LAHORE: Pakistani Nobel Laureate and education activist Malala Yousufzai and cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan are among the world’s most admired people in 2018, according to an annual study compiled by YouGov.
Malala is the seventh most admired woman while Imran was number 20 among the most admired men in the world.
The list features a total of 40 people: 20 men and 20 women, all of whom are chosen as a result of online interviews with more than 37,000 people in 35 countries.
Bill Gates and Angelina Jolie topped the world’s most admired people list. The Microsoft founder and Hollywood actor-turned-humanitarian have topped the list every year since 2015.
Number two on the male list is former US president Barack Obama followed by actor Jackie Chan and Chinese president Xi Jinping.
Meanwhile, on the women’s list, Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey are number two and three respectively.
The most admirable women list mostly featured women from the entertainment industry with 14 of them being actresses, singers or TV presenters. Bollywood actresses Aishwarya Rai, Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone were also on the list along with Emma Watson, Taylor Swift, Madonna, Liu Yifei and Gal Gadot from Hollywood.
Pakistan-specific list:
In contrast, the male list featured men from political, business and sporting backgrounds. It included Elon Musk, Christiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Warren Buffet and David Beckham.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among politicians featured as were US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Erdogan.