Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was recently elected to his third term, is considerably less popular than Obama and Merkel. Majorities in most countries lack confidence in the Russian leader, and his ratings have slipped significantly over the last few years in Western Europe.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is largely unknown in many nations, although he does receive somewhat better ratings in the Middle East than the other leaders included on the survey.

Views of Merkel Still Mostly Positive in EU

Majorities or pluralities in eight of 21 countries express at least some confidence in German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ability to do the right thing regarding world affairs, while in eight countries majorities or pluralities have little or no confidence in her.

Confidence in Merkel is highest in her home country, where 77% express at least some confidence, up eight points since 2011.

Support for Merkel remains high in France, where seven-in-ten voice confidence in the German leader. However, this represents a ten percentage point drop since 2011. The chancellor is also relatively popular in the Czech Republic, where roughly two-thirds express at least some confidence in her ability to handle international affairs.

In Britain, around six-in-ten have a positive opinion of Merkel, but this is down six points from 2011. Merkel’s ratings have fallen most sharply in Spain, where 53% express confidence in the chancellor, down 16 points since last year.

Opinions of Merkel are more divided in Italy, where 49% have confidence in her and 45% do not. Meanwhile, she is incredibly unpopular in Greece, where around nine-in-ten (93%) have a negative opinion of her.

Outside of Europe, Merkel maintains her strongest support in Japan, where a 55%-majority backs the chancellor. Roughly half (48%) of Russians express confidence in her.

Negative views of Chancellor Merkel are prevalent in the Middle East, with solid majorities in Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon lacking confidence in the German leader.

More than four-in-ten Chinese (44%) lack confidence in Merkel, while just 27% rate her positively. Majorities in India and Pakistan have no opinion of her. She is also not well-known in Mexico, where 43% have no opinion.

Confidence in Putin Low

Majorities or pluralities in 16 of 21 nations have not too much or no confidence in Russian President Vladimir Putin to do the right thing in world affairs. Only in Russia does a 69%-majority voice support for the newly re-elected president, although this is down from 75% in 2011 and 84% in 2007.

China is the only other country where Putin is on balance popular – half of the Chinese surveyed express a lot or some confidence in the Russian leader.

Less than a quarter in Germany, Britain, Italy and France have confidence in Putin. His ratings in these countries have declined since 2007, when he was wrapping up his second term as president, including double-digit decreases in Britain (-16 percentage points) and Germany (-10). In the U.S., 54% lack confidence in the Russian president.

Putin is unpopular in predominantly Muslim nations, with solid majorities of Egyptians (75%), Jordanians (72%), Turks (70%), and Lebanese (63%), as well as about half of Tunisians (51%), saying they do not have confidence in him.

The Japanese continue to have a low opinion of Putin – around two-thirds in Japan (68%) have not too much or no confidence in the Russian president. Most Indians do not offer an opinion.

Views of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

Opinions of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon are mixed, and he is not well known in many of the nations surveyed. Confidence in Ban is highest in France and Germany, but he also receives plurality support in Japan, Britain and Poland.

In Greece, roughly three-quarters have little or no confidence in the UN Secretary-General’s handling of international affairs. Around six-in-ten in Spain agree.

Views of the Secretary-General are also negative in Turkey, Egypt, and Tunisia, while Jordanians are divided. As is often the case, opinions in Lebanon are sharply divided along sectarian lines. While 43% of all Lebanese have a lot or some confidence in Ban’s ability to handle international affairs, majorities of Sunnis (59%) and Christians (56%) have confidence in him. On the contrary, virtually no Shia Muslims in Lebanon (1%) have confidence in the Secretary-General, with 99% expressing no confidence. Ban’s negative ratings among Shia Muslims may be related in part to a UN tribunal investigating the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri that has indicted members of the militant Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah – also, Ban has recently called for Hezbollah to disarm.

Elsewhere, Ban is not well-known. Three-quarters in India have no opinion of him, as do 63% in Pakistan, 47% in Russia, and 41% in Mexico.

Views of British Prime Minister Cameron

Opinions in Europe are divided on British Prime Minister David Cameron. Nearly six-in-ten Czechs have confidence in Cameron’s ability to handle world affairs, as do 52% of Poles. In France and Germany, confidence in the British PM is evenly split. Meanwhile, opinions in Cameron’s home country are also divided, with 46% in Britain expressing a lot or some confidence and 53% not too much or no confidence in their leader’s performance in world affairs.

