U.S. Image Up Slightly, But Still Negative
American Character Gets Mixed Reviews
Released: 06.23.05
Navigate this report
Introduction: 16-Nation Pew Global Attitudes Survey
I: Image of the United States
II: Image of the American People
III: Opinions of U.S. Policies
IV: Views of America's Role in the World
V: Other Findings
Country Factsheets
Methodological Appendix
Questionnaire
Introduction: 16-Nation Pew Global Attitudes Survey
Anti-Americanism in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, which surged as a result of the U.S. war in Iraq, shows modest signs
of abating. But the United States remains broadly disliked in most countries surveyed, and the opinion of the American people
is not as positive as it once was. The magnitude of America's image problem is such that even popular U.S. policies have done
little to repair it. President George W. Bush's calls for greater democracy in the Middle East and U.S. aid for tsunami victims
in Asia have been well-received in many countries, but only in Indonesia, India and Russia has there been significant improvement
in overall opinions of the U.S.
Attitudes toward the U.S. remain quite negative in the Muslim world, though hostility toward America has eased in some
countries. Many Muslims see the U.S. supporting democracy in their countries, and many of those who are optimists about the
prospects for democracy in the Middle East give at least some credit to U.S. policies. But progress for America's image in
these countries is measured in small steps; solid majorities in all five predominantly Muslim countries surveyed still express
unfavorable views of the United States.
The polling in Western Europe, conducted in the weeks leading up to the decisive rejection of the European Union constitution
by voters in France and the Netherlands, finds pockets of deep public dissatisfaction with national conditions and concern
in several countries over immigration from the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe.
There are no signs, however, that Euro-skepticism about the EU has fueled a desire for a closer trans-Atlantic partnership.
On the contrary, most Europeans surveyed want to take a more independent approach from the U.S. on security and diplomatic
affairs.
Indeed, opinion of the U.S. continues to be mostly unfavorable among the publics of America's traditional allies, except
Great Britain and Canada. Even in those two countries, however, favorable views of the U.S. have slipped over the past two
years. Moreover, support for the U.S.-led war on terror has plummeted in Spain and eroded elsewhere in Europe.
Japan, France and Germany are all more highly regarded than the United States among the countries of Europe; even the British
and Canadians have a more favorable view of these three nations than they do of America. Strikingly, China now has a better
image than the U.S. in most of the European nations surveyed.
Attitudes toward the U.S. in the former Soviet bloc nations of Poland and Russia are much more positive than in most of
Western Europe. In Russia, favorable opinion of its former Cold War adversary has swelled from 36% in 2002 to 52% currently.
Opinions of the U.S. in Poland have declined since 2002, but still remain relatively positive (62%).
The latest survey by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, conducted among nearly 17,000 people in the United States and 15
other countries from April 20-May 31, finds that America's image is strongest in India. Fully 71% in India express a positive
opinion of the United States, compared with 54% three years ago.
Positive opinions of the U.S. in Indonesia, which had plummeted to as low as 15% in 2003, also have rebounded to 38%. The
U.S. tsunami aid effort has been widely hailed there; 79% of Indonesians say they have a more favorable view of the U.S. as
a result of the relief efforts. With the exception of Christian opinion in Lebanon, views of the U.S. in other predominantly
Muslim nations are more negative and have changed little. In Turkey, hostility toward the U.S. and the American people has
intensified. Nearly half of Turks (46%) say they have a very unfavorable view of Americans, up from just 32% a year ago.
Yet there is modest optimism among Muslims that the Middle East will become more democratic. And even in countries like
Jordan and Pakistan, where people have low regard for the U.S., many who believe the region will become more democratic give
some credit to U.S. policies for making this possible. Roughly half of respondents in Jordan and nearly two-thirds of
Indonesians think the U.S. favors democracy in their countries. About half of the public in Lebanon also takes that
view. But on this question and others relating to opinions of the U.S., Lebanon's Muslim majority (about 60% of the population)
is far more negative than its minority Christian population.
