Pakistanis View Bangladesh Most Positively, Indians Least

Among South Asian neighbours, Pakistanis hold the most favourable views of Bangladesh, while Indians are the least positive, according to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center.

The Washington-based research organisation published the findings on Thursday (13 August) as part of a survey of adults in four South Asian countries.

The survey found that 66% of Pakistanis and 56% of Sri Lankans have a favourable view of Bangladesh. In India, however, only 25% of respondents expressed a positive opinion of Bangladesh.

The share of Sri Lankans with a favourable view of Bangladesh has increased by nine percentage points since 2024, while the figure in India has declined by 10 percentage points, according to the report.

Views of Pakistan also varied significantly 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 widest gap in favourable views among the four South Asian countries. While a large majority of Sri Lankans viewed India positively, the figure stood at 42% in Bangladesh, down 15 percentage points from the previous survey. Only 7% of Pakistanis expressed a favourable view of India.

The survey also examined public confidence in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make the right decisions on international affairs. Sri Lanka recorded the most favourable assessment, while confidence stood at 42% in Bangladesh and just 4% in Pakistan.

Respondents were also asked which country they considered the most important ally for their own country. Sixty-three percent of Sri Lankans identified India as their country's most important ally.

In contrast, respondents in Bangladesh and Pakistan identified India as the greatest threat to their respective countries.

Overall, Sri Lanka was the only South Asian country to receive the most favourable views from respondents in each of the other countries surveyed.