Public perceptions of China have improved worldwide from a year ago, according to an annual BBC World Service poll of 27 countries around the world.

On average, 44 percent of those polled said that China has a positive influence in the world, compared to 40 per cent in 2010. The proportion with negative views of China remained steady at 38 percent.

But the overall improvement masks an even split between 13 countries with positive of China, and 13 countries with negative views. One country was evenly divided on the issue.

The most favorable views of China are found in Africa; in Nigeria (85 percent positive; up 12 points), Ghana (72 percent, up 9 points), and Kenya (73 percent). Latin American views of China are also generally very positive, with majorities in Chile (61 percent), Peru (57 percent), and Brazil (55 percent) holding favorable views. The big exception was Mexico where there was a significant shift to more negative views. While a small plurality of Mexicans were positive in 2010 (32 percent), the figure fell to 23 percent this year, and negative perceptions jumped 16 points to 42 percent.

In Asia, significant improvements in perceptions of China were seen in Indonesia (63 percent, up 20 points) and Pakistan (66 percent, up 10 points). Filipino views also warmed (62 percent, up 7 points), confirming a trend set in 2010.

Views of China also markedly improved in Russia, with a majority of 52 per cent now rating Chinese influence positively (up 10 points), while negative views dropped 13 points to 18 percent.

In Australia, favorable views rose to 43 percent from 36 percent in 2010, leaving opinion evenly divided compared to a plurality of negative views last year.

But the picture is less favorable in other Anglo-Saxon countries. Negative views rose eight points in Canada to 49 percent. In the United Kingdom, negative ratings rose by 10 points to 48 per cent, turning overall views negative, whereas in 2010 opinion had been evenly divided. In the United States, 51 percent still hold negative views despite positive attitudes rising seven points to 36 per cent.

Opinions of China's influence are negative everywhere in Europe with the exception of Russia. France (64 percent), Germany (62 percent), Spain (57 percent), and Italy (56 percent) hold the most negative views. But China's ratings in Italy improved, with positive views more than doubling to 30 percent, and negative views falling 16 points.

In Asia, South Korea, Japan, and India, are generally negative about China's influence. Japanese public opinion has become markedly more unfavorable, with a majority of 52 per cent now saying China has a negative influence compared to 38 percent in 2010, and just 12 percent favorable to China. Negative views increased by 14 points in India to 52 percent. South Koreans are still negative, although less so than last year, with 53 percent expressing unfavorable views, down 8 points.

The BBC World Service Country Rating Poll has been tracking opinion about countries' influence in the world since 2005. The latest results are based on 28,619 in-home and telephone interviews conducted between December 2, 2010 and February 4, 2011 in 27 countries, by the international polling firm GlobeScan, and the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the University of Maryland.