The survey finds that while China is well-regarded in both Europe and Asia, its burgeoning economic power elicits mixed
reactions. Majorities or pluralities in France and Spain believe that China's growing economy has a negative impact on their
countries. Respondents in the Netherlands and Great Britain have much more positive reactions to China's economic growth.
Public opinion in the U.S. on this issue is divided 49% view China's economic emergence as a good thing, while 40% say
it has a negative impact on the U.S.
Whatever their views on China's increasing economic power, European publics are opposed to the idea of China becoming a military
rival to the U.S, despite their deep reservations over American policies and hegemony. Solid majorities in every European
nation except Turkey believe that China's emergence as a military superpower would be a bad thing. In Turkey and
most other predominantly Muslim countries, where antagonism toward the U.S. runs much deeper, most people think a Chinese
challenge to American military power would be a good thing.
Nonetheless, there is considerable support across every country surveyed, with the notable exception of the U.S., for some
other country or group of countries to rival the United States militarily. In France, 85% of respondents believe it would
be good if the EU or another country emerged as a military rival to the U.S.
Most Western Europeans want their countries to take a more independent approach from the U.S. on diplomatic and security
affairs than it has in the past. The European desire for greater autonomy from the U.S. is increasingly shared by the Canadian
public; 57% of Canadians favor Canada taking a more independent approach from the U.S., up from 43% two years ago. The American
public, by contrast, increasingly favors closer ties with U.S. allies in Western Europe.
As in the past, the perception that the United States conducts a unilateral foreign policy is widely shared across the
surveyed countries. Overwhelming percentages of people in Europe and the Middle East believe that the United States does not
take their countries' interests into account when making foreign policy. Yet there are a few notable exceptions. Majorities
in India (63%) and China2 (53%) believe the U.S. takes their respective countries' interests into account at least
a fair amount. The percentage in Indonesia expressing that view has more than doubled since 2003 (from 25% to 59%), probably
reflecting the overwhelmingly positive reaction in response to U.S. tsunami relief in that country.
The U.S. tsunami relief effort led to more favorable views of the U.S. for most nations surveyed. But goodwill generated by
U.S. tsunami relief has been largely offset by the negative reactions to Bush's re-election and the continuing war in Iraq.
Roughly three-quarters of the publics in Germany (77%), Canada (75%) and France (74%) say Bush's re-election has made them
feel less favorable toward the U.S. And particularly in Western Europe, most of those who express an unfavorable view of the
U.S. mostly blame Bush, rather than a more general problem with America.
The war in Iraq continues to draw broad international opposition, and there is scant optimism that the elections in that
country this past January will foster stability. Even the American public now has diminished expectations that the January
elections held in Iraq will lead to a more stable situation there. The United States and India are the only countries surveyed
in which pluralities believe Saddam Hussein's removal from power has made the world a safer place.
While the war in Iraq is as unpopular in Europe as it was in 2003 and 2004, there is still majority support for the U.S.-led
war on terrorism among Western publics that are otherwise highly critical of the U.S., notably in Germany and France. But
support for the war on terrorism has all but evaporated in Spain since 2003 and, notably, Canadian opinion on the American-led
war on terror is now evenly divided.
Mixed Views of the American People
The new poll finds Canadians holding increasingly negative views of both the U.S. and the American people.
In most Western countries surveyed, majorities associate Americans with the positive characteristics "honest," "inventive"
and "hardworking." At the same time, substantial numbers also associate Americans with the negative traits "greedy" and "violent."
Canadians, who presumably have the greatest contact with Americans, agree with Europeans on the negatives, but are less likely
to view Americans as honest. And Canada is the only Western nation in which a majority (53%) regards Americans as rude.
Muslim publics, including Indonesians, are highly critical of Americans in many respects. In particular, they are much
more likely than others to view the American people as immoral. Yet people in predominantly Muslim countries also see Americans
as hardworking and inventive.
