For a long time the image of post-war Germany was blemished by its gruesome Nazi past. These times seem to be over for good. The country has finally made it to the top of international popularity. In an annual BBC survey, Germany has emerged as the most positively viewed nation in the world. It is followed by Canada and the UK on positions 2 and 3, respectively.
The BBC interviewed 26,000 people in 25 different countries. They were asked to rate 16 countries and the European Union on whether their influence in the world was "mainly positive" or "mainly negative". Whereas the EU has declined in popularity, global views of Europe's biggest nation have improved significantly in 2013. One reason may be that Germany's economy has performed better than almost every other in recent years.
The BBC poll also indicates that positive views of China and India have fallen sharply around the world over the last year. After improving for several years, views of China have sunk to their lowest level since polling began in 2005, putting it in ninth position of 16 nations included in the survey. India is ranked 12th with negative views slightly outnumbering positive ones for the first time.
Iran and Pakistan are the most negatively viewed countries in the world. Their support or toleration of Islamic extremism are widely seen as a threat to international peace.
Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22624104
Chris
germanstudycentre@gmail.com
