Map Shows Biggest Fans of US Around The World

Kosovo, Poland and Israel rank among America’s biggest fans, according to data compiled by Gallup.

The data comes from a series of surveys conducted by the pollster in more than 130 countries, comparing approval ratings of leadership in the U.S., China, Germany, and Russia. It comes amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and China as well as war in the Middle East and Ukraine.

Gallup calculated leadership net approval using the difference between the percentage who approve and the percentage who disapprove of a country’s leadership to capture the general sentiment a population has about the job performance of a global leader.

The United States’ largest net approval advantage was in Kosovo. Citizens of the southeastern European nation view the U.S. with +78.

Kosovan ambassador to the U.S. Ilir Dugolli told Newsweek: “Throughout successive administrations, the United States has maintained steadfast support for us, recognizing our aspirations for development and integration into the Euro-Atlantic community as a free and independent country.

“But, most importantly, beyond diplomatic ties, the people-to-people relationship between Kosovo and the United States is equally profound.

“This relationship thrives on a shared belief in democratic values. The people of Kosovo look up to the United States as a beacon of freedom and democracy, fostering a love for America and its people that transcends generations.”

Jeffrey Houvenir, U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo told Newsweek: “The United States is proud to have supported the people of Kosovo in advancing their sovereign, multiethnic, and democratic state. What the Kosovan people have achieved in the 25 years following the brutal ethnic cleansing of the Milosevic regime and in the 16 years since full independence is nothing short of remarkable.”

Israel and Poland were the U.S.’s second and third biggest fans, with a score of +66 and +59 respectively.

On the flip side, Russia and Iran were the countries with the lowest approval of the U.S., with -82 and -73 respectively.

Gallup’s data appears to show that the U.S. benefits from a particularly strong advantage in approval when a Democrat sits in The White House.

In 2016, President Barack Obama‘s final year in office, a combined 50 percent of countries analyzed were aligned with the U.S. to some degree (categorized by Gallup as either strongly, weakly or just aligned).

By 2017, when President Donald Trump was sitting in the Oval Office, just 14 percent of countries considered themselves aligned to the States following the election results of the previous year.

This number bounced back after incumbent President Joe Biden took office, and as of 2023 approval has almost returned to 2016 levels, with 48 percent of countries positively aligned.

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