Two Global Leaders with Very Different Global Perceptions

New research from Gallup International Association (GIA) shows a significant increase in favorability towards President Putin and a US President who compares significantly less favorably with his predecessor. But both politicians trail the Pope.

Two years ago, just before he left office almost three in five (59%)of those polled throughout 65 countries around the world held a favorable view of US President Barack Obama. This year and having been in office for just over a year, President Trump does not poll so favourably –31%holding a favorable view of him, 58% an-unfavorable view. (He is the only political leader where a majority hold an un-favorable view of him). Meanwhile President Putin has gone from one in three(33%)viewing him favourably to 43%, asignificant increase over two years.President Putin polls favourably in most regions of the world except the  US (14%)and EU-Europe(28%),but still higher than the 20% favourability for President Trump).However it is Pope Francis who records the highest level of favourability –56%, rising to 75%of those surveyed in Latin America and 66%of those living in EU-Europe.

Despite a domestic political set-back German Chancellor Angela Merkel ranks as the most popular leader polled; 49%hold a favourable view of her,up from 42%two years ago. She just beats the new comer President Macron, who 45% hold a favourable view towards (compared with42% who scored his predecessor President Hollande favourably).

Please indicate whether you have a very favourable, somewhat favourable, somewhat unfavourable or very unfavourable opinion of each of the following world leaders?

 FavourableUnfavourableNet Score
German Chancellor Angela Merkel49%29%+20
French President Emmanuel Macron45%24%+21
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi30%22%+8
British Prime Minister Theresa May38%31%+7
Chinese President Xi Jinping37%31%+6
Russian President Vladimir Putin43%40%+3
Saudi Arabia King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud26%32%-6
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu25%33%-8
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani24%33%-9
Turkish President Erdogan28%40%-12
US President Donald Trump31%58%-27
Pope Francis56%18%+38

NET Score by Region

Please indicate whether you have a very favourable, somewhat favourable, somewhat unfavourable or very unfavourable opinion of each of the following world leaders?

Region*US President Donald TrumpRussian President Vladimir PutinGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel
Total Base-27+3+20%
EU Total-52-33+11%
EU West-63-39+17%
EU East-28-200
Non- EU Europe-1+29+42
USA-23-52+27
India+45+49+29
Russia-34+68-29
Latin America-36+6+26
East Asia-9%+6+25
West Asia-28+220
Middle East-8+45+58
Africa-15+19+33

 

U.S. President Donald Trump
RankCountryNet FavourabilityRankCountryNet Favourability
1VIETNAM76%28SOUTH AFRICA-34%
2PHILIPPINES49%29GREECE-39%
3INDIA45%30B&H-40%
4ALBANIA37%31HONG KONG-40%
5GHANA22%32ITALY-41%
6KOSOVO21%33COLOMBIA-42%
7NIGERIA14%34PAKISTAN-43%
8THAILAND10%35ARGENTINA-43%
9MOLDOVA8%36JAPAN-46%
10ROMANIA6%37REPUBLIC OF KOREA-47%
11UKRAINE5%38INDONESIA-50%
12POLAND2%39LATVIA-50%
13AFGHANISTAN0%40ETHIOPIA-52%
14MACEDONIA-4%41CROATIA-56%
15BANGLADESH-5%42TURKEY-61%
16ARMENIA-6%43UK-61%
17AZERBAIJAN-8%44SPAIN-65%
18IRAQ-8%45SLOVENIA-68%
19KAZAKHSTAN-13%46AUSTRIA-68%
20PERU-17%47IRAN-68%
21USA-23%48FRANCE-69%
22BULGARIA-23%49IRELAND-70%
23ECUADOR-23%50SWEDEN-71%
24CZECH REPUBLIC-24%51MEXICO-73%
25SERBIA-25%52NETHERLANDS-73%
26BRAZIL-32%53GERMANY-83%
27RUSSIA-34%

Rounding of Decimals: There may be a slight difference of 1% in some instances. Exact figures are available elsewhere. There is also a slight possibility that the figures vary up to maximum of 1% in different versions of press releases.

