Gallup poll has China at a below par 43%.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: A new Gallup poll released on Thursday shows that 72% of Americans have a favorable opinion on India, a four percent rise from the approval rating just one year earlier and somewhat more surprising when considering the hit that US-India relations have taken recently.
The Gallup 2014 World Affairs poll revealed that India enjoys relatively high support from Americans, and leads close neighbor China by a sizeable margin. The most populous nation on Earth scored only 43%, a full 29% lower than India. China’s tumble from American favor has been happening since 1980; a graphic provided by Gallup shows that it was in the mid-60s just 34 years ago, and even spiked as high as 70+ in 1989, but has subsequently wavered between 30 and 50 for over two decades.
In fact, India is practically an oasis of positivity compared to rest of the Middle Eastern and Asian region that it’s surrounded by. Pakistan scored an astoundingly low 17%, with Afghanistan registering at 14%, Syria at 13%, and Iran at 12%.
However, the lowest-ranked country – meaning the one that Americans dislike the most in the entire world – is North Korea. The nation, which has been a thorn in America’s side for several years now, received an 11% approval rating by Americans. Apparently, those diplomatic envoys led by basketball star and piercing enthusiast Dennis Rodman aren’t helping very much.
On the positive side of the scale, Canada remained the most popular country for Americans, rising two percentage points to land at a 93% approval rating. Great Britain followed with 90%, Germany with 81%, and France with a 78% approval rating. With India trailing by only 6%, it’s in fairly good company near the top of the pile.
That fact is made all the more remarkable given how acrimonious ties between the US and India have become over the past several months. Numerous attacks and investigations have been launched by the US at India regarding everything from its aviation standards to the its solar program, while the two countries butted heads regarding the arrest and subsequent treatment of Devyani Khobragade, the Deputy Consul General who was arrested on December 12 under charges of visa fraud and underpaying her housemaid, Sangeeta Richard.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com