The survey carried out by YouGov pollster for German newspaper Welt am Sonntag showed that 22 per cent of Germans are sure that Merkel will play the most important role in addressing global challenges in 2020. Merkel is followed by Putin with 20 per cent and Macron with 19 per cent.
US President Donald Trump is in fourth place with 16 per cent. He is followed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Chinese President Xi Jinping and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who gained 12, 10 and 9 per cent respectively, according to the poll.
Fifty-five per cent of Germans oppose the strengthening of the role of the country's military in solving international problems, while 27 per cent expect the Bundeswehr to play more active role in global politics, the survey showed.
The newspaper did not provide data on the number of respondents participated in the survey, neither the dates when it was carried out.