Russian President Vladimir Putin
RankCountryNet FavourabilityRankCountryNet Favourability
1VIETNAM85%28PAKISTAN8%
2KAZAKHSTAN83%29ARGENTINA4%
3ARMENIA81%30ECUADOR2%
4RUSSIA68%31AFGHANISTAN-3%
5SERBIA68%32HONG KONG-4%
6MOLDOVA59%33BRAZIL-5%
7INDIA49%34SOUTH AFRICA-6%
8ETHIOPIA48%35AZERBAIJAN-7%
9GREECE47%36SLOVENIA-10%
10IRAQ45%37ITALY-17%
11IRAN45%38LATVIA-19%
12ALBANIA38%39UKRAINE-24%
13BANGLADESH38%40AUSTRIA-31%
14ROMANIA37%41FRANCE-46%
15NIGERIA25%42KOSOVO-49%
16BULGARIA25%43REPUBLIC OF KOREA-51%
17THAILAND25%44CZECH REPUBLIC-52%
18INDONESIA22%45USA-52%
19PHILIPPINES20%46JAPAN-53%
20TURKEY19%47SPAIN-53%
21PERU19%48GERMANY-54%
22MEXICO18%49IRELAND-55%
23CROATIA18%50UK-56%
24MACEDONIA15%51SWEDEN-61%
25B&H13%52NETHERLANDS-65%
26GHANA12%53POLAND-76%
27COLOMBIA8%

Rounding of Decimals: There may be a slight difference of 1% in some instances. Exact figures are available elsewhere. There is also a slight possibility that the figures vary up to maximum of 1% in different versions of press releases.

 

Chinese President Xi Jinping
RankCountryNet FavourabilityRankCountryNet Favourability
1MOLDOVA48%28INDONESIA9%
2KAZAKHSTAN46%29INDIA6%
3ALBANIA44%30BULGARIA4%
4SERBIA43%31ECUADOR3%
5ARMENIA41%32COLOMBIA2%
6ETHIOPIA40%33IRELAND0%
7ROMANIA39%34AZERBAIJAN-1%
8NIGERIA38%35BRAZIL-1%
9IRAQ37%36PHILIPPINES-1%
10BANGLADESH35%37PERU-5%
11PAKISTAN32%38USA-5%
12GREECE31%39ARGENTINA-5%
13IRAN30%40NETHERLANDS-7%
14MEXICO30%41MACEDONIA-9%
15TURKEY29%42UK-10%
16RUSSIA27%43SWEDEN-11%
17UKRAINE26%44AUSTRIA-15%
18THAILAND23%45ITALY-17%
19HONG KONG19%46KOSOVO-18%
20SLOVENIA19%47GERMANY-25%
21CROATIA19%48FRANCE-27%
22LATVIA18%49REPUBLIC OF KOREA-32%
23B&H15%50SPAIN-32%
24AFGHANISTAN13%51CZECH REPUBLIC-37%
25VIETNAM13%52POLAND-48%
26GHANA12%53JAPAN-69%
27SOUTH AFRICA12%

Rounding of Decimals: There may be a slight difference of 1% in some instances. Exact figures are available elsewhere. There is also a slight possibility that the figures vary up to maximum of 1% in different versions of press releases.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel
RankCountryNet FavourabilityRankCountryNet Favourability
1VIETNAM80%28GHANA18%
2KOSOVO75%29JAPAN15%
3ALBANIA68%30THAILAND15%
4ROMANIA59%31ARGENTINA14%
5IRAQ58%32BULGARIA11%
6MEXICO57%33SLOVENIA11%
7ARMENIA53%34GERMANY10%
8ETHIOPIA53%35AFGHANISTAN10%
9SWEDEN51%36PERU10%
10B&H49%37SPAIN9%
11MOLDOVA48%38ECUADOR9%
12COLOMBIA47%39ITALY8%
13NETHERLANDS44%40PHILIPPINES5%
14CROATIA38%41AUSTRIA2%
15HONG KONG34%42UK1%
16SOUTH AFRICA33%43AZERBAIJAN-1%
17INDONESIA33%44REPUBLIC OF KOREA-2%
18BANGLADESH32%45KAZAKHSTAN-5%
19IRAN32%46GREECE-8%
20INDIA29%47POLAND-9%
21UKRAINE29%48LATVIA-10%
22FRANCE29%49SERBIA-10%
23NIGERIA27%50PAKISTAN-12%
24USA27%51TURKEY-23%
25MACEDONIA25%52RUSSIA-29%
26BRAZIL24%53CZECH REPUBLIC-43%
27IRELAND24%

Rounding of Decimals: There may be a slight difference of 1% in some instances. Exact figures are available elsewhere. There is also a slight possibility that the figures vary up to maximum of 1% in different versions of press releases.

French President Emmanuel Macron
RankCountryNet FavourabilityRankCountryNet Favourability
1VIETNAM82%28INDIA20%
2ROMANIA65%29ITALY20%
3ALBANIA61%30NIGERIA19%
4ARMENIA54%31LATVIA19%
5MEXICO53%32USA18%
6MOLDOVA52%33ARGENTINA16%
7GERMANY50%34BRAZIL14%
8IRAQ49%35IRAN14%
9COLOMBIA46%36KAZAKHSTAN14%
10BULGARIA43%37PERU12%
11UKRAINE42%38UK12%
12GREECE41%39GHANA11%
13IRELAND40%40MACEDONIA9%
14SWEDEN36%41ECUADOR6%
15CROATIA36%42CZECH REPUBLIC5%
16SLOVENIA33%43PHILIPPINES4%
17SOUTH AFRICA32%44JAPAN3%
18KOSOVO31%45AFGHANISTAN0%
19AUSTRIA28%46POLAND0%
20INDONESIA28%47FRANCE-1%
21SPAIN28%48SERBIA-1%
22ETHIOPIA27%49AZERBAIJAN-2%
23BANGLADESH25%50TURKEY-6%
24THAILAND25%51REPUBLIC OF KOREA-8%
25NETHERLANDS23%52PAKISTAN-12%
26B&H23%53RUSSIA-14%
27HONG KONG23%

Rounding of Decimals: There may be a slight difference of 1% in some instances. Exact figures are available elsewhere. There is also a slight possibility that the figures vary up to maximum of 1% in different versions of press releases.

 

British Prime Minister Theresa May
RankCountryNet FavourabilityRankCountryNet Favourability
1VIETNAM81%28ITALY8%
2MEXICO61%29TURKEY8%
3ALBANIA53%30HONG KONG6%
4ROMANIA48%31PERU6%
5MOLDOVA43%32CZECH REPUBLIC5%
6UKRAINE42%33ECUADOR5%
7COLOMBIA42%34JAPAN1%
8ARMENIA38%35AZERBAIJAN-1%
9INDONESIA37%36IRAN-3%
10SOUTH AFRICA32%37PAKISTAN-5%
11THAILAND31%38GREECE-7%
12KOSOVO30%39SWEDEN-9%
13NIGERIA29%40AFGHANISTAN-11%
14IRAQ25%41REPUBLIC OF KOREA-14%
15BRAZIL22%42LATVIA-15%
16USA22%43SERBIA-16%
17BANGLADESH21%44UK-18%
18ETHIOPIA20%45ARGENTINA-20%
19INDIA19%46SLOVENIA-22%
20BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA16%47RUSSIA-22%
21KAZAKHSTAN15%48AUSTRIA-25%
22GHANA15%49FRANCE-26%
23POLAND14%50NETHERLANDS-27%
24MACEDONIA11%51SPAIN-27%
25BULGARIA9%52IRELAND-46%
26PHILIPPINES9%53GERMANY-47%
27CROATIA9%

