Which nation do Czechs like the most – and least – worldwide?

Czechs hold Slovakia and Switzerland in particularly high regard, and view Russia and China the most negatively, a new survey finds.

An opinion poll by the STEM agency asked Czechs which countries they view the most and least favorably internationally. Ranking countries on a scale of one to five, with one being the most favorable, Czechs generally viewed countries in Western Europe most positively.

Almost 73 percent of respondents gave a positive opinion of Slovakia. Switzerland and Austria were ranked second and third respectively, both with ratings around 65 percent.

The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Italy were all in the top seven most-positively viewed nations. 

Neighbors Poland and Germany scored less well, with favorability ratings of less than 50 percent. Hungary, part of the Visegrád Four, scored particularly poorly, with a positive rating of just 35 percent. This is likely explained by ruling party Fidesz’s hardline conservatism and sympathetic approach to Russia.

The U.S., a strong military ally of Czechia, received only a 37 percent positive rating. Favorable views on the U.S. have declined since 2017 when the rating had been 50 percent. 

Britain scored a favorability rating of 58 percent. Although substantially higher than that of the U.S., Czechs have also been viewing Britain in worse regard recently: just 10 years ago, 73 percent of Czechs viewed Britain favorably.

Near the bottom of the list, perhaps surprisingly, lies Ukraine. Almost 40 percent of people issued a negative viewpoint on Ukraine, compared with 30 percent of people viewing the country favorably. However, since a 2021 opinion poll, the share of favorable opinions has increased.

The “usual suspects” in causing headaches to the Western world – China and Russia – were the most negatively viewed. 

As many as 69 percent of people gave a negative opinion of Russia, compared with 12 percent giving the country a positive view. Recent military aggression has doubtlessly been behind this – in 2019, a considerably higher proportion (34 percent) viewed Russia favorably.

China received a favorability rating of only 15 percent, similar to Turkey (18 percent) and Serbia (23 percent). A combination of these countries' Russophilia and perceived anti-Western values are the most likely explanations for these poor scores.