Global Views on India: Loved In Sri Lanka, Divided In US, Rejected In Pakistan

India’s international standing varies dramatically depending on which part of the world is asked, according to a new Pew Research Center survey that found favourable opinion ranging from 79 per cent in Sri Lanka to just 7 per cent in Pakistan. The Spring 2026 Global Attitudes Survey, conducted among 42,092 respondents across 36 countries between February 9 and May 13, put the median favourable rating at 45 per cent, against 41 per cent unfavourable and 10 per cent undecided.

The findings point less to a single global trend than to a set of regional patterns shaped by geography, history and, in some cases, domestic politics. While countries such as the United Kingdom and Germany have grown more positive towards India since their last surveys, others including the United States, Nigeria and Turkey have turned more critical.

Across 36 countries, a median of 45% have a favorable view of #India, while a median of 41% have an unfavorable view.

Opinions diverge dramatically across India’s neighboring countries, from 79% favorable in #SriLanka to 7% favorable in #Pakistan. pic.twitter.com/uQuvmDxYok

— Pew Research Center (@pewresearch) August 13, 2026

South Asia: The Widest Gap

Neighbouring countries produced the widest gap in the entire survey.

• Sri Lanka: 79 per cent favourable, 11 per cent unfavourable — the most positive view of India among all 36 nations, up 14 points from 65 per cent favourable in 2024.
• Pakistan: 7 per cent favourable, 91 per cent unfavourable — the lowest rating in the survey.
• Bangladesh: 42 per cent favourable, 51 per cent unfavourable — down from 57 per cent favourable in 2024.

Western Europe: Largely Positive

Western Europe remained largely positive.

• United Kingdom: 71 per cent favourable, 24 per cent unfavourable — an 11-point rise from 60 per cent in 2025.
• Germany: 63 per cent favourable — up six points from last year and 16 points since 2023, when the figure stood at 47 per cent.
• Italy, Sweden, France and the Netherlands: all posted favourable ratings above 49 per cent.
• Spain and Poland: exceptions, with favourable opinion at 37 per cent in both, though Poland had a notably high 38 per cent who offered no opinion at all.

United States: A Mixed, Weaker Picture

The United States presented a more mixed and, on balance, weaker picture. Only 45 per cent of Americans viewed India favourably, down from 51 per cent in 2023, while 50 per cent held an unfavourable opinion. Pew noted these are among the lowest favourability figures recorded since it began tracking American attitudes toward India in 2008.

• By age: only 42 per cent of Americans aged 18 to 29 viewed India positively, compared with 50 per cent of those aged 65 and above.
• By party: 50 per cent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents were favourable towards India against 42 per cent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents.
• By ideology: 54 per cent of self-described liberals held a positive view compared with 40 per cent of conservatives.

Even as their overall opinion of India softened, most Americans did not see the country’s global standing as diminishing. A majority, 54 per cent, said India’s international influence had stayed about the same in recent years, while 30 per cent said it was growing stronger and only 13 per cent said it was weakening.

Asia-Pacific: A Divided Region

Opinion across the Asia-Pacific region was similarly divided.

• Japan: 55 per cent favourable
• Thailand: 55 per cent favourable
• Singapore: 51 per cent favourable
• Indonesia: 50 per cent favourable
• Philippines: 49 per cent favourable
• South Korea: 44 per cent favourable — down from 59 per cent in 2023, the steepest long-term slide in the region.
• Australia: 44 per cent favourable
• Malaysia: 41 per cent favourable — the lowest in the region.

Africa: Strong Support, With Some Decline

India retained strong support in several African countries.

• Kenya: 71 per cent favourable, 25 per cent unfavourable.
• Ghana: 50 per cent favourable.
• Nigeria: 47 per cent favourable — down 10 points since 2025.
• South Africa: 38 per cent favourable — an eight-point fall from 46 per cent over the same period.

Middle East: Sharp Contrasts

The Middle East produced some of the sharpest contrasts outside South Asia.

• Israel: 60 per cent favourable — with a notable ideological split domestically: 68 per cent among right-leaning Israelis compared with 46 per cent among those on the left.
• Turkey: 15 per cent favourable, 72 per cent unfavourable.
• West Bank and East Jerusalem: 18 per cent favourable, 56 per cent unfavourable.

Latin America: Leaning Negative

Latin American countries leaned negative across the board.

• Brazil: 37 per cent favourable
• Colombia: 36 per cent favourable
• Mexico: 30 per cent favourable
• Peru: 29 per cent favourable
• Chile: 25 per cent favourable
• Argentina: 24 per cent favourable — the lowest in the survey outside Pakistan.

Pew noted that large shares of respondents in both Europe and Latin America declined to offer an opinion, with European sentiment leaning more positive overall and Latin American sentiment leaning more negative.

The Bigger Picture

Pew said opinion of India had stayed largely stable in most of the 36 countries surveyed since the previous round. Among the ten countries where changes were statistically significant, ratings fell in seven, led by 10-point declines in Turkey and Nigeria, alongside drops in the US, Indonesia, South Africa and Mexico. Gains were recorded in the UK, Germany and Sri Lanka. The overall picture, the survey suggests, is one of diverging regional perceptions rather than a uniform rise or fall in India’s global standing.