Rounding of Decimals: There may be a slight difference of 1% in some instances. Exact figures are available elsewhere. There is also a slight possibility that the figures vary up to maximum of 1% in different versions of press releases.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
RankCountryNet FavourabilityRankCountryNet Favourability
1VIETNAM46%28ETHIOPIA-11%
2BANGLADESH42%29PERU-11%
3IRAN37%30SOUTH AFRICA-12%
4ALBANIA33%31GREECE-12%
5ARMENIA28%32COLOMBIA-15%
6KAZAKHSTAN24%33BRAZIL-17%
7INDIA18%34SERBIA-17%
8PAKISTAN15%35MACEDONIA-18%
9INDONESIA15%36TURKEY-21%
10B&H8%37AUSTRIA-22%
11MOLDOVA6%38JAPAN-22%
12RUSSIA3%39ARGENTINA-22%
13GHANA2%40POLAND-24%
14AFGHANISTAN0%41SLOVENIA-26%
15ROMANIA0%42HONG KONG-29%
16IRAQ-2%43ITALY-31%
17MEXICO-2%44USA-32%
18AZERBAIJAN-2%45FRANCE-33%
19LATVIA-4%46NETHERLANDS-34%
20CROATIA-4%47SWEDEN-34%
21PHILIPPINES-7%48GERMANY-35%
22KOSOVO-7%49CZECH REPUBLIC-39%
23UKRAINE-9%50IRELAND-39%
24ECUADOR-9%51SPAIN-39%
25NIGERIA-10%52UK-40%
26THAILAND-11%53REPUBLIC OF KOREA-43%
27BULGARIA-11%

Rounding of Decimals: There may be a slight difference of 1% in some instances. Exact figures are available elsewhere. There is also a slight possibility that the figures vary up to maximum of 1% in different versions of press releases.

Saudi Arabia King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
RankCountryNet FavourabilityRankCountryNet Favourability
1INDONESIA62%28GREECE-7%
2VIETNAM55%29BRAZIL-8%
3PAKISTAN40%30CROATIA-9%
4KAZAKHSTAN30%31ARGENTINA-11%
5BANGLADESH30%32IRAQ-11%
6MOLDOVA28%33PERU-12%
7AFGHANISTAN27%34HONG KONG-14%
8ALBANIA26%35JAPAN-14%
9ROMANIA26%36MACEDONIA-14%
10UKRAINE21%37ETHIOPIA-16%
11NIGERIA20%38USA-20%
12INDIA12%39POLAND-22%
13MEXICO12%40NETHERLANDS-24%
14B&H10%41ITALY-25%
15ARMENIA9%42SLOVENIA-30%
16GHANA9%43TURKEY-32%
17COLOMBIA5%44FRANCE-34%
18RUSSIA0%45REPUBLIC OF KOREA-36%
19SERBIA0%46CZECH REPUBLIC-37%
20SOUTH AFRICA-2%47AUSTRIA-39%
21LATVIA-3%48GERMANY-39%
22AZERBAIJAN-4%49UK-40%
23PHILIPPINES-5%50IRELAND-41%
24KOSOVO-5%51SPAIN-43%
25ECUADOR-6%52SWEDEN-45%
26THAILAND-6%53IRAN-61%
27BULGARIA-7%

Rounding of Decimals: There may be a slight difference of 1% in some instances. Exact figures are available elsewhere. There is also a slight possibility that the figures vary up to maximum of 1% in different versions of press releases.

Turkish President Erdogan
RankCountryNet FavourabilityRankCountryNet Favourability
1VIETNAM56%28IRAQ-8%
2AFGHANISTAN54%29PERU-9%
3KOSOVO47%30RUSSIA-10%
4INDONESIA45%31JAPAN-15%
5ALBANIA35%32ARGENTINA-16%
6B&H32%33HONG KONG-24%
7BANGLADESH27%34POLAND-26%
8PAKISTAN27%35USA-27%
9MOLDOVA26%36SERBIA-30%
10MEXICO23%37REPUBLIC OF KOREA-35%
11TURKEY22%38LATVIA-39%
12KAZAKHSTAN21%39UK-44%
13AZERBAIJAN19%40IRELAND-47%
14MACEDONIA18%41ITALY-47%
15IRAN16%42FRANCE-52%
16NIGERIA16%43BULGARIA-53%
17ETHIOPIA15%44CZECH REPUBLIC-53%
18ROMANIA14%45SPAIN-54%
19GHANA13%46CROATIA-54%
20INDIA10%47SWEDEN-67%
21UKRAINE10%48SLOVENIA-70%
22COLOMBIA6%49ARMENIA-74%
23PHILIPPINES-2%50NETHERLANDS-80%
24SOUTH AFRICA-3%51GREECE-80%
25THAILAND-3%52AUSTRIA-85%
26ECUADOR-5%53GERMANY-93%
27BRAZIL-6%