In other European nations, support for Cameron is on balance negative, with only 35% in Italy and Spain voicing confidence in him. As with other world leaders, Greeks rate the British PM negatively – just 10% have confidence in Cameron, while roughly eight-in-ten do not. Russians, for the most part, have no opinion (44%).

Ratings of Chinese President Hu

In his home country, an overwhelming majority expresses confidence in Chinese President Hu Jintao’s ability to handle world affairs. This support is virtually unchanged since last year.

However, views of Hu are negative in regional rival Japan, where three-quarters lack confidence in the Chinese leader.

In Pakistan, those who have an opinion generally rate Hu positively. Roughly four-in-ten (43%) say they have confidence in the Chinese leader, while 47% have no opinion. In neighboring India, a large majority (73%) do not have an opinion of President Hu.

In Europe, what started out four years ago as a sovereign debt crisis, morphed into a euro currency crisis and led to the fall of several European governments, has now triggered a full-blown crisis of public confidence: in the economy, in the future, in the benefits of European economic integration, in membership in the European Union, in the euro and in the free market system. The public is very worried about joblessness, inflation and public debt, and those fears are fueling much of this uncertainty and negativity.

Europeans largely oppose further fiscal austerity to deal with the crisis. They are divided on bailing out indebted nations. They oppose Brussels’ impending oversight of national budgets. At the same time, Europeans who now use the euro have no desire to abandon it and return to their former currency. And anti-German sentiment is largely contained to Greece, at least for the moment.

The crisis has exposed sharp differences between some Europeans. Germany is the most admired nation in the EU and its leader the most respected. The Germans are judged to be Europe’s most hardworking people. And the Germans are the strongest supporters of both European economic integration and the European Union.

Greece is the polar opposite. None of its fellow EU members surveyed see it in a positive light. In turn, Greeks are among the most disparaging of European economic integration and the harshest critics of the European Union. And they see themselves as Europe’s most hardworking people.

These are among the key findings from a new survey by the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project, conducted in eight EU nations and the United States among 9,108 respondents from March 17 to April 16.

European Unity in Trouble

The European project, which began with the creation of a small Common Market in 1957, grew to a larger Single Market in 1992 and then created a single currency in 2002, is a major casualty of the ongoing European sovereign debt crisis.

Across the eight European Union member countries surveyed, a median of only 34% think that European economic integration has strengthened their country’s economy. Indeed, majorities or near majorities in most nations now believe that the economic integration of Europe has actually weakened their economies. This is the opinion in Greece (70%), France (63%), Britain (61%), Italy (61%), the Czech Republic (59%) and Spain (50%). Only in Germany (59%) do most people say that their country has been well served by European integration.

Among the five euro area nations surveyed, a median of only 37% believes having the euro as their currency has been a good thing. This includes just 30% of the Italians and 31% of the French. At the same time, the three non-euro zone countries surveyed are quite happy they have kept their own currencies, including nearly three-quarters of the British (73%).

A median of about four-in-ten Europeans (39%) surveyed think favorably of the European Central Bank, the institution at the center of the debate over how to deal with the euro crisis. That includes just 15% of the Greeks, 25% of the Spanish and only 40% of the Germans.

Moreover, as public criticism of European unity grows, faith in its benefits and institutions erodes. Since 2009, belief that European economic integration, the raison d’être of the European Union, has weakened their national economy has grown by 22 percentage points in the Czech Republic, 20 points in Italy, and 18 points in Spain. And, since 2007, the favorability of the European Union as an organization has fallen 20 points in Spain and the Czech Republic, 19 points in Italy and 14 points in Poland.

Among the Europeans surveyed, only in Germany is there a growing majority that believes that integration has been an economic boon for the nation and a strong majority that says EU membership has been good. And only in Poland, a non-euro zone country that is also not a member of the European Central Bank, does more than half have a favorable opinion of that institution.

Nevertheless, the symbols of a united Europe retain public support. Despite the falloff in EU favorability, most Europeans surveyed still see the European Union in a positive light, including 69% of the Poles, 68% of the Germans and 60% of the French and Spanish. And more than half in all five euro area countries surveyed – including 71% of the Greeks, 69% of the French and 66% of the Germans – would like to keep the euro as their currency and not return to the drachma, the franc, the mark or other national currencies.

