Prior to Brexit, the Nice attack, the attempted coup in Turkey and violent attacks in Germany, Slovakia enjoyed the highest favourability rating among Czech citizens, with Austria in second place. The vast majority of the public also rated the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Sweden, France and Croatia positively. Of the non-European countries, Japan received the highest rating. There has been no fundamental shift in attitudes since the December 2015 survey. Attitudes towards Germany and the United States have further deteriorated slightly. Hungary, Russia and Ukraine also received somewhat less favourable ratings than in the last survey and, once more, Turkey, Ukraine, China, Russia and Serbia fared the worst.
This survey was conducted by the STEM non-profit institute (www.stem.cz) on a representative sample of the Czech population aged 18 and over from 13 to 21 June 2016. Respondents were selected using a quota sampling method, with some 1,061 people taking part in the survey.
Since 1994 STEM has been regularly monitoring the attitudes of Czech citizens towards certain European countries and the world powers. The June 2016 survey was conducted shortly before the British public voted on membership of the European Union and thus before the outcome of the Brexit referendum was known.
First, let us sum up the results of the survey. Respondents were asked to rate their attitudes towards the various countries on a scale of one to five, with one being the most positive. Slovakia clearly came out on top, with 85 % of respondents rating the country at one or two. Austria, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Sweden, France and Croatia also enjoyed very positive ratings, receiving a one or a two from approximately 70 % of citizens. Over half of those surveyed also rated Denmark, Italy, Belgium, Japan, Hungary, Slovenia and Poland favourably. Just under half of respondents viewed Germany favourably, giving the country a score of one or two. Turkey received the most ‘bad’ marks, followed by Russia and Ukraine. The United States, Serbia and China also received few positive ratings.
At the end of 2015 we observed a significant decrease in the proportion of positive ratings awarded to certain countries, compared with the results of the 2013 survey. This shift was most notable in the case of Germany, but other western European countries also fared worse than previously (Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom). The results of the most recent survey indicate a further slight decline in positive ratings for Germany and France. In the case of the other countries listed above, a small increase in favourable ratings was recorded. This by no means signifies a return to 2013 figures, however.
While Czech citizens’ attitudes towards Poland continue to improve, there has, by contrast, been no such improvement in Hungary’s ratings since the December 2015 survey. It is worth noting that Russia has also seen a fall in favourable ratings since the last survey.
Country popularity chart
“I’m going to read you the names of various countries and, using the school grading system, I’d like you to rate your attitude towards them on a scale of one to five, with one being the most favourable rating and five the least favourable.“
Rating in % (school grades: one = most favourable, five = least favourable)
Source: STEM, Trends 2016/6, 1061 respondents
Country popularity comparison for 2013, 2015 and 2016
“I’m going to read you the names of various countries and, using the school grading system, I’d like you to rate your attitude towards them on a scale of one to five, with one being the most favourable rating and five the least favourable.“
Rating in % (school grades: one = most favourable, five = least favourable)
Source: STEM, Trends 2013/10, 2015/12, 2016/6
The following graph, which plots the attitudes of Czech citizens towards Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the United States over a period of more than twenty years, clearly shows a dramatic deterioration in the ratings of these countries in the 2015 survey, most notably in the case of Germany. Only the United Kingdom received a slightly higher rating in the June survey. It still remains to be seen, however, how the results of the Brexit referendum will be reflected in Czech attitudes towards the United Kingdom.
Development in the ratings of selected countries (1994-2016)
(Ratings using the school grading system: one = most favourable, five = least favourable; proportion of 1 + 2 grades in %)
Source: STEM, Trends Series 1994-2016
More detailed analyses of developments in attitudes towards Germany demonstrate interesting differences in relation to the level of education of respondents. The survey conducted at the end of 2015 found a fall in positive ratings for Germany in all educational categories. As this drop was most significant among university graduates, this resulted in a consensus on Germany among the various educational groups. The current data shows a further deterioration in attitudes towards Germany among the less educated. By contrast, in the most recent survey, secondary school and university graduates rated Germany slightly more favourably than in the December 2015 survey. Therefore, differences in terms of level of education are again more apparent, although not quite to the extent they were in 2013.
Differences in attitudes towards Germany by education (2013, 2015 and 2016)
(proportion of 1+2 grades in %)
*Secondary School Leaving Certificate, equiv. A Levels in the UK, High School Diploma in the US
Source: STEM, Trends 2013/10, 2015/12, 2016/6