Rounding of Decimals: There may be a slight difference of 1% in some instances. Exact figures are available elsewhere. There is also a slight possibility that the figures vary up to maximum of 1% in different versions of press releases.

Indian Prime Minster Narendra Modi
RankCountryNet FavourabilityRankCountryNet Favourability
1INDIA72%28B&H7%
2VIETNAM71%29USA5%
3AFGHANISTAN48%30IRELAND4%
4UKRAINE39%31ARGENTINA4%
5ALBANIA33%32THAILAND3%
6MEXICO31%33SWEDEN-1%
7MOLDOVA28%34BRAZIL-1%
8IRAQ27%35PHILIPPINES-1%
9KAZAKHSTAN27%36ECUADOR-2%
10ARMENIA26%37UK-2%
11INDONESIA22%38JAPAN-3%
12ROMANIA21%39KOSOVO-3%
13NIGERIA20%40AZERBAIJAN-4%
14IRAN19%41PERU-4%
15GHANA17%42FRANCE-6%
16RUSSIA16%43POLAND-7%
17COLOMBIA15%44AUSTRIA-8%
18BANGLADESH13%45GERMANY-8%
19LATVIA13%46SPAIN-8%
20SOUTH AFRICA13%47NETHERLANDS-9%
21BULGARIA11%48ITALY-10%
22CROATIA11%49MACEDONIA-12%
23GREECE11%50HONG KONG-16%
24SERBIA11%51CZECH REPUBLIC-18%
25SLOVENIA10%52REPUBLIC OF KOREA-34%
26ETHIOPIA10%53PAKISTAN-54%
27TURKEY10%

Rounding of Decimals: There may be a slight difference of 1% in some instances. Exact figures are available elsewhere. There is also a slight possibility that the figures vary up to maximum of 1% in different versions of press releases.

Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu
RankCountryNet FavourabilityRankCountryNet Favourability
1UKRAINE49%28BRAZIL-10%
2VIETNAM47%29POLAND-10%
3MOLDOVA42%30ARGENTINA-10%
4ETHIOPIA33%31CZECH REPUBLIC-12%
5ALBANIA28%32MACEDONIA-13%
6KAZAKHSTAN25%33ITALY-14%
7ROMANIA24%34NETHERLANDS-16%
8MEXICO19%35JAPAN-17%
9ARMENIA17%36HONG KONG-19%
10USA11%37INDONESIA-19%
11BULGARIA10%38B&H-21%
12INDIA9%39UK-24%
13LATVIA9%40SPAIN-25%
14GHANA8%41FRANCE-29%
15COLOMBIA6%42IRELAND-31%
16RUSSIA6%43SWEDEN-31%
17SOUTH AFRICA5%44AUSTRIA-31%
18GREECE0%45SLOVENIA-32%
19NIGERIA0%46REPUBLIC OF KOREA-33%
20SERBIA0%47GERMANY-35%
21ECUADOR-2%48AFGHANISTAN-48%
22PHILIPPINES-4%49IRAN-49%
23AZERBAIJAN-5%50PAKISTAN-49%
24THAILAND-5%51BANGLADESH-62%
25CROATIA-6%52TURKEY-63%
26PERU-7%
27KOSOVO-8%

Rounding of Decimals: There may be a slight difference of 1% in some instances. Exact figures are available elsewhere. There is also a slight possibility that the figures vary up to maximum of 1% in different versions of press releases.

