead of Pakistan and Iran. Of the 25 countries polled in 2013, 19 lean negative, three lean positive, and three are divided.
The most positive views of North Korea are to be found in Ghana, where a dramatic increase of 22 points now puts positive views at 48 per cent. However, negative views have also increased by 13 points, now at 27 per cent, indicating that Ghanaians are more polarised toward North Korea than they were last year. Other favourable views are found in Indonesia, where 42 per cent of respondents hold positive views, the second highest percentage in the survey. Favourable perceptions have more than doubled among Indonesians (up 24 points since 2012), making opinion shift from leaning negative in 2012 to leaning positive this year despite a 12-point decrease in negative views.
Nigeria shows the third highest proportion of positive views toward North Korea, but the Nigerian opinion has strongly deteriorated with a 15-point decrease in positive views. As a result, Nigerians are now split in their views of North Korea (36% positive vs 37% negative), a shift from the strong favourable inclinations recorded in 2012 (51% vs 30%).
Views have also cooled in Kenya, where 20 per cent now hold positive views (down 15 points from 2012). Kenyans are now negative overall (20% positive vs 28% negative), a noticeable change from their split attitudes in 2012 (35% vs 34%). By contrast, views in Egypt have improved: while Egyptians express proportionally fewer positive views of South Korea (31%) than Nigeria, a 13-point decline in negative ratings (to 15%) means that their attitudes on balance are more strongly positive.
The most unfavourable views toward North Korea are found in its closest neighbouring countries. Japan exhibits the most negative overall perceptions, with an overwhelming 92 per cent of the population holding negative views: no Japanese respondents express positive views. Perceptions in South Korea are very similar, with only four per cent expressing a positive view against the 90 per cent holding negative views, as they are in Australia (7% positive vs 85% negative).
As for China, North Korea’s closest regional ally, opinion remains divided, with 32 per cent holding positive views—the fourth highest proportion in the survey—and the same percentage leaning negative. However, among the public of the other ally of North Korea in the region, Russia, feelings have cooled. Divided in 2012 (25% positive vs 21% negative), Russians have moved into negative territory this year with a nine-point decrease in positive ratings and a 14-point increase in negative ratings (now 16% vs 35%).
Views in Pakistan have remain divided (27% vs 27%) but are more polarised than they were last year, with more respondents giving a clear opinion: this year, 46 per cent did not express a clear opinion either way, a 14-point drop from 2012. This is not the case in India, where a majority do not take a decided stance (62%). Despite an eight-point increase in positive ratings, Indians remain negative overall on South Korea’s influence (15% positive vs 23% negative) and a majority is undecided (62%).
NAFTA countries all continue to hold a negative overall view of North Korea, with the USA being by far the most negative. Only six per cent of Americans feel favourably toward the country, while 88 per cent (up nine points) lean negatively. The picture is similar in Canada (7% vs 79%) and, to a lesser extent, in Mexico where 13 per cent are positive (down six points) and 54 per cent are negative (up nine points).
As in North America, the public sentiment toward North Korea within the surveyed EU countries continues to be very unfavourable. This is increasingly the case in Germany (3% positive vs 90% negative this year, 6% vs 81% in 2012). The publics of the UK and France follow that of Germany in holding the most negative views in the EU, with 83 and 81 per cent respectively. Spanish views have hardened, with only 5 per cent holding positive views (down five points) and 78 per cent giving negative ratings (up ten points). Asked to rate North Korea for the first time this year, Poland and Greece lean negative but not as strongly as the other EU countries already mentioned: two-thirds (68%) of Poles have unfavourable perceptions, while a strong plurality (46%) in Greece feel the same. Just to the east, Turkish respondents show a harsher view of North Korea than they did two years ago, with a 13-point increase in negative opinions (30% positive vs 51% negative).
Latin America has a more benign stance on North Korea than do its northern neighbours but the publics are still negative overall, especially among Chileans and Peruvians. In these two countries, attitudes have shifted from being divided in 2012 (26% vs 24% in Chile, 21% vs 23% in Peru) to leaning negative this year (30% vs 41% in Chile, 27% vs 35% in Peru). Brazilians remain negatively inclined toward North Korea, with stable findings from last year (19% vs 50% in 2012, 22% vs 47% in 2013).
 

