PM Narendra Modi praying at Lingaraj Temple is the most popular photo shared by a world leader in 2017 on Facebook

PM Narendra Modi has always encouraged the use of social media platforms to stay in touch with the public.

File photo

Geneva/New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the most liked world leader and far ahead of others, including US President Donald Trump, when it comes to popularity on Facebook, according to a study.

Trump, who rules the other social media platform Twitter, is in second place with 23.1 million followers, according to the study 'World Leaders on Facebook' released on Wednesday by Burson Cohn and Wolfe.

Indian PM @NarendraModi is the most 'liked' world leader on #Facebook ahead of @realDonaldTrump and @QueenRania.

See who else stands out:
https://t.co/8a3vyYlawd #DigitalDiplomacy #FacebookDiplomacy pic.twitter.com/hcRwqIPlVR — Twiplomacy (@Twiplomacy) May 2, 2018

Over the past 14 months, the Facebook page of Trump had by far the most interactions of any world leader on Facebook, with a total of 204.9 million interactions (defined as the total number of comments, likes and shares), almost twice as many as PM Modi with 113.6 million interactions, the study said.

PM @narendramodi is second in the list of total number of interactions among world leaders on Facebook. The Prime Minister has been using social media to communicate directly with the people of India and the world on a wide range of issues. pic.twitter.com/TyqmUZwQPn

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) May 2, 2018

Interestingly, the five most liked pictures in 2017 were all posted by PM Modi with his photo at Odisha's famous Lingaraj temple becoming the most popular. Along with the Lingaraj temple photo, PM Modi wrote- "Prayed at the Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar. The magnificence of the Temple and Temple Complex leaves a lasting impression on the mind."

This picture of PM @narendramodi at the Lingaraj Temple in Odisha has emerged as the most popular photo shared by a leader in 2017. PM wrote, "Prayed at the Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar. The magnificence of the Temple and Temple Complex leaves a lasting impression on the mind." pic.twitter.com/t4qh8JKFr8 — PMO India (@PMOIndia) May 2, 2018

Among videos, the third most popular Facebook live video was one shared by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from PM Modi's visit to the Jewish state in July 2017.

As per the report- "The five most liked pictures in 2017 were all posted by the Indian Prime Minister, including a picture of (PM) Modi receiving a bicycle from Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte." pic.twitter.com/jA8MOZz8SJ — PMO India (@PMOIndia) May 2, 2018

Among the most watched Live videos, a video shared by PM @netanyahu during PM @narendramodi's historic visit to Israel is the third most watched Facebook Live video. — PMO India (@PMOIndia) May 2, 2018

Apart from PM Modi's personal page, the official Facebook page of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) figures in the survey as it is fourth in the overall list of most liked pages and 9th in the list of interaction rate as well as the total number of interactions.

The survey said the PMO was also the fourth most checked-in destination, after the White House, the Ugandan Presidency and 10, Downing Street. In the list of 'Peer Connection of World Leaders', which counts the pages of world leaders liked by their counterparts, PM Modi is 10th, the survey said.

However, nine pages ahead of him are not personal pages of any world leader but of their offices. For instance, topping the list is the White House and other names include the US State Department, European Commission, UK's foreign office etc.

The other leaders who feature in the list of most liked world leaders are Queen Raina of Jordan, President Erdogan of Turkey, President Joko Widodo of Indonesia, President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi of Egypt and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The study analyses the activity of 650 Facebook pages of heads of state and government and foreign ministers from January 1, 2017, using aggregate data from Facebook's Crowdtangle tool, it said in a statement.

(With PTI inputs)