The world is more divided than ever, but there is still something that (almost) everyone agrees on: the US is unloved. With Donald Trump back in the White House, the US has become less loved around the world, according to the “2025 Democracy Perceptions Index”, reports Politico.
The survey covers attitudes towards democracy, geopolitics and global power players and polls more than 110 000 respondents from 100 countries.
According to the index, the US’s approval rating in 2025 has plummeted to -5% from 22% in 2022 and from a high of 27% in 2023, marking a significant drop as the US had maintained a strongly positive image until 2024.
AMERICA’S REPUTATION HAS SUFFERED PARTICULARLY BADLY IN THE EU – PERHAPS UNSURPRISINGLY, SINCE THE PRESIDENT OF THE US, TRUMP, HAS CALLED THE BLOC “TERRIBLE”, “PATHETIC” AND “DESIGNED TO SCAM THE US”.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, former NATO chief and founder of the Alliance of Democracies Foundation, one of the index’s creators, said he was “not surprised that the US has fallen so sharply”.
Meanwhile, China continued to improve its global position, overtaking the US for the first time and registering a mostly positive perception in all regions except Europe. China’s global score has now risen from -4% in 2022 to +14% in 2025.
Russia, on the other hand, has seen its reputation plummet following President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Russia remains the least favoured country, although its score has improved slightly from -30% in 2022 to -9% in 2025.
Trump’s reputation is in line with that of his country, with the lowest global rating among all respondents. Only 27% of respondents rate him positively, while 58% rate him negatively. He is less popular globally than his Russian and Chinese counterparts Vladimir Putin (32% positive, 49% negative) and Xi Jinping (32% positive, 31% negative).
Trump is viewed negatively by 82 of the 100 countries surveyed – more than the Russian President (61 countries) and the Chinese President (44 countries).
Trump also scored worst among political, cultural and spiritual leaders, including poorer score than X owner Elon Musk, who, although a polarising figure, received 31% positive and 42% negative ratings worldwide. Trump was also outperformed by Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Pope Francis, Taylor Swift and Kim Kardashian.
Of the countries surveyed, Israel was ranked as having the worst reputation in the world, particularly in the Middle East and South Asia.
The survey shows that Israel is unpopular even in European countries that have historically been its allies, such as Germany, reflecting growing dissatisfaction with its government’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank.