Shakespeare more popular abroad than in Britain: Survey

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 percent) than in his own country (59 percent), Xinhua reported.

A total of 18,000 respondents in 15 countries participated in the survey in November 2015. Survey showed only 59 percent British people like Shakespeare, while 68 percent Chinese respondents like him.

The top five countries "like Shakespeare" are India (89 percent) , Mexico (88 percent), Brazil (87 percent), Turkey (79 percent) and South Africa (73 percent). Scores of France and Germany were the lowest, with 51 percent and 44 percent, respectively.

The survey also revealed that 84 percent of Brazilians said they found him relevant to today's world, compared with 57 percent in Britain. Meanwhile, 83 percent of Indian respondents said they understood Shakespeare, however, in Britain, only 58 percent 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.