Indians biggest supporters of international aid: WEF global survey

Indians have emerged as the biggest supporters of international aid, with a global public opinion survey putting India on the top when it comes to people expecting their nation to help other countries.

The survey released by the World Economic Forum ahead of its high profile annual meeting in this ski resort town on the Swiss Alps showed that South Asian countries, including India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, as also Nigeria and Saudi Arabia exhibit widespread support for international aid.

The respondents in the survey of over 10,000 people were asked that do they think their country has a responsibility to help other countries in the world.

As many as 95 percent Indians replied in affirmative, which was the highest for any country, followed by 94 percent in Indonesia and Pakistan each.

Bangladesh followed with 87 percent, while Nigeria scored 84 percent, Saudi Arabia 83 percent and China 80 pet cent.

The global average was 72 percent, with countries like Argentina, France, Germany, the UK and the US scoring 60 percent or below.

The WEF said it worked with Qualtrics to poll over 10,000 people from around the world on a number of issues that are important to our agenda at the Davos meeting.

As per the survey, 80 percent of respondents worldwide believe that all countries can benefit at the same time, rejecting the notion that national improvement is a zero-sum game.

North Americans view immigrants more positively than any other region except South Asia. Europeans view immigration the least positively.

The survey also showed that a majority of all respondents trust climate science, but 17 percent in North America express little to no trust.

On migration, 63 percent of US respondents believed new immigrants are mostly good for their country – compared to a global average of 56 percent, 48 percent in Germany and 30 percent in Italy.

On Multilateralism, 83 percent of US respondents said that all countries can improve at the same time -- compared to 35 percent in Japan, 74 percent in the UK and 65 percent in France.