Shakespeare is more popular globally than with people in Britain though the bard has made a significant contribution to Britain's economy and culture, a new research revealed on Tuesday.
According to a new survey "All the World's", commissioned by the British Council and conducted by YouGov, the great playwright has been proved more popular outside Britain (65 per cent) than in his own country (59 per cent), Xinhua reported.
A total of 18,000 respondents in 15 countries participated in the survey in November 2015. Survey showed only 59 per cent British people like Shakespeare, while 68 per cent Chinese respondents like him.
The top five countries "like Shakespeare" are India (89 per cent) , Mexico (88 per cent), Brazil (87 per cent), Turkey (79 per cent) and South Africa (73 per cent). Scores of France and Germany were the lowest, with 51 per cent and 44 per cent, respectively.
The survey also revealed that 84 per cent of Brazilians said they found him relevant to today's world, compared with 57 per cent in Britain. Meanwhile, 83 per cent of Indian respondents said they understood Shakespeare, however, in Britain, only 58 per cent of respondents said so.
Contributable factors for the results included Shakespeare's works being translated into more contemporary editions and adaptation into other formats, said British Council.
This new research also underlined the continued importance and relevance of Shakespeare in the 21st century. Over a third of those questioned said Shakespeare made them feel more positive about Britain in general.
Previous research conducted by the British Council in 2014 showed that Shakespeare was the leading personality that 18 to 34 year olds in Brazil, China, Germany, India and the US most identified with contemporary British arts and culture.
