Next week, political leaders are gathering in New Delhi for the annual G20 summit, the first ever to be held in South Asia. As international attention is drawn to India, a new Pew Research Center survey finds that views of India are generally positive across 23 countries.

A median of 46% of adults hold a favorable view of India, while a median of 34% have unfavorable views. In comparison, views of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which were collected in a subset of 12 countries, are more mixed: A 37% median say they have confidence in Modi, and a 40% median say they lack confidence in him.

The new survey examines views of India and its political leaders in and outside of India, as well as Indians’ views of other countries. The survey includes eight middle-income nations that Pew Research Center has not surveyed since 2019, before the outbreak of COVID-19, due to the challenges of conducting face-to-face interviews during the pandemic. Below are some of the key findings from the survey of 30,861 people in 24 countries, including India, conducted from Feb. 20 to May 22, 2023:

• Indians are more likely than others to believe India’s power is on the rise. Around seven-in-ten Indians believe their country has recently become more influential, compared with a median of 28% across 19 countries who said the same in 2022. In those 19 countries, respondents were most inclined to say that India’s influence had not changed much in recent years (48% median), but only 19% of Indians agree with this view. Indians are just as likely as those in other countries to think India’s influence has become weaker in recent years (13% vs. a 19-country median of 13%).
• Modi is popular in India, but has more mixed reviews internationally. About eight-in-ten Indians (79%) have a favorable view of Modi, including a majority of 55% with a very favorable view. In comparison, a median of 37% in 12 countries, most of which are middle-income, report having confidence in Modi to make the right foreign policy choices. Kenyans are especially confident, with 60% saying they trust Modi to do the right thing regarding world affairs, while Argentines are particularly skeptical. Just 12% in Argentina have confidence in the Indian leader. At least one-in-ten in each of these countries also do not offer an opinion on Modi.

• European attitudes toward India have turned more negative over time. Favorable views of India have declined by roughly 10 percentage points or more in all five of the European countries where past data is available. The greatest change is seen in France, where just 39% now have a favorable view of India, compared with 70% in 2008. Notably, French adults are also less likely than they were in 2008 to share an opinion on India. In all other countries, people are more or about as likely to offer an opinion on India as they were in 2008.

• Indians stand out for their favorable views of Russia. Whereas a median of only 14% across 22 countries have a positive view of Russia, a 57% majority of Indians see Russia favorably. Indians are also the most likely to have confidence in Russian President Vladimir Putin to do the right thing regarding world affairs among all publics surveyed. Likewise, the United States is seen more favorably in India (65%) than in many other countries surveyed. When it comes to China, India stands out for the opposite reason: It is the only middle-income country surveyed where a majority has unfavorable views of China.

• Negative attitudes toward Pakistan persist in India. Roughly three-quarters of Indian adults hold an unfavorable view of Pakistan. This includes 57% who have a very unfavorable opinion. Indians’ views of Pakistan have consistently been unfavorable since the question was first asked in 2013, with the share holding an unfavorable view of the country never dipping below 60%.
• Outside of India, substantial shares in many countries surveyed do not offer an opinion on India and on Modi. In the U.S., this includes 40% who report having never heard of Modi. Some groups are more inclined to provide a response to the two questions: This includes men and those with more education in several countries. Younger adults are also generally more likely to offer an opinion on India. Within India, a quarter or more do not offer an opinion of Indian National Congress (INC) leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

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Views of India are most positive in Israel, where 71% say they have a favorable view of the country. India and Israel are both part of the I2U2 – a partnership among India, Israel, the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates – and India is the top destination for Israeli arms exports. India is also seen especially favorably in Kenya, Nigeria and the United Kingdom, where at least six-in-ten say they have a favorable view of the country. Kenya and Nigeria additionally stand out for having about a quarter who have a very favorable view of India.

In contrast, South Africans see India more critically than favorably. About half say they have an unfavorable view of the country – including 36% who hold a very unfavorable view, while 28% report a favorable opinion. About half in the Netherlands and Spain also say they have a critical opinion of the country.

In most countries, at least one-in-ten do not share an opinion on India. Argentines are particularly likely to not offer an opinion of the country (43%). About a third in Hungary and roughly a quarter in Brazil, Greece, Indonesia and Mexico also refrain from answering the question.