Russia

Views of Russia’s influence have further deteriorated in 2013. In the 21 tracking countries surveyed both in 2012 and 2013, 30 per cent have positive views of the Russian influence in the world, one point less than in 2012. At the same time, the proportion giving negative ratings has jumped four points to 40 per cent. Of the 25 countries surveyed in 2013, only eight lean positive, 15 lean negative, and two are divided (Nigeria and Egypt).
Views have sharply deteriorated in the US, where an 18-point increase in negative ratings (59%) pushing unfavourable opinion to its highest level in the US since 2009. At the same time, positive ratings have dropped 11 points to 23 per cent. In Canada, opinion has also fallen into negative territory after being divided in 2012 (39% positive vs 43% negative) following a seven-point increase in negative ratings (to 50%) and a ten-point decrease in positive ratings (29%).
A similar change to that observed in Canada occurred in Australia, where the public has moved from being divided in 2012 (34% positive vs 38% negative) to leaning negative this year owing to a 15-point increase in negative ratings and a five-point decrease in positive ones. In the UK, attitudes have worsened too, as unfavourable views have gone up to 57 per cent (up eight points) while positive ratings have slipped to 26 per cent (down seven points).
In the other EU countries, perceptions of Russia are the most negative in France (63% negative, stable) and in Germany (61%, up seven points). Spaniards also show lean negative, but not to the same extent as the French or the Germans: a stable plurality of 43 per cent give negative ratings to the influence of Russia, while positive ratings are steady as well at 30 per cent. Greece is the only EU country with a plurality holding positive views (40%), while Poland has the second least positive views on the continent, after Germany, with just 19 per cent of the public giving favourable views.
Meanwhile, in the African surveyed countries, attitudes are split between Ghana and Kenya, where inclinations towards Russia are positive, and Nigeria and Egypt, where the publics are divided. Ghanaians are the most content with Russia’s influence after Russians themselves, with 56 per cent holding favourable views (up 30 points). A plurality of Kenyans continues to lean positively (30%), but Kenyan opinion has become more undecided compared to 2012 as positive views have dropped nine points while negative ratings went down eight points to 23 per cent. Egyptian responses are divided and stable (31% positive vs 30% negative), but uncertainty has also increased by ten points. Views among Nigerians have cooled significantly, with a decrease in positive ratings (42%, down 11 points) combined with an increase in negative views (42%, up nine points).
Views among Russia’s BRIC peers are mixed. China remains comfortably positive although favourable views have decreased eight points to 44 per cent, which incidentally is the lowest percentage ever posted by Chinese respondents about Russia since polling began 2005. In India, a small and stable plurality of 34 per cent continues to hold favourable views, while a quarter of Brazilians (25%) continue to be somewhat negative about Russian influence.
The publics of other Asian countries are negatively oriented in their attitudes towards Russia. Pluralities of South Koreans (40%) and Japanese (28%) lean unfavourably. However, negative sentiment is more moderate than it was a year ago in South Korea (down 13 points), while positive ratings have gone up by six points in Japan (14%) and a majority remains undecided (58%). Indonesian public opinion has shifted from being divided in 2012 (30% positive vs 30% negative) to leaning negative in 2013 following a 13-point increase in negative ratings (29% vs 43%). Similar views are expressed in Turkey (30% vs 46%). Views have worsened in Pakistan as well, where a strong plurality holds unfavourable views of Russia (47%, up nine points).
In Latin America, attitudes have warmed in Chile and Mexico, with 42 and 40 per cent respectively giving positive ratings—an increase of 14 points in Chile and 15 points in Mexico. The increase in positive views among Mexicans since 2012 means that Mexico shifts from leaning negative (25% positive vs 33% negative) to leaning positive this year (40% vs 29%). Peruvians, by contrast, have shifted from being divided in 2012 (25% vs 24%) to leaning negative in 2013 (25% vs 34%).
Interestingly, Russian views of their country’s international role have cooled significantly since 2012, with positive ratings dropping 14 points to 58 per cent and negative ratings increasing by seven points to 12 per cent.
 

