Country We View Most Positively Is...

When it comes to the country we view most positively, Germany gets the most thumbs up, at least according to the BBC's annual Country Ratings Poll. Some 26,000 people were asked whether they view a country's world influence as "mainly positive" or mainly negative" (they were asked about the EU and 16 individual nations, and their rating of their own country wasn't factored in). The BBC used a slightly involved method to come up with its averages, but the bottom line is that Germany is on top, with a 59% "mainly positive" rating; it bumped Japan from the top spot down to fourth, at 51%.

Also in the Top 3: Canada and the UK, at 55%; the BBC speculates that the latter got a boost thanks to the 2012 Olympics. Iran was viewed most negatively, with only 15% of those surveyed having a mainly positive view. Where does the US sit? At No. 8, with 45%. For the full list, click here. (More BBC stories.)