The U.S. ranks 3rd in liking the United States
According to the Pew Global Attitudes Project, seventy-nine percent of Americans in 2011 had a favorable view of Americans. That makes the United States rank third out of twenty-three countries ranked in that category. Japan ranks first, with eight-five percent of Japanese having a favorable view of the United States.
In 2010, the United States ranked second (Kenya was first), with 86% of Americans having a favorable view of the United States.
Chart taken from Pew
(http://www.pewglobal.org/database/?indicator=1&survey=13&response=Favorable&mode=chart)
Categories: Political and Social Life, Ranking of 3
Americans, Japan, Kenya, Pew, United States
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Ranking America 
haha go figure!
Japan? I guess they’re afraid of China.
Kenya’s probably goodwill over Obama.
France? How strange! I thought they hated our guts…
What an American thinks of France seems to depend on his position on the political scale; left-wing Americans like France, right-wing Americans hate it.
Lithuania I could see–they’re still happy we got rid of the Russians.
Israel makes sense–we keep their neighbors from killing them.
Muslim countries hate us–no surprise there.
Look at our closest neighbors – those who know us best…. Mexico ranking far below France, German, and UK (in that order) – and Canada… where are they? Did they duck the question?
(Remember when Prime Minister Lester Pearson gave LBJ the wrong answer about Vietnam)and LBJ picked him up by the lapels and threatened him? We’re F***King good neighbors and don’t yew fergit it!)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lester_B._Pearson
More than half the people of Indonesia (the largest Muslim nation in the world) like the USA. Why? Because Barry Obama once lived there??
Kenya before The USA?
The interesting part is, we still rank #1 in liking Americans themselves: http://www.pewglobal.org/database/?indicator=2&mode=chart
Lituania makes the list and Canada doesn’t?! Are you kidding me? The US really doesn’t care about Canada’s opinion do they, or are they just scared to find out how Canadians really feel about Americans?
where the *heck* is Canada?
I think they weren’t included in that year’s poll.
I think Pew varies its sampling from year to year, and Canada was omitted that year.
Maybe it’s a reflection of Americans’ frustrations with the government? In other words, loving the people but not the government-as-representative-of-nation…
Japan likes USA even though the atomic bomb attack… strange.
go turkey 😀
Is Kosovo included (many countries don’t recognize their independence from Serbia)? They love America, and have main boulevards named after American presidents.
GOODWILL OVER OBAMA?!?!?!?!? WTF
No, Kosovo wasn’t included in that study. Interesting to know about their boulevards. Thanks for sharing.
japan likes america like Americans like japan. Americans are sooo cute and quirky and loud and goofy, o.m.g. Plus like 999 money in their economy is America buying their shit for decades, so it’s hard to hate.
Is this ranking US foreign policy or Americans? I ask because I just spent over a month traveling all over Turkey (I am a US citizen) and I found the people there to be some of the nicest I have met in the entire world. Certainly a lot of them are opposed to many of the foreign policy decisions our leaders have made over the past decade but on a personal level they were incredibly gracious hosts.
The Philippines people totally love Americans. I’m surprised they aren’t in the list.
I’m a Canadian and I think the U.S. is a great country. Your government might be a little *messed* up sometimes but the people are great.
I’m amazed that us swedes aren’t on there..
Oh wait, it’s just the government who likes the US, not the people.
That was a long time ago dude. A lot has happened since then
Maybe because to many Americans, Canada is looking pretty friendly right now.
Actually they were in second place back in 2007, before he was President.
Man, As a Mexican, I know everyone loves “gringos”.
Everytime there are Americans in my hometown, people treat them like kings!
Oh, how disappointing people don’t know their history or why we’re good allies with France. I’m not speaking about the US Revolution either.
No way. Mexico Loves United States. People would rather eat mcdonalds, pizzza etc and Tacos and Burritos in Mexico! Best believe that
That is the amazing thing about civilized societies. We tend to look to the future relatively quickly as compared to the Middle East, where things that happened hundred of years ago still are a pretty big deal.
Japan is ranked so high in 2011 because of the assistance America and Americans showed after their recent earthquake
Why wouldn’t the French like us? We have defended their soil with our blood and they assisted our revolution. All that right wing crap is ignorance on a stick. France honors the sacrifices of the United States and they support us. France is an ally with global influence.
North.