Pope Francis
RankCountryNet FavourabilityRankCountryNet Favourability
1CROATIA83%28LATVIA39%
2COLOMBIA80%29CZECH REPUBLIC35%
3PHILIPPINES80%30HONG KONG32%
4ARMENIA79%31UK32%
5ITALY76%32KAZAKHSTAN31%
6POLAND70%33SOUTH AFRICA30%
7ROMANIA68%34NETHERLANDS29%
8SLOVENIA68%35NIGERIA28%
9VIETNAM66%36THAILAND27%
10ECUADOR65%37REPUBLIC OF KOREA27%
11BRAZIL64%38SWEDEN18%
12ARGENTINA61%39JAPAN17%
13ALBANIA60%40INDONESIA15%
14UKRAINE60%41KOSOVO15%
15B&H57%42RUSSIA14%
16SPAIN57%43ETHIOPIA12%
17MOLDOVA55%44BANGLADESH11%
18AUSTRIA54%45IRAN10%
19MEXICO53%46MACEDONIA8%
20BULGARIA52%47INDIA7%
21GERMANY50%48GHANA4%
22IRELAND49%49AZERBAIJAN-1%
23FRANCE48%50TURKEY-20%
24PERU46%51SERBIA-21%
25USA43%52PAKISTAN-23%
26GREECE39%
27IRAQ39%

Rounding of Decimals: There may be a slight difference of 1% in some instances. Exact figures are available elsewhere. There is also a slight possibility that the figures vary up to maximum of 1% in different versions of press releases.

Kancho Stoychev, President of Gallup International Association (GIA) said:

“President Trump is clearly dividing people in the way his predecessor did not. This means that the world is looking to other world leaders to fill this key role. Russian President Putin has seen his favourability increase significantly but he still needs to convince others as he remains divisive. Nevertheless for the first time in a global poll a Russian leader is ranked before the US one.

Despite her domestic political battles, a new world order leaves Germany’s Angela Merkel as the most favourable world leader with newcomers Emmanuel Macron not far behind, which given he only formed his political party a little over 18 months ago is a remarkable achievement.“


Methodology:

The Gallup International End of Year Survey (EoY) is an annual tradition initiated by and designed under the chairmanship of Dr. George Gallup in 1977. It is conducted every year since then. This year it was carried out by the Gallup International Association in partnership with WIN in 55 countries around the world.

Regions coverage:

  • EU Total – combines EU West and EU East
  • EU West – Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland. Italy, Netherland, Spain, Sweden, UK
  • EU East – Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia
  • Non-EU Europe – Albania, Armenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Serbia, Ukraine
  • Latin America – Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru
  • East Asia – Bangladesh, Fiji, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Thailand, Vietnam
  • West Asia – Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Turkey
  • Middle East – Iraq
  • Africa – Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa

USA, India and Russia are not included in any other regional category

Sample Size and Mode of Field Work:

A total of 53769 persons were interviewed globally. In each country a representative sample of around 1000 men and women was interviewed either face to face (23 countries; n=24235), via telephone (13 countries; n=11656) or online (19 countries; n=17878). The field work was conducted during October 2017 – December 2017. The margin of error for the survey is between +3-5% at 95% confidence level.”

About Gallup International

Gallup International Association (GIA) is the leading association in market research and polling and this year celebrates its 70th anniversary.

For 70 years Gallup International Members have demonstrated their expert ability to conduct multi-country surveys on a comparable basis and deliver the highest quality. Their Members are leading national institutes with a profound local knowledge of research methods and techniques, statistical sources, customs and culture differences of its own country and carefully selected by the Association Board. With only one Member agency per country, Members work together on a daily basis to share knowledge, new research techniques and tools, as well as to provide the most appropriate solutions to international research projects and service our clients to the best of our abilities.

For more information:

Kancho Stoychev (in Sofia), +359 88 8611025

Johnny Heald (in London), +44 7973 600308

Disclaimer:

Gallup International Association or its members are not related to Gallup Inc., headquartered in Washington D.C which is no longer a member of Gallup International Association.

Gallup International Association does not accept responsibility for opinion polling other than its own. We require that our surveys be credited fully as Gallup International (not Gallup or Gallup Poll). For further details see: http://www.gallup-international.com/.