President Obama leaves office with high worldwide approval ratings
The world has a much more positive view of President Obama's time in office than they do of Donald Trump's impending term, according to an Ipsos poll of over 18,000 people globally.
The world has a much more positive view of President Obama’s time in office than they do of Donald Trump’s impending term, according to an Ipsos poll of over 18,000 people globally.
The study, among online adults aged under 65 in 24 different countries (Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Britain, Germany, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Poland, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United States) asked people to predict how President Trump will take to his new role and to review Obama’s presidency.
President Obama leaves his office with high worldwide approval ratings – nearly all countries rate him positively, with an average of 76% saying he has been a good president of the USA.
- Opinions are particularly high in South Korea and India, where around nine in 10 have a positive view of Obama’s time in office. On the other hand, Russia stands out as the only country with an overwhelming negative opinion (87% think he was a bad president).
- Americans themselves are much more split - 56% think Obama was a good president and 44% think he was a bad president.
Americans are also divided about their new president – around half (52%) think Donald Trump will make a good president and half (48%) think he will be a bad president.
Worldwide, people are much less sure of Donald Trump – only a minority in most countries predict he will make a good president (34% on average, while 66% think he will be a bad president). In particular, Spain, Mexico and Great Britain are pessimistic, with around four in five expecting Trump to do a bad job. Russia again stands out from worldwide opinion and is significantly more positive about Donald Trump as president (74% think he will be good), although two in three Indians (65%) are also optimistic.
Despite this, only a minority predict an impeachment for President Trump in 2017; on average, 31% think it is likely, 48% unlikely (including a third of Americans, 34%). Those in Italy, Turkey, Canada and China are most likely to think he will be impeached (around four in ten).
Commenting on the findings, Bobby Duffy, Managing Director of the Ipsos Social Research Institute said:
"The data indicates a shifting in eras for the American position in the world. The Obama administration was seen by many in the global community as a president looking outward from America's borders; while President Trump won the election by looking inwards and reinforcing the borders. Though it is clear that the public thinks this era might be short lived, with a third believing Trump will be impeached in 2017."
Technical Note
In total 18,070 interviews were conducted between 23 December 2016 and January 2017 among adults aged 18-64 in the US and Canada, and adults aged 16-64 in all other countries. The survey was conducted in 24 countries around the world via the Ipsos Online Panel system (between 500 – 1,000 interviews were carried out in each country). The countries reporting herein are Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United States of America. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population (7 of the countries surveyed – Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Peru, South Africa and Turkey - have lower levels of internet connectivity and reflect online populations that tend to be more urban and have higher education/income than the general population).
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