Pakistan
Asia-Pacific
US
15
China
90
China +75 points
Global attitudes | 2026
G2. China Or US. Who Does The World View More Favourably?
A country by country comparison of public favourability towards the United States and China, drawn from a Pew Research Center survey of 42,151 adults in 36 countries and territories. Both ratings appear side by side, so the comparison is direct rather than a map of support for one power.
Read the full paperDean Marc | 27 October 2026
Published headline
25 / 36
Places where China is viewed more favourably than the United States, according to Pew's published finding.
6
U.S. ahead
5
Not assigned
36
Countries and territories surveyed
42,151
Adults interviewed by Pew Research Center
Feb to May 2026
Fieldwork period
01.
Both ratings, country by country
Search, sort or filter the 36 places surveyed. Average favourability across the set is 39.1 per cent for the United States and 50.8 per cent for China.
Showing 36 of 36 places surveyed
China higher
Malaysia
Asia-Pacific
US
19
China
75
China +56 points
West Bank & East Jerusalem
Middle East & Africa
US
9
China
57
China +48 points
Indonesia
Asia-Pacific
US
29
China
72
China +43 points
Singapore
Asia-Pacific
US
34
China
73
China +39 points
Thailand
Asia-Pacific
US
36
China
69
China +33 points
Bangladesh
Asia-Pacific
US
26
China
56
China +30 points
Sri Lanka
Asia-Pacific
US
42
China
72
China +30 points
Turkey
Middle East & Africa
US
13
China
43
China +30 points
Spain
Europe
US
30
China
54
China +24 points
Italy
Europe
US
31
China
51
China +20 points
Mexico
The Americas
US
40
China
59
China +19 points
Greece
Europe
US
37
China
55
China +18 points
South Africa
Middle East & Africa
US
35
China
52
China +17 points
Nigeria
Middle East & Africa
US
63
China
78
China +15 points
Kenya
Middle East & Africa
US
63
China
76
China +13 points
Chile
The Americas
US
37
China
49
China +12 points
Canada
The Americas
US
33
China
44
China +11 points
Peru
The Americas
US
51
China
61
China +10 points
France
Europe
US
27
China
36
China +9 points
Netherlands
Europe
US
25
China
34
China +9 points
Sweden
Europe
US
19
China
27
China +8 points
Australia
Asia-Pacific
US
24
China
31
China +7 points
Argentina
The Americas
US
44
China
50
China +6 points
Germany
Europe
US
27
China
33
China +6 points
United Kingdom
Europe
US
41
China
46
China +5 points
Colombia
The Americas
US
60
China
63
China +3 points
Brazil
The Americas
US
47
China
46
US +1 points
Ghana
Middle East & Africa
US
68
China
64
US +4 points
Hungary
Europe
US
58
China
53
US +5 points
Poland
Europe
US
49
China
39
US +10 points
Philippines
Asia-Pacific
US
56
China
40
US +16 points
South Korea
Asia-Pacific
US
45
China
28
US +17 points
India
Asia-Pacific
US
45
China
23
US +22 points
Japan
Asia-Pacific
US
50
China
11
US +39 points
Israel
Middle East & Africa
US
81
China
19
US +62 points
02.
Ranked by the gap between the two readings
Margin is China's favourability less that of the United States, in percentage points. Positive values sit above the line and negative values below it. The spread runs from a 75 point China lead in Pakistan to a 62 point US lead in Israel.
China higher US higher
03.
Four regions, four different stories
Asia-Pacific carries both the widest China margin and the widest US margin, so its average conceals more than it reveals. Europe is the most uniformly China-leaning grouping, with the smallest average margin.
| Region | Places | US avg | China avg | Average margin | Widest China lead | Widest US lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asia-Pacific | 12 | 35.1 | 53.3 | China +18.3 | Pakistan +75 | Japan -39 |
| Europe | 10 | 34.4 | 42.8 | China +8.4 | Spain +24 | Poland -10 |
| The Americas | 7 | 44.6 | 53.1 | China +8.6 | Mexico +19 | Brazil -1 |
| Middle East & Africa | 7 | 47.4 | 55.6 | China +8.1 | West Bank & East Jerusalem +48 | Israel -62 |
Regional averages are unweighted across the places surveyed in each grouping and are not Pew categories.
04.
Two years, two double-digit falls
The countries where US favourability moved most are treaty partners in East Asia. Movements of this size are a warning against reading a single survey wave as a permanent verdict.
South Korea | US favourability
77%to45%-32 points
Two-year movement, 2024 to 2026.
Japan | US favourability
70%to50%-20 points
Two-year movement, 2024 to 2026.
These historical readings were supplied with the study and are flagged for verification against the primary source series before they are quoted as a trend. Read them as an order of magnitude, not a settled series.
05.
What the data does and does not say
Favourability is not alignment
A favourable opinion of either power is not a security treaty, a trade dependency, a diplomatic vote or a government's strategic choice. Countries can cooperate with both powers while distrusting aspects of each.
Opinion moves quickly
Pew reports that declining views of the United States and improving views of China combined to produce this reversal. A survey describes opinion during its fieldwork window, not a permanent national preference.
Averages are unweighted
Regional and global averages here treat each surveyed place as one observation. They describe the set of countries surveyed, not the world's population, and they are not Pew categories.
Sources and method
Primary source: Pew Research Center, People in Many Countries Now View China More Positively Than the US (15 July 2026). Survey of 42,151 adults in 36 countries and territories, fielded 8 February to 13 May 2026.
Country-level percentages are transcribed from the comparative table published by Visual Capitalist (6 August 2026), which summarises Pew's release. This is a secondary transcription of rounded values: verify each figure against Pew's original chart or data download before quoting it individually.
This is an opinion comparison, not a ranking of military alliances or official foreign policy.
Reconciliation note
Pew's published headline reports China ahead in 25 places and the United States in six. Counted directly, the rounded values in this table give 27 and nine, with no ties, and five places are left outside the two lead categories in the published summary.
The published summary is treated as authoritative here. The difference is disclosed in Section 4 of the paper and should be resolved against Pew's primary data before any country count is quoted.
Read the methodology in full