PM Modi holds highest approval rating among world leaders, ahead of Rishi Sunak, Joe Biden: Report

Prime Minister Narendra Modi | Image: Moneycontrol

Prime Minister Narendra Modi now holds the highest approval rating among world leaders, according to a report released by US-based business intelligence firm Morning Consult.

PM Modi, ranked first among the heads of states, is way ahead of US President Joe Biden, who is at the sixth position, and the UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ranked at 16th in the report.

The rankings are based on "data collected from January 26-31, 2023", after surveying "adult residents" of the respective countries, the report stated.

As per the report, the PM has an approval rating of 78 percent. Around 18 percent of the respondents disapproved his performance, while 4 percent had no opinion.

PM Modi is followed by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who has an approval rating of 65 percent in the survey.

Switzerland President Alain Berset occupies the third position with 62 percent approval rating. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is placed fourth with a 58 percent approval rating, and Brazil's recently-elected President Lula da Silva stood fifth with a 50 percent approval from the respondents.

While, US President Joe Biden scored a 40 percent approval rating in the survey, his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau also shared the same rating but was ranked ninth as 54 percent of the respondents disapproved his performance.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (with 30 percent approval rating) is placed ahead of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (32 percent rating) as the latter was disapproved by 63 percent of the respondents.

In Sunak's case, the disapproval rating was 58 percent and 12 percent of the respondents had no opinion about his performance so far.

The ratings are based on a seven-day moving average, with sample sizes varying by country, Morning Consult noted.

The report is released at a time when major world economies are battling inflation woes. Global monetary bodies have red-flagged the risk of a recession in most parts of the world in first half of 2023.

However, India "remains a bright spot" according to the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) top economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas.

While the global growth rate expected to decline to 2.9 percent in 2023, the Indian economy is likely to remain at 6.8 percent in the next fiscal year, the IMF had said.