Political ideology also plays a role in how India is evaluated in some cases. In Hungary, Australia and Israel, those on the political right report more favorable views of India than those on the left.

The opposite is true in the U.S., where liberals are 10 percentage points more likely than conservatives to hold a favorable opinion of India.

Favorable views of India are likewise more common among supporters of some populist parties in Europe. In Greece, supporters of Greek Solution – a right-wing populist party – and supporters of Syriza – a left-wing populist party – are more likely than nonsupporters to hold a favorable view of India. Similarly, supporters of the centrist Five Star Movement in Italy, right-leaning National Rally in France and right-wing Vox in Spain all see India more positively than those who do not support each of these parties. Notably, supporters of these parties are not more likely than nonsupporters to have an opinion on India. For more information on how we classify populist parties, read Appendix B.

How views of India have changed over time

Views of India have been measured before in some of the countries surveyed this year. Across these select countries, views of India have generally become more negative since the question was last asked.

In Indonesia and South Korea, where opinions of India were last recorded in 2018, favorable views of India have declined by 12 and 6 percentage points, respectively. Among the African and Latin American countries, which were last asked about views of India in 2013, evaluations have become more critical in Brazil (-14 points) and South Africa (-8), but more positive in Mexico (+18) and Nigeria (+15). Views of India have also become critical across some European countries, which were last surveyed about India in 2008.

Confidence in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Opinions of Modi are mixed, with a median of 40% saying they have no confidence in Modi to do the right thing regarding world affairs and a median of 37% saying they have at least some confidence. Substantial minorities in most countries did not share an opinion, and respondents in Europe were not asked about the Indian leader.

Mexicans and Brazilians are especially critical of Modi, who is often described as promoting a Hindu nationalist ideology and leads the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which some experts classify as a right-wing party. At least half in these countries say they do not have confidence in him to make the right foreign policy choices. Those in Argentina, South Africa, South Korea and the U.S. are also more likely to lack than have confidence in India’s prime minister if they offer an opinion at all.

In contrast, those in Japan, Kenya and Nigeria are more likely to have confidence in Modi’s abilities. Kenyans are especially confident, with a 60% majority saying they have at least some confidence in Modi to do the right thing regarding world affairs.

In Indonesia, Japan and South Korea – countries where trend data are available – confidence in Modi has remained largely unchanged since we first asked this question in 2015. Notably, the share who does not offer an opinion on Modi has declined in all three countries. The difference is greatest in South Korea, where 16% now do not provide a response, compared with 34% in 2015.

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About six-in-ten Indians also see opposition leader Rahul Gandhi of the Indian National Congress (INC) in a positive light. In contrast, 34% have an unfavorable view of the INC politician. The survey was conducted March 25 to May 11, starting just before Gandhi was removed from office on March 27 of this year after being conviction of defamation. He was recently reinstated.

Two other INC leaders, Mallikarjun Kharge and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, are seen more favorably than not, though roughly a quarter of Indian adults did not offer opinions of each leader. Kharge is the current president of the INC and leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India’s Parliament. Chowdhury leads the party in the Lok Sabha, the lower house. Kharge is seem somewhat more favorably than Chowdhury: 46% have a positive opinion of him, compared with 42% who say the same of Chowdhury. Three-in-ten or more have an unfavorable view of each politician.

Younger adults (those ages 18 to 29) in India are more likely to express an unfavorable opinion of Kharge than adults 50 and older (34% vs. 25%, respectively). On the other hand, younger Indians are more likely to have a favorable view of Chowdhury than older Indians (47% vs. 37%, respectively). Younger adults were more likely to provide a response to both questions.

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Related: Key facts as India surpasses China as the world’s most populous country

Those who support the governing parties in the National Democratic Alliance (which includes Modi’s party, the BJP) are much more likely to say India’s influence is on the rise: 77% of those who identify with the governing parties say this, compared with 60% of those who don’t identify with these parties. Men, too, are more likely than women to believe India is getting stronger on the world stage (71% vs. 65%, respectively). For more information on how we classify governing parties, read Appendix A.

