36-country survey finds declining ratings for the U.S. amid rising concerns about its foreign policy and the health of its democracy
Washington, June 23, 2026 – A new report from Pew Research Center released on Tuesday highlights views the United States and President Donald Trump, and the role of the role the U.S. plays in the world.
Findings from this report are based on a survey of 42,151 people across 36 countries from Feb. 8 to May 13, 2026. In every nation surveyed, most or all interviews took place after the U.S. and Israel launched the military conflict with Iran on Feb. 28.
Our survey of 36 nations reveals striking changes over time in how people perceive the U.S. and its position in world affairs. It also finds negative – and often overwhelmingly negative – views of Trump in regions around the globe.
A 36-country median of 37% have a favorable view of the U.S., while 57% have an unfavorable opinion. Favorable views of the country have declined in many places over the past year.
A median of 23% express confidence in Trump to do the right thing regarding world affairs. Confidence in Trump has declined since last year in 16 of 24 nations with trend data. There is no country in which attitudes toward him have become more positive.
The share of the public who considers the U.S. a reliable partner has declined steeply in many countries since we last asked this question in 2022, especially in European nations.
In most countries surveyed, majorities say the U.S. does not promote peace and stability around the world and does not take other countries’ interests into account on matters of international policy.
But Americans themselves are divided on these questionss.
Additional findings:
Does the U.S. respect its people’s personal freedom?
Large shares of people around the world polled no longer believe the U.S. respects individual liberty. A 36-country median of 39% say the U.S. government respects the personal freedoms of its people, while 56% say it does not.
In 12 of the 13 countries where we last asked about this in 2021, during the Biden administration, there have been double-digit declines in the shares who say the U.S. government respects personal freedoms.
Views of the U.S.
In many of the countries we have surveyed since 2002 – including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Philippines, South Africa, South Korea and the United Kingdom – positive ratings are at or near the lowest they’ve been.
There are seven nations in the study where a majority of adults rate the U.S. positively. The highest rating (81% favorable) comes from Israel. Some of the lowest ratings are from predominantly Muslim publics, such as Malaysians, Pakistanis, Turks, and Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. (We were unable to survey in Gaza.)
Views of Trump
Trump gets his best ratings in the Philippines, Israel, Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana.
There are 26 places surveyed in which 30% of the public or less expresses confidence in the U.S. president.
Trump gets lower confidence than most other world leaders we asked about: French President Emanual Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Only Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu receives lower marks.
Do people approve of how Trump is handling major international issues?
Trump gets mostly poor marks for his handling of eight key foreign policy issues we asked about, including tariffs, Gaza, Iran, Greenland and the Russia-Ukraine war.