Arab countries hate us. Indonesia – notably Muslim – likes us more than China and India – notably not Muslim.
Japan has forgiven the US about that already. What I find strange is that a majority of American’s still hold a grudge against Japan because of Pearl Harbor.
I guess it can’t go both ways when it comes to Americans right?
Japan and Kenya love us? Oh stop it, you…
Where the hell is Canada in this poll?
You are very foolish
I’m Canadian and were not on there because we don’t like you.
I know i don’t speak for all of Canada, or even anyone but myself. but ANYBODY i have asked from Canada has either had a neutral or negative bias towards the U.S. and if Canada was located anywhere else in the world but where it is, we would dislike you even more.
Your “patriotism” is stupid. Your bible belt is stupid. Your cars (GM, Ford, Chrystler) suck. Bush was stupid. Romney is REALLY stupid. Your health care is stupid.
‘MERICA…. f**k NO!
Any 1, or any country that does not ‘like’ the US, can KISS MY WHITE ASS!
Do you know WHY we nuked Japan?
Look up the Rape of Nanking, then get back to me… (and no, I’m not saying that is why, but that is what we were up against. No modern Nippon is proud of Imperial Japan).
They didn’t poll every country and Kenya doesn’t view us favorably because of Obama (In 2007, they were at 87%). Believe it or not, people in Africa could not give less of a shit what color the president of the United States is. They want aid. The most aid they have received from any president of late came from George Bush Jr.
Yep: http://www.pewglobal.org/database/?indicator=1&country=39&response=Favorable
That’s right. President Bush doesn’t get nearly enough credit for his Africa policies.
sorry, no one in Canada like United States.
Eff the French.
Much more damning is that LITHUANIA is beating the Jews!
Israel is basically kept afloat on US money/military aid and they just go MEH.
Guess one can only have so much respect for his bitch.
I am Japanese and I do not like America. We have not forgiven the bombings, we just know that we did evil things as well. We do not like the bases all over our country. Americans are quite friendly though.
All this shows is Americans dislike toward Muslim nations. Not that Muslim countries hate the USA. The amount of hatred toward America in the Muslim world is greatly exaggerated.
Obama’s father is from there
so much ignorance
Japan = U.S.A.
As Canadians, we actually enjoy like-minded Americans and such, but comparatively you will notice a negative criticism and opinion on Americans from Canadians; its just usually the extreme right wing we’re bashing or stupid things we see; not the populace as a whole. But to be honest, we’re pretty big US bashers.
Also, in regards to Japan – the US sent a lot of relief for the tsunami and earthquakes, seeing the letters USA stamped onto those products and construction materials and everything and American flags coming out of California bases. Its reasonable why their approval has risen.
We hate yanks, moron.
lol – Australia doesn’t care either ..
This is what US citizens think of other countries.
remember when Canada burnt down the white house?
Israel better freaking like us. We almost spend more on them than we do our own citizens.
IMO
i think, besides religious fanatics of course, on a people level almost everybody could get along or at least respect and tolerate each other all across the world. it is our governments, stereotypes, and of course the just off the wall crazy people that bring this hate and love for other nations. citizen to citizen though we could get along just find because in the end we are all just people trying to get through life the best we can. 😀
Australian here, I guess we are just lazy.
Okay, I’m sure this is just me sucking at history, but I really thought we were at least more on Turkey’s good side than Pakistan’s, Egypt’s, or PALESTINE’S? Seriously? What happened to make them hate us that badly?
Look up.
So I’m sure I’m forgetting something history-related… but how exactly is it that Turkey dislikes us more than the countries we’ve been drone-striking? I thought we were on relatively good terms with them.
Look up.
However well intentioned… The data is skewed and the results have to be incorrect. Subjective opinions are not the same as economic data, which can modeled after business cycles. Not every American is going to be all the well liked and vise versa, you know what I’m talking bout.
Not all of us Canadian’s hate Americans. But for those who do, I understand why. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF62J3vxPdQ
It’s funny how everyone looks at the A-Bomb at the most horrific thing that happens, when it was nothing compared to the firestorm in Tokyo via the US / UK bombings.
The atomic bomb was a decisive decision to end the war, if they hadn’t, the russians would have invaded and you would have had thousands more deaths.
Right. Because there are no muslims in Indonesia.
Japan? After Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
Lithuania I could see–they’re still happy we got rid of the Russians.
