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A new Pew Research Center analysis finds public opinion on India is generally positive across the world. A median of 46% of respondents report favourable views of India, compared with 34% with unfavourable views and 16% who did not share an opinion at all.

Views of India are most positive in Israel, where 71% say they have a favourable view of the country.
 
The survey, conducted from Feb. 20 to May 22, 2023, among 30,861 adults in 24 countries, including India, examines global views of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the scope of India’s global power and Indians’ views of other countries.
 
Views of Modi, collected in 12 countries, are mixed. A median of 37% say they have confidence in the prime minister to do the right thing in world affairs, while another 40% express a lack of confidence. In this study, Mexicans and Brazilians are especially critical: Roughly half or more of respondents in these countries say they do not have confidence in Modi. Adults in Argentina, South Africa, South Korea, and the United States are also more likely to lack confidence in India’s prime minister.

In contrast, respondents in Japan, Kenya and Nigeria are more likely to report confidence in Modi. In fact, Kenyans are especially confident in Modi to do the right thing regarding world affairs. (Note: Respondents in Europe were not asked about the Indian leader.)
 
Among the other key findings in the report, Indian adults are more likely to believe India’s power is on the rise. Around seven-in-ten Indians believe their country has recently become more influential. This stands in comparison with a 2022 survey conducted across 19 countries, where a median of only 28% said the same.

European attitudes toward India have become more negative over time. Favourable 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% of French adults have a favourable view of India, compared with 70% in 2008.

About eight-in-ten Indians report favourable views of Modi, including a majority (55%) with a very favourable view of the leader. Only a fifth of Indians express an unfavourable opinion of Modi in 2023.

Indian adults see the U.S. and Russia gaining global influence. About half of Indians (49%) say that the influence of the U.S. is getting stronger in recent years, and 41% say the same about Russia. Meanwhile, Indians’ views on China’s influence are somewhat more mixed.

Negative attitudes toward Pakistan persist in India. Roughly seven-in-ten Indian adults hold an unfavourable view of Pakistan in 2023. This includes 57% who have a very unfavourable opinion. Indians’ views of Pakistan have consistently been unfavourable in Pew’s surveys, keeping with historically strained bilateral relations. Since the Center first asked this question in 2013, the share of Indian adults holding an unfavourable view of Pakistan has never dipped below 60%.