Mandela, the former South African president who waged a lengthy campaign against apartheid that included 27 years in jail, topped the list with 21 per cent of the vote.
US civil rights hero, King, meanwhile landed second place with 14 per cent of the vote. Suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst came third with 12 per cent.
Next up were celebrity campaigners Sir Bob Geldof, who was voted most admired campaigner by six per cent of voters, and Angelina Jolie, a UN Goodwill Ambassador credited for her work with refugees. She received two per cent of the vote.
Christian Aid commissioned the YouGov poll to coincide with the launch of its latest project, Transformation, which will educate socially concerned people across the UK over the next two months on how to campaign more effectively on issues such as climate change and global poverty.
The poll also delved into the humanitarian concerns of the 1,965 adults who took part.
"We wanted to find out who people in the UK most admired when it came to campaigning, which global problem worried them most, and what they would be prepared to do about it. The results were fascinating," said Christian Aid campaigns manager Rhian Beynon.
The poll found that respondents were most concerned about 'poverty, hunger and disease' (31 per cent), 'war and human conflict' (29 per cent) and 'climate change' (15 per cent).
The poll also revealed a readiness among respondents to campaign on issues closest to their heart.
Around 75 per cent of respondents said they would sign a petition on an issue of importance to them, 65 per cent would vote for a party promising to address the issue, 49 per cent would lobby their MP and 27 per cent would take part in a demonstration. One of the more surprising results from the survey, more than one in ten (11 per cent) would be willing to break the law in a non-violent way for an issue that was close to their heart.
Seventy per cent said it was their right to hold the government to account for its decisions, whilst more than half of respondents (54 per cent) felt optimistically that the actions of individuals could help change the world. The poll also revealed considerable compassion among respondents with more than a quarter (27 per cent) agreeing that they want to show solidarity with those directly affected by world problems.