As a Lithuanian, you sir are one stupid person.
“Lithuania I could see–they’re still happy we got rid of the Russians.”
As a Lithuanian, you sir are one stupid person. I had family die fighting for Lithuanian independence, not once did I hear of an American helping. They only talked.
America did not get rid of russian rule in Lithuania
I’m not sure the history of how this came to be, but the image of America most Japanese people have is Disneyland. Japanese people don’t know what the Rust Belt or Bible Belts are.
France? Just because a lot of Americans feel the need to mock and hate France, doesn’t mean the French reciprocate the hatred us back.
Mid-East, largely Muslim nations hate the USA because the USA corrupts their governments, overthrows their democracies, installs dictators, and invades them for their oil. Most Americans have no *freaking* clue about what’s going on, so they just think “They hate our freedom,” an asinine statement if there ever was one.
I don’t know if you’re being sarcastic, but if you look at favorability by year for a given country, like one anonymous commenter noted, the USA favorability rating jumps in 2008…
http://www.pewglobal.org/database/?indicator=1&country=39&response=Favorable
Hmm, interesting chart! I wonder how much the numbers will change over the next few years here. Also were is Canada, didn’t find it on the list.
Why wouldn’t they like us? Because of the dozens of invasions and wars the US has started since WWII, notably the Iraq War. The high rating France gives us *now* has to do with Bush being gone.
Why does Turkey hate us so much?
You didn’t get rid of the Russians, US actually ignored us when we asked for help, since we don’t have oil or other resources lying around. Must be the shitty TV and culture we’re trying to take over from the west. Americans aren’t ill-hearted people, but your dumbness and ignorance is beyond this world and is causing all these wars around the world to fuel your giant cars… In the name of democracy! My ass, that excuse is as good as holy war.
We appreciate your honesty. The one thing im having a problem with is your dislike of American car companies. Can you please tell me how Canadian car companies are so succesful?
Looks like someone forgot/was never taught what happened in WW2.
We hate USA not USA citizens. USA citizens are blameless, they are just people not the government itself. You will always be welcome to Turkey. We like foreigners and treat them like guests no matter where they are from.
Nationalism is dumb, Canadians and Americans are brothers. Borders are fictive and if we ever want to live in a world of peace we all have to learn to like each other regardless of race, nation, or ideology. I’m an American and I’ll be the first to admit we could use a little practice in the tolerance which we espouse so highly within our country, and we should apply it to the rest of the world, with the hope that they begin to see the same way.
Read your sources! The “Muslim Countries against us” statement was already false, and if you look at the data, you will see that Kenya already favored the US with 80 percent in 2002! Learn to conclude properly before you shit all over the place…
Nope, I wasn’t being sarcastic.
Hahaha I bet your statics has jumped up significantly! LOL this is what happens why your site link appears on Reddit! 😉
This is shame. Americans should be happier. We live in the great country in the world.
“More than half the people of Indonesia (the largest Muslim nation in the world) like the USA. Why? Because Barry Obama once lived there??”
Or because Indonesia is one of the most modern, progressive Muslim nations in the world?
China aside, Japan is also probably grateful for all the support the US gave during the earthquake/tsunami last year.
As someone who travels to these places and frequently deals with people the world over, I can tell you this much:
Japan: Not so much about China, but just friends in general. They’re our best friends in Asia next to Korea. They’re actually really happy that Japanese culture and especially their products, is strong, accepted and appreciated in the states.
Kenya: Part of the Obama connection obviously, but also Sub-Saharan Africans have always been pro American.
France: The French may openly express disgust towards America (and just about everyone who isn’t French), but deep down and secretly they LOVE us. They love eating our fast food, watching our movies, listening to our music, and love visiting the US. Especially cities like New York and San Francisco, as most of the young and educated of France make it an aspiration and dream to work and study in the US.
Lithuania: True.
Israel: That and all of the money and weapons we give them.
Britain: Low because of Bush and now Romney’s stupid comments.
Brazil: They’re pissed at us because we wont put them on the visa waiver program.
Mexico: Because of all of the anti-immigration rhetoric lately. That and past history (they’re still pissed about the Mexican-American war and still think California and the west coast belongs to them).
China: Go to any online comments section on the internet where lots of Chinese post (my favorite is The Economist) and see how much the Chinese are being trained to loathe and be resentful to the US and the West. Mostly due to past history. Us propping up the Japanese. etc.
