Three Indian actors - Priyanka Chopra, Aishwarya Rai and Deepika Padukone - have been included in the list of the most admired women in the world, based on an annual survey conducted by YouGov.

Angelina Jolie tops the list for the second year in a row, and the top 20 includes names from the world of entertainment, politics and activism.

'The results,' according to the YouGov websire, 'are calculated from the combination of responses to two questions – whether a respondent admires the figure at all and then whether they are the figure the respondent admires the most.' Each nation’s results are then weighed against the country’s population size.

A total of 37,000 people took part in the survey, with 35 countries represented, reports the Hindustan Times.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is the top-ranked Indian on the list - she comes in at number 11. She’s followed by two more Indians, Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone, who come in at number 12 and 13.

This is the first time any of them have been featured on the list. Their international popularity has only grown in the last year, with Aishwarya making another appearance at the Cannes Film Festival and both Priyanka and Deepika making their Hollywood film debuts.

The trio of Indian stars is followed by Wonder Woman actor Gal Gadot and British PM, Theresa May.

Other entertainment personalities in the top 15 include Oprah Winfrey (3), Emma Watson (6), Taylor Swift (9) and Madonna (10). Michelle Obama is at number 2, Hillary Clinton at number 5 and Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai comes in at number 8.

If only Indian votes are considered the top 3 would include politician Kiran Bedi, singer Lata Mangeshkar and badminton player PV Sindhu.