Introducing Gallup Global Reports

Gallup's continuous worldwide research provides us with both opportunities and challenges for getting the findings to our readers. Because we're in the field in different countries and regions at different times, the data comes back in house at different times. That means it's most efficient to report to you about certain countries and regions as they come in.

In order to report something globally, we have to wait to get all of the data from the more than 100 countries we survey in the course of a year. And, because we apply the highest quality control and validation standards before going public with results, there's some lag time even after the data are back from the field.

This background helps explain why we are so thrilled to begin our Gallup Global Reports based on our complete 2009 dataset.

Over the next few months, we'll release a series of stories focusing on some of our favorite global findings of 2009, spanning a variety of political, economic, and social topics. What's more, we've teamed up with Real Clear World to provide you with additional reporting and insights on what makes certain countries rise to the top of any given list. For each of our global reports, Real Clear World will examine in-depth "The Top Five" on each measure.

In the first of this series, we're releasing 2009 results from 110 countries on approval of U.S. leadership, revealing which countries were most and least approving of U.S. leadership during the first year of Barack Obama's presidency. Overall, we find median approval at 51%, up from 34% in 2008. But the country-by-country findings and changes are anything but uniform, which is why we provide you the entire list, including the difference from 2008. Over at Real Clear World, our partners look more closely at the top five countries with the highest approval ratings of U.S. leadership.

On both sites, we look forward to providing readers with this power-packed combination of empirical research and reporting. Stay tuned for the next story in the series, coming in about a month.

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