DHARAMSHALA: Tibet’s spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama and US President Barack Obama shared highest levels of popularity in US and five largest European countries, one of the world’s most respected online survey has said.

Pope Francis is the only leader that comes close to the two of them.

Harris Poll conducted online among a total of 7,245 adults aged 16+ in France, Germany, Great Britain and Spain and adults aged 18+ in Italy and the United States between 8-15 May 2013.

Across the six countries, three-quarters of adults (78%) on average have good opinions of both President Obama and His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

64% respondents in US, 81% in France, 86% in Italy, 85% in Spain, 79% in Germany, 70% in Great Britain have good opinion of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

For President Obama, it is a little more of a difference, with his own country being the low point. While just half of Americans (51%) have a good opinion of the President, he is much more popular in Europe (87% in Italy, 87% in France, 80% in Spain, 83% in Germany and 79% in Great Britain).

The bottom of the list has some controversial figures from around the world: Kim Jong Un (4% of adults across the six countries have a good opinion of him), Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran (6%), China’s Xi Jinping (14%) and Vladimir Putin of Russia (19%).