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Indians are also positive on views of the U.S. at large, with 65% saying they have a favorable view of the U.S. and 64% expressing confidence in U.S. President Joe Biden to do the right thing regarding world affairs.

Those who believe that the U.S. is the world’s leading economic power are more likely to believe that American influence is getting stronger, as are those who say the U.S. contributes to peace and stability and that the U.S. interferes in the affairs of other countries.

Many Indians also believe that Russia’s global influence has strengthened, with about four-in-ten saying that Russia’s influence in the world has been getting stronger in recent years. Roughly three-in-ten say that it has been staying about the same, while about two-in-ten say that Russia’s influence has been getting weaker. Indians stand out on overall favorability of Russia as the only place among the 24 countries surveyed this year where majorities say they have a favorable opinion of Russia and have confidence in Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Indians’ views on China’s influence in the world are somewhat more mixed, with about four-in-ten also saying that China’s influence has been getting stronger. In contrast, around three-in-ten Indians say that China’s influence has been getting weaker, more than say the same of any other country asked about. In India, negative views of China have also reached historic highs since the country was last surveyed in 2019. Two-thirds of Indians express an unfavorable opinion of China, making India the only middle-income country where a majority has unfavorable views of China.

The global influence of the UK, Germany and France are seen similarly in India, with roughly four-in-ten Indians saying each country’s influence in the world has been staying about the same in recent years. About three-in-ten say that the global influence of each country has been growing, while fewer than two-in-ten say that it has been getting weaker in recent years.

These six countries are viewed slightly differently in India than in 19 high-income countries where the question was asked in 2022. A 19-country median of 32% said U.S. influence is getting stronger, compared with the roughly half of Indians who say the same. In only one country – Poland – did more than half say that American influence is growing. Indians’ views on China’s influence also differ from other countries, with fewer Indians saying that China’s influence in the world is getting stronger than adults saying the same among countries surveyed last year. In 2022, a median of 66% among 19 countries said that China’s influence is getting stronger, with half or more in every country surveyed saying this.

Meanwhile, a somewhat larger share of Indians say that the UK’s and France’s global influence has been getting stronger than do shares among many countries where the question was asked in 2022. The findings in India regarding Russia and Germany’s influence are more similar to those of countries surveyed in 2022. A median of 41% among 19 countries said that Russia’s influence is getting stronger, while a median of 26% said the same of German influence in the world.

Indians’ views of Russia, the U.S. and China

In addition to its relatively high assessment of U.S. influence in world affairs, the Indian public also gives the U.S. more positive overall ratings than adults in most other countries surveyed this year. Roughly two-thirds of Indian adults hold a favorable view of the U.S., including 23% with a very favorable view. Indians also give the United States’ international behavior positive ratings. About three-quarters say U.S. foreign policy takes their country’s interests into account, and seven-in-ten say the U.S. contributes to world peace.

Still, not all aspects of the U.S. are seen positively in India. Roughly two-thirds of adults in India say the U.S. interferes in the affairs of other countries, and Indians are the most likely to say American movies, television and music are below average or the worst (20%). For more on international views of the U.S., read “International Views of Biden and U.S. Largely Positive.”

Russia is likewise seen favorably in India. In fact, India is the only country surveyed where a majority has a favorable view of the country – including 23% of Indians who see Russia very favorably – and is one of two countries where ratings for Russia have become more favorable in recent years. Of the 11 countries where Russian energy was a particularly salient issue, India was also one of three countries where a majority prioritized maintaining access to Russian oil and gas over being tough with Russia on Ukraine. Indian imports of Russian oil recently reached new highs, and India has repeatedly abstained from voting on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Positive views of Putin accompany favorable views of Russia among Indians. India is the only country in which a majority says they have confidence in Putin to do the right thing regarding world affairs. This includes 19% with a lot of confidence. In comparison, a 23-country median of 70% say they have no confidence at all in Putin. Again, India is one of two countries where confidence in Putin has grown recently.

Views of Russia and its leader are partisan issues in India. Those with a favorable view of the right-wing BJP are more likely than those who do not support the party to have positive views of Russia or confidence in Putin. More on international views of Russia can be read in “Large Shares See Russia and Putin in Negative Light, While Views of Zelenskyy More Mixed.”

