U.S. Views of Israel, Ukraine, Mexico Most Divided by Party

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans rate Canada, Japan, Great Britain and Denmark the most positively among 22 countries asked about, with each country viewed favorably by over 80% of U.S adults. Iran, North Korea and Afghanistan are the least well-liked countries, all with 15% favorability or lower.

The highest- and lowest-rated countries tend to be rated similarly by Republicans and Democrats. Partisans diverge most in their opinions of Israel -- 83% of Republicans versus 33% of Democrats have a favorable opinion of Israel, as do 48% of independents. Fifty-four percent of Americans overall rate Israel positively.

Partisans’ opinions of Mexico and Ukraine also differ by 30 or more percentage points. Gaps exceeding 20 points separate views of the Palestinian Territories, Cuba and Colombia. Democrats rate each of these five countries more positively than Republicans do.

In addition to Israel, Republicans also have substantially more positive views of Russia and Saudi Arabia than Democrats do. Democrats’ favorable ratings of Panama, France, India and Germany are 10 points higher than those of Republicans.

These results are based on Gallup’s annual World Affairs survey, conducted Feb. 3-16. Each year, Gallup asks Americans for their opinions on various countries.

This is the first year Gallup has included Denmark and Panama in the list. These nations have been in the news as President Donald Trump has floated proposals for the U.S. to purchase Greenland (a Danish territory) and to retake control of the Panama Canal (overseen by Panama). Sixty-eight percent of Americans have a positive opinion of Panama, putting it on par with Mexico, India and Ukraine in terms of favorability.

Record-High Partisan Gap in Ratings of Israel

The 50 points separating Republican and Democratic positivity toward Israel shatters the prior record of 30 points measured last year, primarily because of a 14-point drop in Democrats' rating. The current gap is also nearly three times larger than the average 18-point difference that existed between 2001 and 2023. Over this time, Republicans have consistently viewed Israel more favorably than Democrats have.

The widening partisan gap likely reflects Democrats’ opposition to Israel’s actions in the Israel-Hamas war. It could also be a reaction to Trump’s strong backing of Israel, highlighted in his meeting with Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House earlier this month.

Political independents’ opinions of Israel have also worsened significantly since the war started in 2023.

This year marks the first time any party group has had majority-level unfavorable ratings of Israel, with 60% of Democrats expressing that view. Forty-four percent of independents also have an unfavorable opinion of Israel.

Democrats’ and independents’ sagging views of Israel have pushed its favorability to 54% among all Americans, its lowest rating since January 2000, when it was also at 54%. The last time Americans had worse opinions of Israel -- 48% favorable -- was in February 1992. The all-time low was 45% favorable (and 45% unfavorable) in 1989.

Mexico, Ukraine Partisan Gaps Are Near Record Highs

Today’s 36-point gap in Democrats’ and Republicans’ ratings of Mexico nearly matches the record-high 37-point difference seen in 2017 and 35-point gaps recorded twice in the past decade.

This contrasts with most years between 2001 and 2010 when there was no or minimal partisan disagreement about Mexico. A 15-point gap in partisans’ favorability toward the United States’ southern neighbor opened up in 2011 and expanded to 26 points in 2012. It jumped to 37 points in 2017, early in Trump’s first term, after he campaigned on a platform that focused on migrants entering the U.S. illegally from Mexico. The party gap in ratings of Mexico shrank somewhat during the pandemic years, between 2020 and 2022, but it widened again in 2023 amid record-high illegal border crossings and has since remained high.

Before 2023, Republicans and Democrats had similarly positive views of Ukraine. But in the past three years, Democrats’ opinions of Ukraine have become sharply more favorable. This could reflect the Biden administration’s staunch support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, which enters its fourth year on Feb. 24.

Whereas independents’ opinions of Israel and Mexico are closer to those of Democrats, they are more closely aligned with Republicans’ views on Ukraine.

The poll was completed before an eventful week that included verbal attacks between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a high-level meeting between U.S. and Russian officials, and some Senate Republicans expressing their support for Ukraine.

When Gallup first asked about Ukraine in 2005, long before tensions with Russia escalated, Republicans viewed it more favorably than Democrats.

Opinions of Mexico, Russia and China Improve the Most

Several countries show meaningfully higher positive ratings among U.S. adults this year than last, while no countries are rated significantly more negatively.

Countries with improved ratings include Mexico (up 10 points), Russia and China (both up nine points), and Canada (up six points and back to 2023 levels after a dip last year). Ratings of Mexico -- now 67% favorable -- were last higher than now in 2005, when 74% of Americans held positive views.

Opinions of Mexico and China are improved among all party groups, although the increase for China is greater among Republicans and the increase for Mexico is larger among Democrats. More positive evaluations of Canada and Russia are seen among Republicans and independents but not Democrats.

In addition, the favorable rating for the Palestinian Territories, at 32%, is significantly higher than the 18% registered last year for the “Palestinian Authority.” It is unclear if the increase results from more positive views of the Palestinian people -- perhaps due to the ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war or the loss of thousands of Palestinian lives in that conflict -- or because of the change in item wording.

Today’s positive rating of the Palestinian Territories is nominally higher than any prior rating for “the Palestinian Authority,” though not significantly different from the 30% measured in 2021.

All party groups rate the Palestinian Territories more positively than they rated the Palestinian Authority last year, by between 13 and 19 points.

Also of note in this year’s survey:

• Americans’ evenly divided opinions of Colombia are a marked change from when Gallup last asked about the country in 2001 through 2003. At that time, Americans were about twice as likely to rate Colombia negatively as positively.
• While Democrats and Republicans both overwhelmingly view Canada positively, Democrats are much more likely than Republicans to say they have a “very favorable” view of it (58% vs. 15%, respectively). Thirty-nine percent of independents view Canada very favorably.
• The 15% “very favorable” opinion of Canada among Republicans is down from 28% a year ago and is the lowest Gallup has measured for the group. The percentage of Democrats viewing Canada very favorably has been largely stable since 2011.

Bottom Line

As is usually the case, U.S. foreign policy plays an important role in shaping Americans’ views of various countries. Americans view long-standing allies such as Great Britain and Japan very favorably. Despite Trump’s criticisms of Canada, it also remains broadly popular, though the intensity of Republicans’ favorability toward it has never been lower. Americans hold mostly negative views of countries that are perceived threats to U.S. national interests, such as North Korea, Iran and Russia.

But U.S. policy toward certain countries lacks bipartisan consensus, with Republican and Democratic leaders having more distinct views about policy toward Israel, Mexico and Ukraine. The result is increasingly wide partisan gaps in ratings of those countries.

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