The euro crisis has also undermined support for free market capitalism. Solid majorities in only three of the eight countries surveyed – Germany 69%, Britain 61%, and France 58% – still believe that people are better off in a free market system. Moreover, since 2007, before the global financial crisis began, belief in capitalism is down 23 percentage points in Italy, 20 points in Spain, 15 points in Poland, 11 points in Britain, and nine points in the Czech Republic. In comparison, over that same time frame backing for the free market has remained relatively unchanged in the United States.

Deepening Gloom

As might be expected in a time of turmoil, Europeans are profoundly dissatisfied with the direction their countries are taking. This is nothing new. Europeans have been consistently downbeat about the state of their nations for the entire 11 years the Pew Global Attitudes Project has been surveying in Europe. But this year the mood is particularly grim. Miniscule numbers of Greeks (2%), Spanish (10%) and Italians (11%) say their country is on the right course. And satisfaction is down a whopping 41 percentage points in Spain since 2007, before the crisis began. The Germans, however, see things quite differently. More than half (53%) are satisfied with Germany’s trajectory. And such sentiment has brightened by 20 points in the last five years.

Dissatisfaction with their country’s direction tracks Europeans’ bleak assessment of their national economies. A median of just 16% of Europeans surveyed think their economy is performing well. The Greeks (2%), the Spanish (6%) and the Italians (6%) are particularly despairing. Again the Germans differ – 73% give strong marks to their economy. Europeans’ economic assessments have not changed that much since 2011. But there has been a profound negative turn in economic sentiment since 2007. Positive views of the economy have fallen 59 points in Spain and 54 points in Britain in the last five years. Again the Germans are the outliers. They are 10 points happier about the state of their economy than they were in 2007.

This concern about the economy is helping fuel frustration with the creation of a unified Europe. In a number of countries, strong majorities of those who think their economy is in bad shape also believe that European integration has been bad for their country, including two-thirds of the French (67%) and the Germans (67%) who are concerned about the economy and nearly that many Czechs (65%) and British (64%). Similarly, among those Germans who think the economy is doing poorly, 54% think that having the euro as their currency has been bad for Germany. A plurality (44%) of the French who are worried about their economy also are critical of the euro.

Europeans are divided over who is to blame for their economic woes. Among those who say their economy is bad, the Greeks (87%), Italians (84%), Poles (90%) and Czechs (91%) complain that their own governments are responsible for current economic distress. The French (74%), and Spanish (78%) fault the banks and other major financial institutions. The British and the Germans blame both. Such sentiments have not changed much in the last year. Notably, Europeans do not blame the United States.

A Bleak Future

Most Europeans have little hope for their economy’s future and do not think their children will have an easy time improving their lot, yet they acknowledge that, for all their current and possible future troubles, today’s generation is better off than their parents.

Across the board, Europeans expect the adverse effects of the euro crisis to continue for the immediate future. A median of 22% of those surveyed see the economy improving over the next year. The least optimistic are the Greeks (9%). The most optimistic are the British, but still only a third (32%) have a positive outlook. By comparison, Americans (52%) are 30 points more upbeat about the trajectory of the economy than are Europeans.

Among the EU nations surveyed, a median of 47% seriously doubt that their children will be able to climb the economic ladder. Such generational pessimism is particularly profound in those societies most hard hit by the euro crisis. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of the Greeks, 69% of the Spanish and 62% of the Italians worry it will be very difficult for young people in their countries to get a better job and to become wealthier than their parents. Notably, Germans are less pessimistic about economic mobility than are Americans.

Despite their glum assessment of current economic conditions and their doubt about economic prospects for their country and their children, Europeans do consider themselves better off than the previous generation. A median of nearly six-in-ten (59%) says their standard of living is superior to that of their parents. This is comparable to Americans’ (60%) view. Only in France (48%) does less than a majority see themselves as better off.

Pervasive Worry

Despondent about the economy, pessimistic about their economy’s prospects and worried about their children’s futures, Europeans see economic threats on all sides. Nearly nine-in-ten Europeans (88%) surveyed say unemployment poses a major threat to their economic well-being. This includes almost all the Spanish (97%) and all the Greeks (97%). Eight-in-ten (81%) think their country’s national debt is a threat, including again 97% of Greeks. And three-in-four (74%) Europeans surveyed believe rising prices could undermine their well-being. Inflation is particularly a concern in Greece (93%) and Italy (89%).

