"Major Countries' Favorability Toward the US Rises from 'Trump to Biden'... South Korea Remains No.1 This Year"

Pew Research Center Major Countries Survey Results

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Since the inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden, the favorability of the United States has surged sharply among major countries worldwide. South Korea showed the highest favorability toward the U.S. among these countries.

According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center from April 12 to 26 last month, targeting 16,254 adults in 16 countries outside the U.S., 62% of respondents expressed a favorable view of the United States. This is a 28 percentage point increase compared to 34% in last year’s survey, which was conducted during the final year of former President Donald Trump's administration.

This is interpreted as reflecting President Biden’s emphasis on strengthening the U.S.'s international role and restoring alliances, in contrast to former President Trump, who prioritized his country’s interests above all else. Meanwhile, the percentage of respondents with an unfavorable view dropped sharply from 63% to 36%.

The countries surveyed included South Korea, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, and Italy. By country, South Korea recorded the highest favorability at 77%, up 18 percentage points from the previous year, followed by Italy (74%), Japan (71%), France (65%), and the United Kingdom (64%).

South Korea has consistently ranked first in this question except for the years it was excluded from the survey since the Obama administration. The highest recorded favorability was 84% in 2015 during Obama’s presidency.

The percentage of respondents who believe the U.S. president is doing the right thing on global issues rose noticeably. Positive responses reached 75%, a 58 percentage point increase from 17% in last year’s survey.

This figure is slightly lower than that of German Chancellor Angela Merkel (77%) but significantly higher than Russian President Vladimir Putin (23%) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (20%).

During the same period, Sweden showed the highest increase in positive responses, rising from 15% to 85%, followed by Belgium from 9% to 79%, each with a 70 percentage point increase. The Netherlands (68 percentage points), Germany (68 percentage points), France (63 percentage points), and Italy (59 percentage points) also showed large increases. South Korea’s positive response rate rose from 17% to 67%, a 50 percentage point increase.

Pew Research Center analyzed that evaluations of the personal characteristics of former President Trump and President Biden also influenced these results. In the category of being well-qualified, only 16% responded positively for Trump, whereas 77% did so for Biden.

Regarding Trump, 72% and 90% of respondents described him as "dangerous" and "rude," respectively, while only 14% and 13% described Biden in these terms.

Pew Research Center explained, "President Biden’s election has led to a dramatic change in the image of the United States," adding, "Since the change of administration, the U.S.'s image abroad has rebounded."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.