Survey finds attitudes to taking in refugees are mostly positive

Most people welcome refugees to their country and even accept them in their own homes, a global survey has revealed.

Some 80% of those surveyed for Amnesty International’s Refugees Index said they would accept people fleeing persecution into their country.

The survey showed that China, Germany and the UK are the most welcoming nations while attitudes towards refugees in Russia, Indonesia and Thailand are the most negative.

Of UK respondents, 58% of those questioned prepared to accept refugees in their country, with 11% refusing.

The survey suggests that people in several countries with large numbers of refugees would still welcome more of them, with Greece (65%) and Jordan (61%) being in the top 10 of the index.

"These figures speak for themselves," Amnesty's Secretary General Salil Shetty said.

"People are ready to make refugees welcome, but governments' inhumane response to the refugee crisis are badly out of touch with the views of their own citizens."