With many around the world closely following the fiercely contested rematch between U.S. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, a new Pew Research Center survey of 34 countries finds that, internationally, Biden is viewed more positively than his rival, including in Kenya and South Africa.
However, in Nigeria, Ghana and six other nations we surveyed, there is no statistically significant difference in ratings of Biden and Trump. And people in Hungary and Tunisia give Trump more positive reviews than Biden, although neither leader gets especially high marks there. (The survey was conducted before Trump’s conviction in a state criminal trial in New York.)
In addition to views of Biden and Trump, our survey asked people about their confidence in French President Emmanuel Macron, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
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Confidence in Xi and Putin is generally low across the countries surveyed. But views of Xi are not negative everywhere. Half or more in Nigeria, Kenya, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Tunisia have confidence in him.
Nigerians’ views of Putin are more negative. While 40% have confidence in the Russian president, 48% express not much or no confidence in him. People in Nigeria are roughly split in their ratings of Emmanuel Macron: 45% trust him to do the right thing regarding world affairs, while 40% do not.
On Biden’s handling of five major international issues, he gets his most negative reviews on how he’s dealt with the Israel-Hamas war. Of the issues included in the survey, this ranks lowest in most of the surveyed countries, including Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and South Africa.
In nearly every country surveyed, fewer than half approve of the way he has been dealing with the Israel-Hamas war. The only exception is in Kenya, where a majority sees Biden’s handling of the war in a positive light. (Note that our survey was conducted prior to Biden announcing a proposal to end the Israel-Hamas war.)
Here are other key findings:
Attitudes toward the United States
At least half of adults in most countries express a favorable opinion of the U.S. Across the 34 countries in the survey, a median of 54% have a favorable view of the country, while 31% have an unfavorable opinion. In Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya, roughly three-quarters of adults express a favorable view of the U.S., while fewer South Africans (49%) have a favorable view.
Views of the U.S. have grown less positive among some notable allies since last year. But in Ghana, Chile, Colombia and Peru, the share holding a positive view has increased since we last asked this question in 2017; Kenyans and Hungarians also have become slightly more positive about the U.S. since last year. In Nigeria, views of the U.S. have not changed significantly.
In 17 of 28 countries where political ideology is measured, those on the right are more likely than those on the left to rate the U.S. positively.
Adults under 35 are also more likely to have a positive opinion of the U.S. in several countries when compared with those ages 50 and older.
[More data: Global favorability of the U.S. from 2000 to 2024] Confidence in Joe Biden
Biden receives relatively positive ratings in most of the sub-Saharan African nations surveyed, but generally negative assessments across most Latin American countries in the study.
Majorities in 10 countries have confidence in Biden, with the largest shares in the Philippines (77%), Kenya (75%) and Poland (70%). In Nigeria, 66% of adults have confidence in Biden.
Biden’s least positive assessments come from Tunisia (89% no confidence) and Turkey (87% no confidence). Majorities in six of 10 European nations surveyed do not have confidence in him, ranging from 56% in France to 72% in Hungary.
Confidence in Donald Trump
Trump receives his highest confidence ratings in Nigeria (63%) and the Philippines (68%). Roughly half or more in Ghana, Kenya, Israel and Thailand also express confidence in him.
Most in Canada and across Europe do not have confidence in Trump, with more than eight-in-ten holding this view in France, Germany and Sweden.
He also receives poor assessments in Latin America, where at least six-in-ten in every country surveyed there have no confidence – including 86% in Mexico.
[More data: Confidence in U.S. presidents from 2001 to 2024]
Views of U.S. democracy – a good example to follow?
Publics surveyed are largely skeptical that democracy in the U.S., at least in its current form, is a good example for other countries to follow. A median of four-in-ten across the nations polled believe democracy in the United States used to be a good example for other countries to follow but has not been in recent years.
A median of 21% say the current state of U.S. democracy is a good model for other countries to follow. Half or more in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Israel hold this opinion.
A similar share (22% median) say American democracy has never been a good example. About a quarter or more in 18 of the 34 countries surveyed hold this view.
These are among the key findings of a new Pew Research Center survey of 40,566 people in 34 countries – not including the U.S. – from Jan. 5 to May 21, 2024. In Nigeria, the survey was conducted face-to-face among 1,050 adults in English, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba from Feb. 12 to March 16, 2024. The margin of error for the Nigerian sample is plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.
Read the full report: https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2024/06/11/globally-biden-receives- higher-ratings-than-trump/
Methodology: https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2024/06/11/methodology-us-image-2024/ and https://www.pewresearch.org/methods/feature/international-methodology/global-attitudes- survey/nigeria/2024/
Survey topline: https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/06/gap_2024.06.11_us-image-2024_topline.pdf
