Brazil appears to be receiving a welcome lift in popularity, according to the results of the annual BBC World Service Country Rating Poll. The poll, conducted by GlobeScan/PIPA from a sample of 28,619 people from around the world, asked people to rate the influence of sixteen major nations, plus the European Union.
The results show positive views of Brazil have risen from 40 to 49 per cent from last year.
This raised international profile produce a boom for tourism, as many already choose to visit Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo hosts the Brazilian Grand Prix, so 2011 could see more holidaymakers choosing to visit this part of South America.
Negative views of the country are down to just 20 per cent and positive views of the country are predominant in all but two of the countries surveyed.
Doug Miller, chairman of GlobeScan, commented on Brazil’s new popularity: “The growing credibility of middle powers is the story this year, especially Brazil and South Africa. The jump in positive views of Brazil follows the successful democratic transition from President Lula da Silva to Dilma Rousseff, Brazil’s first female president.”
Steven Kull, director of PIPA, believes negative views have gone hand-in-hand with economic difficulty: “While last year relatively dour views of nations were prevalent – perhaps reflecting the mood of the economic downturn – the mood now seems to be relatively upbeat.”
Brazil recently also received a boost in international profile as it kicked off its world famous Carnival celebrations, which feature extravagant parades and city-wide revelry.
