Türkiye’s global image on the rise - survey

Perceptions of Türkiye are shifting positively in line with its rising international influence, according to the 2025 report by the Munich Security Conference, prepared using surveys done in multiple countries.

According to the report, in all surveyed countries except France, a greater percentage of people see Türkiye as an ally than as a threat, many by double-digit margins.

The difference between those considering Türkiye an ally versus a threat was 28 points in the UK and Japan, 26 points in China, 25 points in India, 19 points in South Africa, 14 points in the US and Canada, 10 points in Brazil, five points in Italy, and two points in Germany.

Only in France was the percentage of those seeing Türkiye as a threat higher than those seeing it as an ally, but narrowly, by two points.

Compared to the previous survey, the countries where the percentage of people viewing Türkiye as an ally rose the most were Germany and the UK (11 points each), Italy (nine points), France (eight points), and Canada (six points).

After South Korea, Türkiye was the country with the second-largest positive shift over the past year, followed by the UK, Brazil, and Poland

IMAGE OF US, ISRAEL BOTH SUFFER

The US and Israel were the countries whose "ally" image suffered the most. The percentage of people considering the US an ally dropped 15 points in France, 11 points in Japan, nine points in Germany, and six points in the UK.

The report also highlighted the sharp increase in the percentage of people viewing Israel as a "threat" compared to the previous survey amid accusations by international courts, human rights groups, and many world leaders that its 15-month offensive on Gaza has effectively been a genocide.

The percentage of those seeing Israel as a threat rose 12 points in Italy, 11 points in France, nine points in the UK, eight points in Germany and Japan, and four points in the US, China, and Brazil.

Israel was the only country in the survey that saw a rise in being perceived as a threat across all surveyed nations.

The report was published ahead of the 61st Munich Security Conference, set to start on Friday, where defense and foreign policy issues will be discussed.

For the report, surveys were done in Germany, the US, UK, France, Italy, Brazil, Japan, Canada, India, China, and South Africa.

Among these mostly Western nations, the countries where perceptions changed most positively included Türkiye, South Korea, Poland, and the UK.