London: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been named as world’s most admired Indian and Bill Gates remains the world’s most admired man, as per a survey conducted by UK-based internet market research and data analytics firm YouGov.
Apart from PM Modi, cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni and industrialist Ratan Tata also featured on the list.Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan moved down in the list from ninth to twelfth position.
Only two new men join the top twenty this year, both Indian actors: Shahrukh Khan and Salman Khan.
The survey, conducted through online voting, lists the world’s most admired men and women, and while Modi holds the highest position of all the Indians on the list, his global ranking is number six.
As per the survey, the whole top five men remain unchanged since last year. Former US president Barack Obama comes in second, and the third to fifth places are all occupied by Chinese figures: actor Jackie Chan in third, president Xi Jinping in fourth and businessman Jack Ma in fifth.
Michelle Obama has supplanted Angelina Jolie as the world’s most admired woman, according to YouGov’s annual study of which public figures the people of our planet look up to.
In fact, the American actress, filmmaker and humanitarian has fallen from first place last year to third place this year, with US talk show host and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey coming second in the 2019 list.
YouGov said this year the study expanded to cover the views of people in 41 countries – the most ever – with more than 42,000 people being interviewed to compile the list.
Deepika Padukone retains her position at thirteen but Priyanka Chopra drops down two places to fourteen this year. Aishwarya Rai has fallen the furthest, down five places to the sixteenth, the survey said.
Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan have also been named in the list.
The top twenty most admired women sees five new faces this year. Two are married to the world leaders: Melania Trump and Chinese singer Peng Liyuan, who is the wife of president Xi Jinping. They are joined by Chinese scientist Tu Youyou, Indian actress Sushmita Sen and US talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.
Entertainers dominate the female list, with 12 of the most admired women being actresses, singers or TV presenters (although some, like Emma Watson and Angelina Jolie, are also notable for their humanitarian work). By contrast, the list of most admired men contains more people from political, business and sporting backgrounds.
Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan have climbed the highest up the tables since last year, both having risen three places to seventh place and seventeenth place respectively. Indian actress Aishwarya Rai has fallen the furthest, down five places to sixteenth.