Pakistanis have the most favourable view of Bangladesh among the four South Asian countries surveyed, while Indians have the least favourable view, according to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center.
The Washington-based research organisation published the findings on Thursday (13 August) based on a survey of adults in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
According to the survey, 66% of respondents in Pakistan and 56% in Sri Lanka expressed a favourable opinion of Bangladesh. In India, the figure was significantly lower at 25%.
The proportion of Sri Lankans with a favourable view of Bangladesh has increased by nine percentage points since 2024. In India, however, favourable views of Bangladesh have declined by 10 percentage points over the same period.
Attitudes toward Pakistan also varied sharply across the four countries. Fifty-seven percent of Sri Lankans and 54% of Bangladeshis expressed favourable views of Pakistan, compared with only 8% of Indians.
India recorded the largest variation in favourable perceptions among the countries surveyed. While Sri Lankans largely viewed India positively, only 42% of Bangladeshis held a favourable view of India, down 15 percentage points from the previous survey. In Pakistan, the figure was just 7%.
The survey also measured confidence in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make the right decisions on international affairs. Confidence in Modi was relatively high in Sri Lanka, while 42% of Bangladeshis and only 4% of Pakistanis expressed confidence in him.
Respondents were also asked to identify the most important ally for their country. Sixty-three percent of Sri Lankans named India as their country's most important ally.
By contrast, respondents in both Bangladesh and Pakistan identified India as the greatest threat to their respective countries.
Among the four countries surveyed, Sri Lanka was the only one to receive the most favourable views from respondents in all the other countries.
