Kosovo, Poland and Israel are ranked among the biggest fans of America, some data compiled by “Gallup” have shown.
The data comes from a series of surveys conducted by the specialist polling company in more than 130 countries, comparing leadership approval ratings in the US, China, Germany and Russia. The survey comes amid heightened tensions between the US and China, as well as war in the Middle East and Ukraine.
Gallup calculated Net Leadership Approval by using the difference between the percentage who approve and the percentage who disapprove of a country’s leadership to capture the general feeling a population has about a global leader’s job performance.
The highest net approval percentage of the United States was in Kosovo. Citizens of the Southeast European nation see the USA with +78, “Newsweek” reported.
Kosovo’s ambassador to the US, Ilir Dugolli, told “Newsweek”: “Throughout successive administrations, the United States has maintained unwavering 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 relationship between Kosovo and the United States is just as deep.”
“This relationship thrives on a shared belief in democratic values. The people of Kosovo look to the United States as a beacon of freedom and democracy, fostering a love for America and its people that transcends generations.”
Jeffrey Hovenier, the US ambassador to Kosovo, said to “Newsweek”: “The United States is proud to have supported the people of Kosovo in the advancement of their sovereign, multi-ethnic and democratic state.”
“What the Kosovar people have achieved in the 25 years after the brutal ethnic cleansing of the Milosevic regime and in the 16 years since full independence is nothing short of extraordinary,” Hovenier declared.
Israel and Poland were the second and third biggest fans of the USA, with a score of +66 and +59 respectively.
On the other hand, Russia and Iran were the countries with the lowest approval of the US, at -82 and -73, respectively.
Gallup data appears to show that the US has a particularly strong approval advantage when a Democrat sits in the White House.
In 2016, President Barack Obama’s last year in office, a combined 50 percent of the countries surveyed aligned with the US to some degree (categorized by Gallup as strongly, weakly, or just aligned).
By 2017, when President Donald Trump was sitting in the Oval Office, only 14 percent of countries considered themselves aligned with the US after the previous year’s election results.
That number rebounded after incumbent Joe Biden took office, and as of 2023 approval has almost returned to 2016 levels, with 48 percent of seats lining up positively.