The Chinese are also largely critical of Americans. They are the least likely of these 16 publics to consider Americans
hardworking (44%) and just over a third (35%) see Americans as honest. A majority of Chinese associate Americans with being
violent (61%) and greedy (57%). The one positive trait most Chinese associate with Americans is inventive (70%).
By contrast, Indians hold largely positive views of the American people. Clear majorities see Americans as inventive, hardworking
and honest (86%, 81% and 58% respectively). None of the negative traits is linked with Americans by a majority in India.
The American people's self assessment also identifies both virtues and faults. With respect to the latter, a large percentage
of the U.S. public (70%) characterizes the American people as greedy, and many also see their countrymen as violent (49%).
The biggest gap between the way Americans are seen by other Western countries, and the way they see themselves, is with
respect to religion. Majorities in France and the Netherlands and pluralities in Great Britain and Germany see the U.S. as
too religious. By contrast, a 58% majority of Americans say their country is not religious enough. On this point, Muslims
find themselves in rare agreement with the American public; majorities in Indonesia, Pakistan, Lebanon and Turkey all believe
the U.S. is not religious enough.
America's international image problem is not lost on its own people. Just 26% of the U.S. public thinks the country is
well-liked by people around the world. Only the Turks and Russians come close in seeing their country as internationally unpopular
(30% and 32% well-liked, respectively). Canadians stand out for their nearly universal belief (94%) that other nations have
a positive view of Canada.
The American public also looks at U.S. conduct in the world much differently than do publics in Europe, the Middle East
and Asia. In response to a hypothetical question, Americans overwhelmingly (73%) see the U.S. as the major power most likely
to come to the aid of people threatened by genocide. Only Poles, Canadians and Germans see the U.S. this way in any significant
numbers. America evokes even less confidence with respect to the global environment. Fewer than one-in-ten Western Europeans
surveyed most trust the U.S. in this regard. But 59% of Americans say they most trust the U.S. to do the right thing in protecting
the world's environment.
Roadmap to the Report
The first section of the report analyzes how the people in other countries of the world view the United States and each
other. Section II focuses on attitudes toward the American people. Second III examines opinions of U.S. policies with special
focus on the potential for democracy in the Middle East, anti-terrorism efforts and the war in Iraq. Section IV explores views
of America's role as the world's military and economic superpower. A final section analyzes attitudes on a variety of global
issues including attitudes toward China's economic and military emergence and views about immigration.
A description of the Pew Global Attitudes Project and a list of the countries surveyed immediately follows. A summary of
the methodology can be found at the end of the report, along with complete results for all countries surveyed.
About the Pew Global Attitudes Project
The Pew Global Attitudes Project is a series of worldwide public opinion surveys encompassing a broad array of subjects
ranging from people's assessments of their own lives to their views about the current state of the world and important issues
of the day. The Pew Global Attitudes Project is co-chaired by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, currently
principal, the Albright Group LLC, and by former Senator John C. Danforth, currently partner, Bryan Cave LLP. The project
is directed by Andrew Kohut, president of the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan "fact tank" in Washington, DC, that provides
information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. The Pew Global Attitudes Project is principally
funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation provided a supplemental grant for the 2002 survey.
The Pew Global Attitudes Project was originally conceived with two primary objectives: to gauge attitudes in every region
toward globalization, trade and an increasingly connected world; and to measure changes in attitudes toward democracy and
other key issues among some of the European populations surveyed in the 13-nation 1991 benchmark survey, the Pulse of Europe
(also directed by Dr. Albright and Mr. Kohut). After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the scope of the project
was broadened to measure attitudes about terrorism, the intersection between the Islamic faith and public policy in countries
with significant Muslim populations, and to probe attitudes toward the United States more deeply in all countries. Recent
Global Attitudes surveys have gauged worldwide opinion about international news developments, including the war in Iraq. Over
time, the project has surveyed more than 90,000 people in 50 countries.