While Indians stand out for their positive evaluations of the U.S. and Russia, they are notably more critical of China. India is the only middle-income country surveyed where a majority has an unfavorable view of China (67%); it also has the largest share with a very unfavorable view of China among all the countries surveyed (50%). Critical views of China have become more common in India since 2019, and continued border tensions between the two countries may have contributed to the 21 percentage point increase.

A majority of Indians also have no confidence in Chinese President Xi Jinping, with 48% having no confidence at all. This is likewise the highest share to have a negative opinion recorded in India. (Indians have also become more likely to provide an opinion on Xi over time.)

Increasingly negative views of China and its leader are accompanied by increased skepticism that China takes Indian interests into account when making foreign policy decisions. While only 28% of Indians said that China did not take their country’s interests into account in 2013, 58% now say so in 2023. This is the largest increase observed among countries surveyed. Similarly, Indians are the most likely to say China does nothing at all to help with global peace and stability (49%).

Chinese investment is also viewed with skepticism in India. When asked alongside those in other middle-income countries to evaluate the impacts of Chinese investment, more than half say Chinese investment has not been good for the Indian economy. Four-in-ten say Chinese investment has provided no benefits at all, again the largest share recorded. For more on international views of China, read “China’s Approach to Foreign Policy Gets Largely Negative Reviews in 24-Country Survey.”

Indians’ views of Pakistan

Strained bilateral relations between India and Pakistan date back to the 1947 Partition of British India into independent India and Pakistan and more recently center on disputed control of Jammu and Kashmir.

About seven-in-ten Indians have an unfavorable view of Pakistan, including 57% who are very unfavorable toward Pakistan. Just 19% in India have a favorable view of the neighboring country.

Men are more likely than women to have an unfavorable view of Pakistan. They are especially likely to say they are very unfavorable: 66% of Indian men hold this opinion, while 49% of Indian women say the same. Women were somewhat less likely than men to state their opinion either way.

Those who support the governing parties in the National Democratic Alliance (which includes Modi’s party, the BJP) are more likely to express an unfavorable view of Pakistan than those who do not support the governing parties. And two-thirds of those who support the governing parties are very unfavorable toward Pakistan, compared with about half of those who do not support these parties. For more information on how we classify governing parties, read Appendix A.

Opinion of Pakistan among the Indian public has been far more negative than positive since this question was first asked in 2013. Over the last 10 years, unfavorable views of India’s neighbor never dropped below 62%. This year, the share who have an unfavorable view of Pakistan has increased 5 percentage points since 2018, when the question was last asked. The share with a favorable view also increased (15 points), but this is likely due to a decline among those who did not respond between 2018 and 2023.

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Christine Huang, Research Associate
Moira Fagan, Research Associate
Sneha Gubbala, Research Assistant

Dorene Asare-Marfo, Panel Manager
Sarah Austin, Research Assistant
Peter Bell, Associate Director, Digital Production
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Laura Clancy, Research Analyst
Janell Fetterolf, Senior Researcher
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Anna Jackson, Editorial Assistant
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Gar Meng Leong, Communications Manager
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Carolyn Lau, International Research Methodologist
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Patrick Moynihan, Associate Director, International Research Methods
Jacob Poushter, Associate Director, Global Attitudes Research
Laura Silver, Associate Director, Global Attitudes Research
Sofi Sinozich, International Research Methodologist
Richard Wike, Director, Global Attitudes Research

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In countries where multiple political parties govern in coalition (as in many European countries), survey respondents who indicated support for any parties in the coalition were grouped together. In Germany, for example, where the Social Democratic Party governed with the Alliance 90/The Greens and the Free Democratic Party at the time of the survey, supporters of all three parties were grouped together. In countries where different political parties occupy the executive and legislative branches of government, the party holding the executive branch was considered the governing party.

Survey respondents who did not indicate support for any political party, or who refused to identify with one, were considered to be not supporting the government in power.

Below is a table that outlines the governing political parties in each survey country. 

The post Appendix A: Political categorization appeared first on Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project.

Although experts generally agree that populist political leaders or parties display high levels of anti-elitism, definitions of populism vary. We use three measures to classify populist parties: anti-elite ratings from the 2019 Chapel Hill Expert Survey (CHES), Norris’ Global Party Survey and The PopuList. We define a party as populist when at least two of these three measures classify it as such.   