As an Americqn, and an extensive world traveler, my thoughts…
95% of any community, American, Turkish, or Zimbabwe will welcome anyone in if they are polite, smile, and make even a slight effort to speak the local tongue. However, there is that remaining 5% that remains in every community. Very rarely have I been Immediately written off in a conversation due tithe statistical anomaly that out of the seven billion people in this world, I happened to be born in New York City, and others were not.
Unsurprisingly, I often found manyforeign individuals are more similar to me than a family down the road.
Shocked to see Turkey at 10% seeing as how they are amongst the friendliest people I know. Same for Iran.
Lithuania? My best guess would be part Cold War, but more in terms of basketball. Per capita, Lithuania has to be the biggest basketball country in the world, and several private donators essentially footed the bill for several Lithuanian Olympic teams and international tournaments. If Lithuania funded the NFL, I bet Americans would be big fans of Lithuania as well.
Japan- great, friendly people. I have never had a problem in Japan EVER.
When in a foreign country, use the golden rule, and you will be overwhelmed with the amount of generosity. I don’t talk politics, religion, or economics with my own family because discussions get too heated. Crazy as it is, non-Americans feel the same way.
Well then that’s pretty embarrassing for you. Kenya is not the same thing as Africa. Just because Kenyans like the US in 2011 doesn’t mean they liked the US before the US got an ethnically Kenyan president, and just because Kenyans currently like the US, doesn’t mean anyone else in Africa likes the US. Americans are utterly ignorant of the colonial savagery we visited, and continue to visit upon Africa, but African’s aren’t- token anti-AID’s campaigns notwithstanding.
Its 2012. The people who directly suffered from the American atrocity in Nagasaki and Hiroshima all died long ago from suicide or cancer. Most Japanese people living today only know of 8/6 and 8/9 from textbooks or vague memories of the news. Most young Japanese people think of Disneyland and Mickey Mouse when they hear “USA.” As far as the imperial legacy the US left on Japan, the American military is known for the rape and theft that always flows from US military bases, but only Okinawan people have to deal with the US military. For all the Japanese who don’t have to live near American military bases, they just know that all the billions of dollars the US military streams into Japan gives them some jobs, and for those who fear China, the American military presence provides protection.
This is a very revealing comment. In the American media, the government of a country is usually interchangeably used to describe the country in general, including the people.
In the case of Turkey, the US is close with the corrupt, violent, and repressive *government,* but the *people* of Turkey, who are victims of their government (especially Kurds), hate us. They see that America helps oppress the Turkish people. Here’s a headline from NY Daily News today, “Turkey now jailing more journalists than Iran, China or Eritrea.” That sums it up.
Ummm, where’s the UK? Since we’re apparently your “closest allies”… or at least you’re supposed to be ours…
Fail, didn’t see “Britain”… About right for British attitude, still low for “closest allies” though 😀
Canada is merely America’s hat. You wouldn’t care how your hat felt about you, would you?
Nothing embarrassing at all. In 2007, the top three respondents on this question were all sub-Saharan African nations, with Kenya ranked second that year. That was before President Obama was elected president. http://www.pewglobal.org/database/?indicator=1&survey=8&response=Favorable&mode=chart
I am American and have traveled around the world and the single biggest complaint I hear about Americans is our lack of traveling. Most foreigners know most Americans don’t have a passport and that their world only revolves around America. If you travel and meet locals in all these countries they will respect you more, and overall after interacting with foreigners they end up liking us Americans because of our friendliness and willingness to open up, and just have fun. So the more Americans foreigners meet, I think the more they learn that American people are different then the government they don’t like for various reasons.
Now about Japan, I have been there many times and they are the nicest and most respectful people I have ever met. This is one of my favorite countries I have visited. Yes I admit it is different if you live there and try to be a local, but overall Japanese are very respectful. Now about people talking about the past and the A-bomb, I have visited one of the spots where the bomb was dropped and they are more against nuclear weapons then they are against America for dropping it. It was war and not dropping the bomb would have cost many many more lives if we attacked mainland Japan as was being drawn up by military leaders. I am sure that is a dark part of history for both countries that would rather not be thought over too much.
After reading the previous 99 comments, I find myself in agreement with only three.
