Global Image Study: The 5 Countries That Hate America The Most
A recent Pew Research “world views” study shows that America’s global image is good overall – but there is room for improvement. There were five countries (and one autonomous territory) where over 50 percent of respondents said they viewed America “unfavorably,” and some of them are close allies.
According to the Pew Survey, Jordan has the least favorable view of America with 83 percent of respondents disapproving of the U.S. and 14 percent approving.
It was followed closely by Russia (81 percent to 15 percent respectively), then the Palestinian territories (70 percent to 26 percent), Pakistan (62 percent to 22 percent), Lebanon (60 percent to 39 percent) and finally Turkey (58 percent to 29 percent).
The only other country on the Pew world views list to have more negative than positive responses was China with 49 percent disapproving and 44 percent approving.
The list includes three major U.S. allies: Pakistan, Turkey and Jordan.
Nevertheless, the study concentrated on Russia’s new-found disapproval of America.
Pew’s data shows that up until 2013, Russia had an positive image of the U.S., but the crisis in the Ukraine ended that. The BBC reported that America has forced economic sanctions on Russia since Vladimir Putin annexed Crimea in March, 2013. There are few signs that the restrictions will let up any time soon, even though they’ve been deadly for U.S. popularity there.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Russians even took to wiping their feet with American flags to protest the newly imposed economic hardship.
Ukraine, on the other hand, was favorable towards the U.S., although there was a major discrepancy between east and west (the western part liked America more).
Still, America’s image abroad is actually quite positive overall. The median result was 24 percent disapproving and 69 percent approving, bolstered by positive ratings in Europe, Asia, and Africa.
As an added silver-lining, younger respondents tended to be more positive towards America, meaning that discontent might die out with enough time. China had the most significant generation gap, with 18 to 29 year-olds 30 percent more approving than people age 50+.
Another good takeaway for the U.S. is the world’s overwhelming praise for the country’s actions against ISIS, even though most respondents said that America’s interrogation methods were not justified.
Also reported by the Inquisitr, Congress recently passed legislation prohibiting the use of torture by all government agencies, including the CIA. The new law came after a startling 500 page summary of the CIA’s torture program for terrorist detainees and a harsh critique from late-night comedian Jon Oliver.
The full Pew Research report on America’s global image can be found here.
[Image Credit: Getty Images]