Greek and Spanish concern about joblessness is hardly surprising. The Greek unemployment rate was 21.7% in the months prior to the Pew Global survey. And in Spain it was 24.1% the month of the poll. But 70% of Germans are also worried about the lack of jobs even though Germany has a jobless rate of 5.6%, the lowest among the eight European countries surveyed. Similarly, Greek (97%) and Italian (81%) concern about the size of their national debt is in line with the 160.8% debt-to-GDP ratio in Greece and the 120.1% debt-to-GDP ratio in Italy. But 82% of the Czechs are also worried about their public indebtedness even though their debt to GDP ratio is only 41.5%. Most strikingly, 93% of the Greeks are concerned about rising prices even though their inflation rate is only 2.4%.

Americans also fret about all of these economic challenges. But they are markedly less worried than Europeans about both the national debt (71% concerned compared with 81% in Europe) and inflation (64% worried compared with 74% in Europe).

Little Faith in Leaders or Policies

Europeans have little faith in the ability of most of their leaders to deal with current economic challenges. Nor do they put much stock in many of the economic policy options now being pursued.

At the time the survey was taken in late March and early April, only minorities of the public in Spain (45% for Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy), Greece (32% for Prime Minister Lucas Papademos), Poland (25% for Prime Minister Donald Tusk) and the Czech Republic (25% for Prime Minister Petr Necas) thought their country’s leader was doing a good job handling the European economic crisis. About half of the British (51%) gave Prime Minister David Cameron good marks on this issue, while 48% of Italians said the same about Prime Minister Mario Monti. But weeks before he lost his bid for reelection, French President Nicolas Sarkozy still enjoyed the confidence of 56% of the French public for his management of the crisis.

In stark contrast, 80% of Germans thought Chancellor Angela Merkel had done a good job as an economic manager. Such appreciation for her acumen extends across most of the European countries surveyed. Strong majorities in six of the other seven nations said she was doing a fine job. Only the Greeks demurred. Just 14% gave her good marks.

Despite their widespread concern about national debt, Europeans evidence little support for further fiscal austerity in their ongoing debate about government spending. In five of seven nations, clear majorities say fiscal belt tightening is about right or has gone too far. This is particularly true in Spain (73%) and Britain (71%).

But Europeans are divided on the question of whether financial assistance should be provided to EU countries that run into major financial difficulties. In richer EU member countries – Britain (62%), France (56%) and Germany (48%) – close to half or more of the population opposes their government providing bailouts. As might be expected, in poorer EU nations, most say other EU governments should provide assistance to struggling nations.

There is general resistance to the recent decision to grant the European Union the authority to exercise limited oversight of national budgets. Three-quarters of the British (75%), Greeks (75%) and Czechs (73%) oppose this loss of national sovereignty.

A Europe Divided?

At a time when it faces its most serious economic challenge since its creation, the European Union is, in some ways, fractured into multiple, often discordant, elements. But these divisions do not always cut along presumed lines. Germans stand alone in their perceptions of their recent experience, their attitudes toward European unity and, in the eyes of their fellow Europeans, in terms of their character traits. But, contrary to their popular portrayal, the Germans do not differ markedly from other Europeans on policy issues. On many counts, it is the Greeks who are the most isolated in Europe. Meanwhile, a north-south split within Europe is far from clear cut.

The public mood in Germany is considerably more positive than elsewhere in Europe. They are the only Europeans surveyed who are satisfied with the direction of their country and who think their economy is doing well. Germany is the only country where a majority of the population currently thinks that European economic integration has strengthened the national economy. Germans are most likely, by far, to say that EU membership has been a good thing. They are the least concerned about the lack of jobs, rising prices and the power of unions. Germany is the most admired country in the EU and its chancellor the most respected leader. The Germans are seen by others as the most hard-working of Europeans and as the least corrupt.

But in public policy debates – over austerity, bailouts and budgetary sovereignty – German attitudes do not differ greatly from those of other Europeans.

Anti-German sentiment is most prevalent in Greece, where a majority (78%) has an unfavorable opinion of Germany, with nearly half (49%) of the population saying they have a very unfavorable view. Greece is the only country where a majority (84%) thinks German Chancellor Angela Merkel is doing a bad job dealing with the economic crisis. And they are intensely critical: 57% say she is doing a very bad job. The Greeks are, by far, the most likely to think that the power wielded over their economy by Germany and other European Union countries poses a major threat to their economy. And the Greeks are the least likely among Europeans surveyed to say the Germans are hardworking.

