Israel near bottom of BBC poll ranking countries

Germany has most positive influence on world according to survey of 26,000 people; Israel tops only North Korea, Pakistan and Iran.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
BBC classic image 370 (photo credit: REUTERS)
BBC classic image 370
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Israel placed near the bottom of a BBC poll released Thursday ranking the world's most positively viewed countries.
Some 26,000 people from 25 countries around the world were asked if they viewed a list of 16 countries and the European Union as having a "mainly positive" or "mainly negative" influence in the world.
Germany topped the list with 59 percent of respondents viewing it positively, followed by Canada (55%), the UK (55%) and Japan (51%). Japan topped the list last year with a 58% positive influence rating.
Only North Korea, Pakistan and Iran had lower positivity scores than Israel. Twenty-one percent of respondents viewed Israel's influence as mainly positive, while 52% saw the Jewish State's influence as mainly negative. Israel's positivity ranking was identical to the score it received in the 2012 BBC poll.
Just 15% of respondents considered Iran's influence as mainly positive, while 59% said the Islamic Republic's influence was mainly negative.
France finished fifth in positive influence (49%), followed by the EU (49%), Brazil (46%), US (45%), China (42%), South Korea (36%), South Africa (35%), India (34%) and Russia (30%).