Poll taken on Influence of Major Countries on the World

WHO DO YOU THNK HAS THE MOST NEGATIVE INFLUENCE ON THE WORLD ?
People's views of Russia have strongly deteriorated since last year, according to the latest 24-country poll for the BBC World Service. The poll, which was mostly conducted before the crisis in Crimea, showed people were more negative about Russia in the past year than they had been at any time since the poll began in 2005.

It also found that views of the US and the EU had worsened. But Germany has kept its position as the most positively viewed country. Iran and North Korea attracted the most negative ratings. The Country Ratings Poll of 24 nations was conducted by GlobeScan/Pipa. Between December 2013 and April 2014, a total of 24,542 people were asked to rate 16 countries and the EU on whether their influence in the world was "mostly positive" or "mostly negative."

Views of Russia have continued to deteriorate amongst people across all continents. The survey was taken in the year building up to events in Crimea, so it's not surprising that the most unfavourable views are found in Europe. On the other hand, Chinese opinions of Russia have warmed considerably.

The reputation of the US recovered over the course of President Barack Obama's first term, but ratings have since slipped, particularly in Spain, Germany and Brazil. Researchers put this down to bad publicity over US government surveillance programs.

Languishing at the bottom of the popularity stakes are Iran, Pakistan and North Korea - all countries with negative media images. The big question the survey raises is how far people's views are simply influenced by the tone of the coverage a nation receives.