US now less popular globally than key adversary

Yahoo

14-05-2025

Global attitude toward the United States is souring, with one key adversary now more popular worldwide than the U.S., and another hot on its heels, according to new polling.
The U.S. is perceived more negatively globally than China and is only a hair more popular than Russia, according to the Democracy Perception Index, a snapshot of global public opinion on democracy and geopolitics developed by the Copenhagen Democracy Summit.
Surveying more than 110,000 people across 100 countries over two weeks in April, the organization found that a majority viewed the U.S. negatively. American popularity 'declined noticeably over the past year,' dropping from a net positive of 22% to a net negative of -5%.
China's net approval rating is 14%, while Russia's is -9%, according to the poll.
It marked the first time that more countries viewed China more favorably than the U.S., according to a report accompanying the poll's release.
A year ago, the survey found that 76% of countries held a net positive view of the U.S. Today, 45% do.
America remains more popular than China in the United Kingdom, India, Australia and Brazil. Yet China is more popular across much of Europe, including in American allies France and Germany, in Africa and much of South America, and in both Canada and Mexico.
'I'm not surprised that perceptions of the United States have fallen so sharply,' said former NATO Chief and Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, in a statement accompanying the report. 'Every year, this poll confirms the same point: around the world people believe in democracy, but those fortunate to live in democracies are impatient for their governments to deliver.'
President Donald Trump may also be the most globally recognized political leader, known by 85% of respondents, but he also has an 'almost universal negative perception,' the poll found.
In 82% of countries, Trump has a negative approval rating, significantly lower than Russian President Vladimir Putin (61%) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (44%).
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Read the original article on MassLive.