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About one-quarter, or 25 percent, of people in neighboring India have a positive view of Bangladesh. The figure is significantly higher in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, where 66 percent and 56 percent of people, respectively, view Bangladesh positively.
The findings come from a survey conducted by the Washington-based Pew Research Center among adults in South Asian countries. The research report was published on the Pew Research Center’s website.
The survey sought to understand how people in South Asian countries view one another. According to the findings, public perceptions in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have changed significantly since 2024.
Pew Research found that the share of Bangladeshis with a positive view of India has declined by 15 percentage points compared with 2024. At the same time, positive views of Sri Lanka among Bangladeshis increased by 14 percentage points. In Sri Lanka, the share of people with a positive view of Bangladesh rose by nine percentage points compared with 2024, while positive views of Bangladesh among Indians declined by 10 percentage points.
Among those surveyed, 22 percent of Pakistanis had a negative view of Bangladesh. In Sri Lanka, the figure was 18 percent. In India, 48 percent of respondents said they did not have a positive view of Bangladesh.
There were also significant differences when respondents were asked which neighboring country they considered their most important ally. Sixty-three percent of Sri Lankans viewed India as an ally. In contrast, a majority of respondents in both Bangladesh and Pakistan regarded India as the “biggest threat.”
According to Pew Research, more than half of Bangladeshis—51 percent—now have a negative view of India, while 42 percent have a positive view.
Pew Research last conducted a survey in Bangladesh in 2024. Compared with that survey, the share of Bangladeshis holding a positive view of India has fallen by 15 percentage points. Moreover, while 24 percent of respondents in the previous survey declined to express an opinion, that figure has dropped to just 7 percent in the latest survey.