# 57- Steven, #88-Brian, & # 96- Anonymous. I am 84 years old, have traveled to most
of the Counties of the World for 40 years, and have lived in 6 other than the United Staes.
While I do not have any desire to live permanently in any Country other than the United
States; I have found that people are the same the World over, and seperated first by religion
and second by politics.
The rest of the world thinks Canada is part of the US.
Canada would be at the bottom anyway ..
Not really. It happened before most Japanese were born. I had a Vietnamese girl in one of my college classes this spring in Japan, and she had no negative feelings about me either.
The numbers from Okinawa alone would tell a very different story. That’s based on American behavior that they can see in their neighborhood every day and is probably less than 50%.
“I am American and have traveled around the world and the single biggest complaint I hear about Americans is our lack of traveling”
The thing that gets me is that a lot of non-Americans really have no concept of how big and how geographically isolated the United States is. Say you’re a European: if you want to visit another country, all you have to do is drive or take a train, and in two hours or less, you’re there. Couple that with mandated time-off from work (at least three weeks, I believe), and it’s pretty easy for your average European to call himself well-traveled.
If you’re American, you have to take a long (and expensive) flight that eats up a considerable portion of your comparatively meager vacation time. Plus, the US has several countries’ worth of culture (Boston, New Orleans, San Francisco, and Miami are in the same country. Step back for a moment and think about how crazy that is) and vacation destinations that can be reached more easily and cheaply than equivalent destinations in the rest of the world.
“Americans are utterly ignorant of the colonial savagery we visited, and continue to visit upon Africa, but African’s aren’t”
Um, it was the Europeans who colonized Africa. In fact, France is about to stage an invasion of Mali…
By invasion, I guess you mean to help Mali to get rid of Aqmi and other fanatics (most of them foreigners from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, etc) who have devastated the north of the country, who cut the hand of thieves, destroy historical monuments, harass sufis and christians and stoned to death a few people. Amnesty International has documented instances of gang rape, extrajudicial executions, and the use of child soldiers by both Tuareg and Islamist groups.
So, don’t talk about neocolonialism in that case. It is a disgrace.
Where did all the slaves in the US come from? Besides, its the US that has the most colonial power in Africa in 2012. Its not old-fashioned, formal colonialism where a government goes somewhere and sticks it’s flag. Modern colonialism is more insidious because Western corporations control the resources and make profit through corrupt African governments that the US corporations and government support. In Africa the people see their leaders look like them, but the people who have all the power live in New York and Dallas.
France, the US, and all countries have no right to invade another country because they don’t like the other country’s government or because there’s some bad people. If there are awful people in Mali, that is a matter for Mali to decide. What’s colonial is the belief that Mali can’t take care of Mali problem, and they need the French to bomb them so that their problems are fixed.
Stockholm syndrome.
Canada sucks, they didn’t duck the question, nobody bothered to ask them. *shrug* duh
I am Chinese, and I can tell you that most Chinese youth are either extremely anti-American or extremely pro-American. I love the U.S. myself, at least it dares to do SOMETHING.
I live in the part of the USA called fly over country and wondered how the rest of the world would think if we stayed a isolationist country and stayed out of world events like wars to name one ?
Where’s Canada? You americans must be scared to find out what they think of you, Britain’s higher than I expected, I thought we would be lower with other European countries because of the newspapers and the news and that.
If you’re wondering why the French like you they do you might hate them but they like you, they only helped you in the French Revolution though because we invaided them in Canada and I think America and then they hated us, so yeah.
I meant American revolution against us.
i like how canada isnt on here
Us Brits hate the US, they’re so up themselves yet are complete retards who believe the most untrue stereotypes. We made their language and for some reason they decided to change words and call it their own. It’s football not soccer. I’m dyslexic and can spell better than most Americans. Fat pricks
Some of these comments could really skewer this poll up negatively.
Awww Lithuania’s fifth! 🙂
This is saying that the Philippines, who had ranked consistently as the number one nation who love/like America the most fell way below the country at the bottom of this? How likely is that? I have been around the world and know and observe certain ranking here are in error.
This is Bogus. Philippines is almost all of the surveys rank number 1 at 92% and even higher than America itself. Right here, it was not even mentioned…What is going on?
My guess is that the survey folks don’t do the exact same countries all of the time.
If you can demonstrate that the rankings are in error, you might want to let the people who create the rankings know that. This blog only reports such rankings as are found on it.