Washington, July 24 (DPA) People in more than a dozen countries have a misperception of how Afghans feel about the presence of NATO in their country, a poll released Thursday shows.

The poll taken in 20 nations found that most of those surveyed believe the Afghans want NATO forces to leave, although the Afghans appear to disagree.

An average 53 percent of the survey participants believe that most of the people of Afghanistan want NATO forces to leave now, while 30 percent assume that most Afghans want the international forces to stay, according to the poll by WorldPublicOpinion.org.

'Even though there is widespread concern about the possibility of the Taliban regaining power, most people seem to be saying that the Afghan people should decide whether or when NATO forces leave,' Steven Kull, the director of the organisation, said.

The poll included nearly 20,000 people in countries which make up 62 percent of the world population between April 4 and June 18. Among the nations polled were China, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Russia, South Korea and the US. Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau were also surveyed.

But Afghans themselves appear to disagree. The most recent survey data of the Afghan people in an ABC/BBC/ARD poll taken in January found 59 percent of Afghans supporting the NATO presence.

That number was down from 67 percent in 2007, with majorities expressing frustration with how the NATO mission was being managed, WorldPublicOpinion.org said. The increase of civilian casualties has also diminished support for the US-led presence.