Pope Francis is more popular than political leaders. A poll carried out by WIN/Gallup International found that 54 per cent of people around the world have a favourable opinion of the Pope. Researchers asked 1,000 people in 64 countries about who was the world's best leader. Pope Francis was most popular with Roman Catholics. Around 85 per cent of Catholics in the poll said they had a favourable opinion of him. Most of the people who did not believe in any god had a favourable opinion of the Pope. The researchers said: "Pope Francis is a leader who transcends his own religion."

 

It was predictable that Pope Francis, 79, was most popular in Catholic countries. Portugal and the Philippines were the most enthusiastic, with ratings of 94% and 93%. Francis's lowest ratings were in Algeria, Tunisia and Turkey. These were the only countries to give Francis a negative rating. Most people in Azerbaijan said they did not know much about him. The Pope beat other world leaders like Barack Obama and Angela Merkel. The BBC said Francis has, "enormous goodwill and won the hearts and minds not just of Roman Catholics but also of people from other religions".