CHES, which was conducted from February to May 2020, asked 421 political scientists specializing in political parties and European integration to evaluate the 2019 positions of 277 European political parties across all European Union member states. CHES results are regularly used by academics to classify parties with regard to their left-right ideological leanings, their key party platform positions and their degree of populism, among other things.

We measure anti-elitism using an average of two variables in the CHES data. First, we used “PEOPLE_VS_ELITE,” which asked the experts to measure the parties with regard to their position on direct vs. representative democracy, where 0 means that the parties support elected officeholders making the most important decisions and 10 means that “the people,” not politicians, should make the most important decisions. Second, we used “ANTIELITE_SALIENCE,” which is a measure of the salience of anti-establishment and anti-elite rhetoric for that particular party, with 0 meaning not at all salient and 10 meaning extremely salient. The average of these two measures is shown in the table below as “anti-elitism.” In all countries, we consider parties that score at or above a 7.0 as “populist.”

The Global Party Survey, which was conducted from November to December 2019, asked 1,861 experts on political parties, public opinion, elections and legislative behavior to evaluate the ideological values, issue position and populist rhetoric of parties in countries on which they are an expert, classifying a total of 1,051 parties in 163 countries. We used “TYPE_POPULISM,” which categorizes populist rhetoric by parties. We added only “strongly populist” parties using this measure. In Italy, experts were asked to categorize the Center-Right coalition instead of individual parties within the coalition. The coalition includes Lega, Forza Italia and Brothers of Italy. For all three parties, we have used the coalition rating of “strongly populist.” The PopuList is an ongoing project to classify European political parties as populist, far right, far left and/or euroskeptic. The project specifically looks at parties that “obtained at least 2% of the vote in at least one national parliamentary election since 1998.” It is based on collaboration between academic experts and journalists. The PopuList classifies parties that emphasize the will of the people against the elite as populist. ²

Reform UK, formerly the Brexit Party, is only classified as populist on one measure but is still included for analysis in the report. It is not included in the PopuList and does not meet our anti-elite CHES threshold of 7.0, but is considered a right-wing populist party by the Global Party Survey and other experts.

Classifying parties as left, right or center

We can further classify these traditional and populist parties into three groups: left, right and center. When classifying parties based on ideology, we relied on the variable “LRGEN” in the CHES dataset, which asked experts to rate the positions of each party in terms of its overall ideological stance, with 0 meaning extreme left, 5 meaning center and 10 meaning extreme right. We define left parties as those that score below 4.5 and right parties as those above 5.5. Center parties have ratings between 4.5 and 5.5.

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Results for the survey are based on telephone, face-to-face and online interviews conducted under the direction of Gallup, Kantar Public, Langer Research Associates and Social Research Centre. The results are based on national samples, unless otherwise noted. More details about our international survey methodology and country-specific sample designs are available here. Results for the U.S. survey are based on data from the American Trends Panel.

The American Trends Panel survey methodology

Overview

The American Trends Panel (ATP), created by Pew Research Center, is a nationally representative panel of randomly selected U.S. adults. Panelists participate via self-administered web surveys. Panelists who do not have internet access at home are provided with a tablet and wireless internet connection. Interviews are conducted in both English and Spanish. The panel is being managed by Ipsos.

Data in this report is drawn from ATP Wave 124, conducted from March 20 to March 26, 2023, and includes an oversample of Hispanic men, non-Hispanic Black men and non-Hispanic Asian adults to provide more precise estimates of the opinions and experiences of these smaller demographic subgroups. These oversampled groups are weighted back to reflect their correct proportions in the population. A total of 3,576 panelists responded out of 4,058 who were sampled, for a response rate of 88%. The cumulative response rate accounting for nonresponse to the recruitment surveys and attrition is 4%. The break-off rate among panelists who logged on to the survey and completed at least one item is 1%. The margin of sampling error for the full sample of 3,576 respondents is plus or minus 2.0 percentage points.