South Africa

Views of South Africa have deteriorated further in 2013, continuing the decline started in 2012. On average, in the 22 tracking countries surveyed both in 2012 and 2013, 35 per cent of respondents have positive views of South African influence in the world—two points less than in 2012. At the same time, the proportion of those holding negative views has increased by five points to reach 30 per cent. These changes make South Africa one of the countries where global views have deteriorated the most, after China, India, and Japan. Of the 25 countries surveyed in 2013, nine countries lean positive, 11 lean negative, and five are divided.
Continuing a trend noticed since views of South Africa began to be evaluated in 2010, the most favourable views are again found in the surveyed Sub-Saharan countries. Three quarters of Ghanaians lean favourably towards South Africa—this is up 20 points since 2012 and is the highest rating of South Africa in the survey this year. Ghana is followed by Nigeria, where 63 per cent give positive ratings. However, Nigerian views have cooled a bit as favourable perceptions have gone down nine points and negative ratings have gone up eight points (24%). Similarly, Kenyans’ positive views have also decreased, from 66 per cent in 2012 to 59 per cent this year.
In Northern Africa, sentiment towards South Africa among Egyptians has improved significantly and is now back to 2011 levels. Forty-two per cent of Egyptians feel positively about South Africa, an increase of ten points since 2012, while negative ratings have plummeted from 32 to 14 per cent.
South Africa is viewed cautiously by its counterpart emerging economies in the BRIC, and opinions in Brazil, India, and China do not seem to be quite settled yet. Somewhat positive in 2012, the Brazilian public is now divided following an eight-point drop in positive ratings (34% positive vs 38% negative). A similar drop occurred in India: opinion there has also shifted from leaning positive in 2012—but with high numbers of undecided respondents—to being divided in 2013 (22% positive vs 18% negative). Views in China are also uncertain; Chinese opinion is leans slightly positive overall (34% vs 29%). In Russia, while the public was somewhat positive in 2012, an eight-point increase in negative ratings has made the opinion shift to being negative this year (16% vs 22%, but with persistently high numbers of undecided Russians). A similar picture emerges in Turkey, where a once-positive public has reversed its views (43% positive vs 29% negative in 2011; 22% vs 46% in 2013).
Perceptions have cooled significantly in both Canada and the US, where opinions have shifted from leaning strongly positive in 2012 to leaning negative in 2013 (33% positive vs 43% negative in Canada, and 36% vs 41% in the US) due to a 13-point drop in positive ratings in both countries that was matched by a double digit increase in negative views. This suddenly reversing trend is also observed in Australia, where only a quarter (25%, down 16 points) of respondents continue to feel positive about South Africa’s influence, while a majority of 57 per cent now leans unfavourably (up 21 points and the highest proportion of negative ratings in the survey).
In Europe, the deterioration of views is also apparent in most surveyed countries. Attitudes towards South Africa are overall unfavourable in all EU countries but France and Poland. A French plurality of 47 per cent continue to hold favourable views but negative ratings have gone up by seven points to 33 per cent. Polish opinions, polled for the first time this year, are evenly split (22% vs 22%). Perceptions among the Spanish are stable and continue to be somewhat negative (32% positive vs 38% negative). The somewhat negative sentiment is also found in newly asked Greece (23% positive vs 29% negative). In Germany and in the UK, public opinions have shifted. While Britons leaned positive in 2012 (45% vs 38%), they are now somewhat negative (36% vs 42%). For Germans, a 19-point increase in negative ratings made the dominant opinion shift from being divided in 2012 (24% vs 23% with high numbers of undecided) to leaning negative in 2013 (22% vs 42%).
In two Latin American countries views have remained relatively stable, with negative pluralities in Mexico (39%, up five points) and in Peru (26%). In Chile, however, opinion is back to where it was in 2011 thanks to a 13-point rise in positive ratings (to 43%).
In the other countries surveyed not mentioned so far, views are quite diverse. Attitudes towards South African influence have deteriorated among Indonesians and are now divided (33% positive vs 36% negative) following a 15-point increase in negative perceptions. Public sentiment has improved in South Korea, where opinion has shifted from being divided in 2012 (40% vs 39%) to leaning somewhat positive in 2013 (37% vs 32%). Views remain very uncertain in Japan (19% positive vs 10% negative), and Pakistanis continue to be divided (25% vs 24%) despite a seven-point increase in positive ratings.

at) China

01 – Mainly positive

02 – Mainly negative

03 – Depends

04 – Neither, neutral

99 – DK/NA

bt) France

ct) The United States

dt) The European Union

et) Japan

ft) Israel

gt) North Korea

ht) Canada

at) The United Kingdom

01 – Mainly positive

02 – Mainly negative

03 – Depends

04 – Neither, neutral

99 – DK/NA

bt) Russia

ct) India

dt) Iran

et) Brazil

ft) Pakistan

gt) Germany

ht) South Africa

it) South Korea