Obamas popularity soars in India post New Delhi visit; US unpopular in Pakistan

San Francisco, Jun 24: US President Barack Obama's popularity has soared in India following his participation in the Republic Day celebrations this year, latest Pew Research said today.

"About three-in-four Indians (74 per cent) now express confidence in Obama, compared with 48 per cent a year ago," Pew Research said releasing the result of its latest survey on America's popularity ratings in major countries across the globe.

"Overall, ratings for the US remain mostly positive, with a global median of 69 per cent expressing a favorable opinion of the country," it said.

Obama also remains popular in most countries, and his ratings have improved over the last year in 14 nations.

"The biggest gains are found in India, which the president visited in January," Pew said.

By far, the sharpest decline in Obama's image occurred in Israel. Following a year marked by tensions between Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over negotiations with Iran, confidence in Obama slipped from 71 per cent in Israel to 49 per cent.

Eight-in-ten Israelis disapprove of how Obama is dealing with Iran’s nuclear program, the survey said. Positive views of the US have declined slightly in China, however, dropping from 50 per cent to 44 per cent.

"Pakistan is the one Asian nation surveyed where a majority gives the US a negative rating, although favorable views have become somewhat more common over the last year (22 per cent today, 14 per cent in 2014)," Pew said.

America’s image, pew said, is mostly positive among the Asian nations polled. Particularly large majorities see the US favorably in the Philippines (92 per cent), South Korea (84 per cent) and Vietnam (77 per cent).

"And following a year in which President Obama visited India, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to the US, America’s image in that country has improved significantly, jumping from 55 per cent favorable to 70 per cent today," it said.

PTI