Panel recruitment

The ATP was created in 2014, with the first cohort of panelists invited to join the panel at the end of a large, national, landline and cellphone random-digit-dial survey that was conducted in both English and Spanish. Two additional recruitments were conducted using the same method in 2015 and 2017, respectively. Across these three surveys, a total of 19,718 adults were invited to join the ATP, of whom 9,942 (50%) agreed to participate.

In August 2018, the ATP switched from telephone to address-based recruitment. Invitations were sent to a stratified, random sample of households selected from the U.S. Postal Service’s Delivery Sequence File. Sampled households receive mailings asking a randomly selected adult to complete a survey online. A question at the end of the survey asks if the respondent is willing to join the ATP. In 2020 and 2021 another stage was added to the recruitment. Households that did not respond to the online survey were sent a paper version of the questionnaire, $5 and a postage-paid return envelope. A subset of the adults who returned the paper version of the survey were invited to join the ATP. This subset of adults received a follow-up mailing with a $10 pre-incentive and invitation to join the ATP.

Across the five address-based recruitments, a total of 23,176 adults were invited to join the ATP, of whom 20,341 agreed to join the panel and completed an initial profile survey. In each household, one adult was selected and asked to go online to complete a survey, at the end of which they were invited to join the panel. Of the 30,283 individuals who have ever joined the ATP, 12,432 remained active panelists and continued to receive survey invitations at the time this survey was conducted.

The U.S. Postal Service’s Delivery Sequence File has been estimated to cover as much as 98% of the population, although some studies suggest that the coverage could be in the low 90% range. ³

The American Trends Panel never uses breakout routers or chains that direct respondents to additional surveys.

Sample design

The overall target population for this survey was non-institutionalized persons ages 18 and older living in the U.S., including Alaska and Hawaii. It featured a stratified random sample from the ATP in which Hispanic men, non-Hispanic Black men and non-Hispanic Asian adults were selected with certainty. The remaining panelists were sampled at rates designed to ensure that the share of respondents in each stratum is proportional to its share of the U.S. adult population to the greatest extent possible. Respondent weights are adjusted to account for differential probabilities of selection as described in the Weighting section below.

Questionnaire development and testing

The questionnaire was developed by Pew Research Center in consultation with Ipsos. The web program was rigorously tested on both PC and mobile devices by the Ipsos project management team and Pew Research Center researchers. The Ipsos project management team also populated test data that was analyzed in SPSS to ensure the logic and randomizations were working as intended before launching the survey.

Incentives

All respondents were offered a post-paid incentive for their participation. Respondents could choose to receive the post-paid incentive in the form of a check or a gift code to Amazon.com or could choose to decline the incentive. Incentive amounts ranged from $5 to $20 depending on whether the respondent belongs to a part of the population that is harder or easier to reach. Differential incentive amounts were designed to increase panel survey participation among groups that traditionally have low survey response propensities.

Data collection protocol

The data collection field period for this survey was March 20 to March 26, 2023. Postcard notifications were mailed to all ATP panelists with a known residential address on March 20. 

Invitations were sent out in two separate launches: soft launch and full launch. Sixty panelists were included in the soft launch, which began with an initial invitation sent on March 20. The ATP panelists chosen for the initial soft launch were known responders who had completed previous ATP surveys within one day of receiving their invitation. All remaining English- and Spanish-speaking sampled panelists were included in the full launch and were sent an invitation on March 21.

All panelists with an email address received an email invitation and up to two email reminders if they did not respond to the survey. All ATP panelists who consented to SMS messages received an SMS invitation and up to two SMS reminders.

Data quality checks

To ensure high-quality data, the Center’s researchers performed data quality checks to identify any respondents showing clear patterns of satisficing. This includes checking for very high rates of leaving questions blank, as well as always selecting the first or last answer presented. As a result of this checking, eight ATP respondents were removed from the survey dataset prior to weighting and analysis.

Weighting

The ATP data is weighted in a multistep process that accounts for multiple stages of sampling and nonresponse that occur at different points in the survey process. First, each panelist begins with a base weight that reflects their probability of selection for their initial recruitment survey. These weights are then rescaled and adjusted to account for changes in the design of ATP recruitment surveys from year to year. Finally, the weights are calibrated to align with the population benchmarks in the accompanying table to correct for nonresponse to recruitment surveys and panel attrition. If only a subsample of panelists are invited to participate in the wave, this weight is adjusted to account for any differential probabilities of selection.

