Egyptians View Israel as Most Hostile State, Poll Finds

A poll conducted by the Cairo-based Egyptian Center for Public Opinion Research regarding Egyptians' perceptions of other countries found that Israel was the most hostile and Saudi Arabia the friendliest.

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Respondents were provided a list of 26 countries and asked to assess them on a rating scale ranging from very friendly to very hostile. The polling staff then translated the answers into a numerical score from ranging a positive score of 100 to a negative rating of -100. The countries that received the top ratings, the Egyptian Center for Public Opinion Research said, were all Arab, while Israel finished last with a -88 score. Just above Israel was the United States, followed in ascending order by Iran, Turkey and Qatar.

On the positive side, top-scoring Saudi Arabia was followed by United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. The best score among non-Arab countries went to China followed by Russia. Britain, which was seen in a negative light in prior similar polls, received a positive rating.

The research center, which is also known as Baseera, said the poll, which was conducted in May, has a margin of error of less than 3 percent. In its coverage of another, unrelated recent poll by the center, the Egypt Daily News website reported that the result of prior Baseera polls have been disputed.