Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday became the first world leader and politician to cross 100 million followers on Instagram, marking a new milestone in his global digital presence.PM Modi, who joined the Meta-owned platform in 2014, now has more than twice the followers of US President Donald Trump, who stands second with 43.2 million followers. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto follows with 15 million, while Brazil’s president has 14.4 million. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has 11.6 million followers and Argentine President Javier Milei has 6.4 million. The combined follower count of these five leaders remains below Modi’s individual tally.
Within India, the gap between Modi and other political leaders is also wide. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has 16.1 million followers, while Congress MP and leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has around 12.6 million.Separately, surveys show PM Modi leading global approval ratings among selected world leaders. As of December 2025, PM Modi held a 70 per cent approval rating, according to Statista, placing him at the top of the list. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ranked second with 63 per cent, followed by Argentina’s Javier Milei at 60 per cent. US President Donald Trump ranked 11th with a 43 per cent approval rating.According to the latest data released by US-based business intelligence firm Morning Consult, based on surveys conducted between February 2 and February 8, 2026, Modi ranked first with a 67 per cent approval rating. Czech Republic’s Andrej Babis stood second with 59 per cent. Sanae Takaichi ranked fifth with 56 per cent, while Trump was placed 11th with a 40 per cent approval rating.Morning Consult’s 2025 data had also placed Modi at the top of its ‘Democratic Leader Approval Ratings’ list with a 75 per cent score, followed by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung at 59 per cent. Trump had ranked eighth with an approval rating under 45 per cent.