Among the panelists who completed the survey, this weight is then calibrated again to align with the population benchmarks identified in the accompanying table and trimmed at the 1st and 99th percentiles to reduce the loss in precision stemming from variance in the weights. Sampling errors and tests of statistical significance take into account the effect of weighting.

The following table shows the unweighted sample sizes and the error attributable to sampling that would be expected at the 95% level of confidence for different groups in the survey.

Sample sizes and sampling errors for other subgroups are available upon request. In addition to sampling error, one should bear in mind that question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of opinion polls.

Dispositions and response rates

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Views of China are broadly negative across 24 countries in a new Pew Research Center survey: A median of 67% of adults express unfavorable views of the country, while 28% have a favorable opinion.

Negative views extend to evaluations of China’s international actions. Despite several high-profile diplomatic initiatives by Beijing over the past year – such as brokering a peace deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran and issuing a 12-point proposal for the end of violence in Ukraine – a median of 71% think China does not contribute to global peace and stability.

Most people also think China does not take into account the interests of other countries in its foreign policy (76%) and a median of 57% say China interferes in the affairs of other nations a great deal or fair amount.

Still, attitudes toward China are somewhat rosier in middle-income than high-income countries. Across eight middle-income countries – places Pew Research Center has not surveyed since 2019 due to the challenges of conducting face-to-face interviews during the pandemic – India stands out as the only middle-income country in which a majority has unfavorable views of China. And in three middle-income countries – Kenya, Mexico and Nigeria – a majority even gives China a positive rating.

Fewer in these middle-income countries also criticize China’s global behavior, and many more see China’s “soft power” appeal. Indeed, publics in these middle-income countries offer relatively favorable ratings for China’s entertainment products, its universities and its standard of living – while few in most high-income countries agree.

Across all 24 countries surveyed, however, there is more agreement about China’s technology. A median of 69% describe China’s technological achievements as the best or above average relative to other wealthy nations, with similar shares in high- and middle-income countries. A median of 54% also see China’s military as among the best in the world.

But views of the country as the world’s foremost economic power have faltered somewhat in recent years. More people now name the United States as the top economic power than China (a median of 42% vs. 33%, respectively). Much of this shift has come in high-income countries, where the share naming China has fallen in nearly every surveyed country – including by double digits in Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden.

In the U.S., where equal shares (43%) called China and the U.S. the world’s leading economic power in 2022, views have shifted significantly over the past year; now, Americans are 10 percentage points more likely to name the U.S. than China (48% vs. 38%). (For more on American views of China, read “Americans are Critical of China’s Global Role – as Well as Its Relationship With Russia”.)

These findings come from a new Pew Research Center survey conducted from Feb. 20 to May 22, 2023, among more than 30,000 people in 24 countries. Below are some of the other findings regarding China’s overall image, views of Chinese foreign policy, ratings of President Xi Jinping, opinions about Chinese soft power and its economic power.

Overall ratings for China

Across many high-income countries surveyed, which are in North America, Western Europe and parts of the Asia-Pacific region, a large majority has unfavorable views of China, as has been the case for multiple years. Indeed, in almost every high-income country surveyed, negative views currently stand at or near historic highs. In most countries, this does not reflect a significant increase over last year; rather, negative views have simply remained high in recent years. One notable exception is Poland, where negative views have increased 12 points during a period of strained bilateral relations, perhaps related to China’s handling of the war in Ukraine.

Views of China in middle-income countries are relatively more positive. Still, negative ratings in most of these countries have also grown since the countries were last surveyed, pre-pandemic. In South Africa and Mexico, for example, opinions have turned somewhat more negative since 2019, and in Argentina, Brazil and India, negative views have even reached historic highs. In India, military conflicts along a contested border may have contributed to the 21 percentage point increase in unfavorable opinion.

China’s role on the world stage

Majorities in most countries do not think China takes into account the interests of countries like theirs. In Canada, France, Israel, Spain and Sweden, around half or more say China doesn’t consider them at all. Only in the three sub-Saharan African countries surveyed, as well as in Indonesia, does around half or more of the public feel like China listens to their country.

