More love for the US

The percentage of people around the world with positive views of the United States has increased, according to a new poll by the BBC World Service. The overall percentage of people with generally positive views of the US rose from 31 to 35% since last year, while the number with negative views fell five points to 47%.

The BBC poll measured public perceptions of 17 countries, including the United States. The countries scoring highest in the survey were Germany and Japan, each with a 56% approval rating. Iran, Israel and Pakistan finished at the bottom of the survey with approval ratings of 20% and below. Russia showed the greatest improvement in approval ratings, jumping from 29 to 37%.