Their anti-German sentiment is only one measure of how Greeks and their country are isolated within Europe. None of Greece’s fellow EU members hold a positive view of the Aegean nation. And, since 2010, favorable views of Greece have fallen by 28 points in Poland, 20 points in France, 16 points in Spain, 13 points in Germany and 12 points in Britain.

The Greeks are the least happy with the direction of their country and the most upset about the state of their national economy among the European populations surveyed. They are the least optimistic about the economy and the most pessimistic about economic mobility. They are among the most fearful about unemployment, debt and inflation and the least supportive of the free market system. Greeks are the most critical of European economic integration and the European Central Bank. They are the most supportive of bailouts and among the most opposed to outsiders looking over their shoulder as they prepare their national budget. At the same time, seven-in-ten Greeks (71%) have a favorable view of their own country. Only the Germans (82%) and the British (78%) are more nationalistic. And 60% of the Greeks see themselves as the most hardworking people in Europe.

The north-south divide in Europe, a topic of great concern in policy circles in Brussels, is by no means uniform. No country in northern Europe has a positive view of Greece. But Britain, France and Germany still hold positive views of Italy and Spain.

Southern Europeans are more dissatisfied than northerners with the direction of their countries, more worried about the state of their economy and the most worried about economic mobility. But southerners share with northerners their disenchantment with the results of European integration.

There is no north-south divide on coping with the crisis. As might be expected, wealthy northern countries are less supportive of financial bailouts than poorer southern nations. But there is no clear-cut division of opinion on austerity or EU oversight of national budgets. Finally, with regard to the perception of the national character of the residents of southern European countries, the British, French and Germans judge the Greeks, Italians and Spanish to be the laziest people in Europe and among the most corrupt. However, Italians and Spaniards largely share this negative image of themselves and their southern counterparts.

Germany Favored, Greece Not

Germany is the most respected EU country among those nations surveyed. Roughly eight-in-ten people in France (84%), the Czech Republic (80%) and Poland (78%) hold a favorable view of Germany. The Greeks, however, are harshly critical of Germany. Only 21% have a positive view of Germany, while 78% have an unfavorable view. Berlin’s hard line in dealing with the euro crisis may have cost it some support among its fellow EU members. Germany’s favorability is down 10 points in Spain since 2011, down six points in France and Britain.

France is also held in high regard. Overwhelming majorities in Germany (80%), Poland (76%) and the Czech Republic (74%) express a positive view of France. Only the Greeks (54%) and the Italians (53%) are sparing in their praise. However, in a possible sign of intra-European tension as a result of the euro crisis, positive Italian assessment of France has fallen 20 percentage points since 2007, as has favorable sentiment toward France in the Czech Republic (-11) and Spain (-9).

Strong majorities in seven of the eight countries surveyed have a favorable view of Britain, including 84% in the Czech Republic and 83% in Poland. And these views are largely unchanged from 2007. Only in Greece do people lack enthusiasm: just 37% of Greeks see Britain in a good light.

Spain is broadly popular. About seven-in-ten or more people in most of the countries surveyed have a favorable opinion of Spain, including 76% in Poland, 74% in Britain and 72% in Greece. The Italians (59%) evidence less enthusiasm.

Despite its recent troubles, roughly two-thirds of Europeans surveyed have a positive view of Italy, including 67% of the British, 67% of the French and 66% of the Germans. Only the Spanish, at 58%, are slightly less supportive. But in a sign that Italy’s problems may have affected other Europeans’ views of the country, the Polish assessment is down 15 points from 2010, as is the Spanish (-11), the French (-10), and the British rating (-6). Italy fares relatively poorly among its own people in opinions of the country: 57% of Italians rate their nation favorably.

Among the major European countries, Greece is clearly the least popular. And its reputation is slipping. In no country, other than Greece itself, is there a majority with a favorable view of Greece. Only 25% of the Czech’s have a positive opinion of the Aegean nation. Polish favorable rating of Greece has fallen 28 points since 2010, Spanish ratings of Greece are down 16 points and favorability of Greece among the British has declined 12 points. Just 27% of Germans see Greece in a positive light and that is down 13 points from 2010. In France, 45% judge Greece favorably, down 20 points from 2010. Contrary to the views of other Europeans, 71% of the Greeks have a favorable view of their own country.