A median of 71% also think China does little or nothing at all to contribute to global peace and stability, compared with a median of 23% who say it is doing a great deal or a fair amount. Australians, Canadians, Indians, Israelis and South Koreans are particularly likely to say China is doing nothing at all to help with global peace and stability.

Most also see China as an interventionist power. A median of 57% say China does interfere a great deal or a fair amount in the affairs of other countries, while a median of 35% say it does not do so much or at all. Around seven-in-ten or more in Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Spain and the U.S. see China getting involved in the affairs of other countries – and many of these places also stood out for the high share who said China’s involvement in domestic politics in their own country was a very serious problem in a 2022 Pew Research Center survey.

But the country which is most likely to see China interfering in the affairs of other countries in this year’s survey is Italy (82%). Italy, which was the only G7 country to join China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), was debating leaving the initiative at the time that the survey was conducted, but treading delicately for fear of stoking possible Chinese retribution against Italian businesses.

Attitudes toward Xi

Few in the 24 countries surveyed have confidence in Chinese President Xi Jinping to do the right thing regarding world affairs. Across most of Western Europe, the U.S., Canada and much of the Asia-Pacific region, around half in each country say they have no confidence in him at all. Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa stand out as the only countries where a majority or plurality have confidence in his leadership.

Confidence in Xi is closely related to views of China more broadly. In each country surveyed people with unfavorable views of China are more likely to have little confidence in the Chinese president, and vice versa.

Chinese soft power

When it comes to elements often considered part of a country’s “soft power,” China’s technological achievements receive high marks, though fewer say the same about its universities, entertainment products or standard of living.

In fact, outside of South Korea, nearly half or more in every country say Chinese technological advancements are the best in the world or above average relative to other wealthy nations. And in many of the middle-income countries, around four-in-ten call Chinese technology the best in the world.

Middle-income countries – many of which are increasingly reliant on Chinese companies like Huawei for components of their 4G and 5G systems – were also asked specifically about technology such as phones, tablets or computers made by Chinese companies. Across these eight countries, there is a relatively widespread sense that these products are well-made. Middle-income publics are more divided when it comes to their cost: A median of 50% describe them as inexpensive, while 44% call them costly.

They are also somewhat divided when it comes to whether technological products made by Chinese companies protect people’s personal data (a median of 45%) or make their data unsafe (40%). (Americans were asked a different but related question about Chinese social media companies; large majorities have little confidence that they will use personal information responsibly or follow privacy policies.)

In every country, at least a plurality – and often a majority – also see China’s “hard power,” its military, as one of the best in the world or above average.

Chinese economic power

Fewer name China as the world’s leading economic power than the U.S. (a median of 33% vs. 42%). And, in many countries, the share naming China as the world’s leading economy has gone down in recent years.

Interestingly, China’s image as an economic superpower is stronger in high-income countries than middle-income ones. Italy, for example, is the only country where a majority (55%) calls China the leading economic power.

Still, people in middle-income countries do recognize economic benefits from their relations with China. A different survey question, asked only in these countries, finds that around half or more in six middle-income countries say their nation’s economy has benefited a great deal or a fair amount from Chinese investment. In Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, around seven-in-ten or more say this.

In the U.S., Americans were also asked to name the country which poses the top threat to the U.S. Not only was China the top answer, by far, but Americans see it as both an economic and a national security threat – in sharp contrast to Russia, which is primarily seen as a security threat. To read more about this related analysis, see “Americans name China as the top threat facing the U.S.”

Road map to the report

The chapters that follow discuss these findings and others in more detail:

• Chapter 1 looks at overall opinion of China across the countries surveyed, including how perceptions have shifted over the years

• Chapter 2 considers the negative and positive roles China plays in international affairs

• Chapter 3 reviews global public opinion about which country is the world’s leading economic power

• Chapter 4 explores perceptions of Chinese soft power, summarizing how people across 24 countries rate China compared with other wealthy nations

• Chapter 5 examines confidence in Chinese President Xi Jinping to do the right thing in world affairs

The post China’s Approach to Foreign Policy Gets Largely Negative Reviews in 24-Country Survey appeared first on Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project.