Top 10 Most Rated Leader in World 2016

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi highest-rated among heads of states in a rare international survey.

According to the latest opinion poll conducted by the GMO Research, a Tokyo-based global market research firm, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was ranked second on a list of 30 top-performing world leaders, behind Chinese President Xi Jinping.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was on the third place, followed by South African President Jacob Zuma and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.

In regards to the confidence citizens have in how their leaders handle domestic and international affairs, Chinese President Xi topped the list in both categories at 94.8% and 93.8% respectively, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi slightly trailing behind with 93.2% and 93.3% respectively.

Elaborating on the high ratings Chinese President Xi Jinping got, Anthony Saich, the director of the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation atHarvard Kennedy School (HKS) and Daewoo Professor of International Affairs, said "In countries where a single party dominates, or where public debate about political leaders is constrained, citizens typically rated their own officials much higher than did respondents in nations with a multi-party system and a more open and robust press."

On Narendra Modi's performance in the list, Anthony Saich said: "Two things did surprise me--how well Modi came out. I just put that down to the fact that he'd only just been elected and so I suspect that a lot of people didn't really know very much about him, and his own nationals were probably still in the phase of him having won the election."

Results of 10 Key National Leaders among respondents in 30 countries, on a scale of one to 10:

1. Chinese President Xi Jinping - 7.5

2. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi - 7.3

3. German Chancellor Angela Merkel - 7.2

4. South African President Jacob Zuma - 6.8

5. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff - 6.8

6. U.S. President Barack Obama - 6.6

7. British Prime Minister David Cameron - 6.5

8. French President François Hollande - 6.3

9. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe - 6.1

10. Russian President Vladimir Putin - 6.0

Ranking of domestic confidence of its leader on handling domestic/international affairs among respondents in each of the 10 key countries (%)

Confidence on handling domestic affairs.

1. Chinese President Xi Jinping - 94.8%

2. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi - 93.2%

3. Russian President Vladimir Putin - 86.2%

4. German Chancellor Angela Merkel - 63.2%

5. U.S. President Barack Obama - 51.7%

6. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe - 50.3%

7. British Prime Minister David Cameron - 48.6%

8. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff - 29.5%

9. French President François Hollande - 24.8%

10. South African President Jacob Zuma - 12.8%

Confidence on handling international affairs

1. Chinese President Xi Jinping - 93.8%

2. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi - 93.3%

3. Russian President Vladimir Putin - 86.0%

4. German Chancellor Angela Merkel - 63.2%

5. British Prime Minister David Cameron - 49.4%

6. U.S. President Barack Obama - 49.1%

7. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe - 48.0%

8. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff - 36.4%

9. French President François Hollande - 34.0%

10. South African President Jacob Zuma - 18.0%

The survey questioned 26.5777 people from 30 countries evaluating 10 heads of states, asked to identify and evaluate the job performance of the most widely recognized global leaders. Lists of countries surveyed:

12 countries from Asia = China, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Pakistan, India, Israel and Saudi Arabia

4 countries from Africa = Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa

4 countries from the Americas = United States, Canada, Brazil and Chile

8 countries from Europe = Russia, Ukraine, France, United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, Italy and Finland

2 countries from Oceania = Australia and New Zealand