Merkel Highly Respected

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is widely seen as the most effective national leader in dealing with the European economic crisis. Eight-in-ten Germans say she is doing a good job, as do about three-quarters of the French (76%) and two-thirds of the Czechs (67%), Poles (66%) and British (66%).

In Germany, Merkel is significantly more popular among older people than among the young, but in other European nations her appeal cuts across generations. Notably, there is no significant gender gap in her appeal. Her efforts are appreciated equally by men and women. In most countries, Merkel is popular across ideological lines, including support by 78% of Germans on the left. The French left is not nearly as appreciative, a difference that bears watching with a new left-of-center government in Paris. Only 54% of French respondents from the left think she is doing a good job with the crisis, 32 points lower than the approval she gets from the French right. Only in Greece (84%) does a majority think Merkel has performed poorly in the crisis. And they are harshly critical: 57% of Greeks say she has done a very bad job.

Recently ousted French president Nicholas Sarkozy might have fared better running in Germany than in France. While in the run-up to his re-election campaign, 56% of his fellow countrymen thought Sarkozy had done a good job dealing with the European economic crisis, 75% of the Germans thought he was handling the crisis well. Sarkozy may have fared less well in other European countries, lacking majority approval of his crisis performance in Poland (49%), Britain (46%), the Czech Republic (43%) and Italy (36%). But the Greeks are his toughest graders; only 17% say Sarkozy is doing a good job.

British Prime Minister David Cameron comes in for similar criticism. Only 16% of Greeks and 28 % of Germans approve of his handling of the European economic crisis. And only 51% of his own people think he is doing a good job. The French see Cameron differently; 59% approve of his performance. In a number of countries, however, Cameron’s name recognition is so low that many respondents did not voice an opinion about him.

The leaders of the other European countries surveyed come in for the most criticism. In three of the other five countries, a strong majority thinks their own leader is doing a poor job reacting to the European economic troubles. This includes Poland, where 69% criticize Prime Minister Donald Tusk; the Czech Republic, where 69% are disdainful of the efforts of Prime Minister Petr Necas; and Greece, where 62% think Prime Minister Lucas Papademos is doing a bad job. In Spain, 50% give Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy bad marks, while 45% approve of how he is handling the crisis. The Italian public is also divided on their leader’s performance: 44% say Prime Minister Mario Monti is doing a bad job, 48% say a good job.

Germans Viewed as Honest and Hardworking, Southerners Viewed Negatively

When asked to name who they think are the hardest working Europeans, the Germans are the overwhelming choice. The French (86%) hold the German work ethic in high regard, as do the Spanish (77%) and the Germans themselves (80%). Like the Germans, many respondents also give themselves high marks. The French (69%), in particular, claim to be hardworking and, to a lesser extent, so do the Poles (46%) and the British (43%). The Greeks have a similarly favorable view of their own industriousness. They are more likely to name themselves (60%) as hard workers than they are to cite the Germans (45%) or any other nationality.

Europeans are also in agreement as to who are the least hardworking among them: it’s the southern Europeans, and especially the Greeks. The Germans (60%) are harsh judges of Greek work habits, but so are the Czechs (58%), French (53%) and the Poles (50%). The French are equally judgmental of the Italians (58%) and the Spanish (50%). And even Italians and Spanish are likely to name their own countrymen and women among the least hardworking Europeans. Greeks are not so self-critical. Only 14% call themselves lazy. Instead, they name the Italians (24%), the French (23%) and the Germans (19%) as less industrious.

In all eight countries surveyed, the Italians and the Greeks rank in the top three mentioned as the most corrupt. But it is the Italians who come in for particular criticism. About three-quarters (76%) of the French say the Italians are dishonest, as do 63% of the Spanish and 60% of the Germans. People often also see themselves as the most corrupt, particularly in Italy (65%) and Spain (63%). The Greeks share this self-critique. About half (52%) of Greeks say that corruption is most widespread among their fellow citizens.

Germans are seen as the least corrupt people in the European Union, followed by the British and the Swedes. The Germans (54%) and the French (46%) have a particular high regard for their own integrity. At the same time, respondents outside of northern Europe are more self-critical. About one-in-ten or fewer people in Spain, Italy, Greece, Poland, and the Czech Republic say their countrymen and women are the least corrupt.