A new international survey of more than 22,000 people found that respondents in India were the most likely to view artists in a positive light.
Participants were asked by YouGov whether they would be happy for their child to pursue various professions. Of the countries surveyed, members of the public in Mexico, Spain, Hong Kong and Singapore were the least enthusiastic about the prospect of their children relying on art to make a living. Attitudes towards any of the jobs suggested tended to be lowest in Mexico and Spain.
Artists received the thumbs up from 63 percent of urban Indians, compared to 70 percent for medical doctors and 20 percent for truck drivers. On average doctors, scientists and architects came out top across the world.
In the UK, 57 percent said they would be happy for their child to pursue art professionally, with 36 percent expressing ambivalence. Seventy-eight percent of British people would be happy if their child became an architect, with 69 percent saying the same about graphic design. The UK was the most enthusiastic of any of the countries surveyed about truck drivers, nurses and farmers.
Other than Australia, no country had a positive view of their children working down mines or in call centres.
