BBC poll: Israel among world's least popular nations

The world's opinion of Israel has not improved in the last year: According to BBC World Service's annual poll, Israel is one of the least popular countries in the world; the only states less popular are North Korea, Pakistan and Iran.

The survey, conducted among 26,000 people in 25 countries, found Germany to be the most popular country. 59 percent of respondents, who were asked to rate 16 countries according to how positively they impact the world, placed Germany at the top.

Only 21 percent of participants had a positive view on Israel, while 52 percent viewed the country unfavorably. Iran, in comparison, won the favorable opinion of 15 percent of those who answered the survey, while 59 percent viewed it unfavorably.

In this year's poll, Germany took the place of Japan, which was downgraded to fourth place. Canada was ranked second, followed by Britain.  Haaretz