A global survey showed China has a better positive image than the United States in Mexico, Canada and most of Europe

A global survey found that China has a better positive image than the United States. So found the 2025 Democracy Perception Index, for which more than 110,000 people in 100 different countries were surveyed. What was most striking was the drop in popularity with respect to 2024 and the image in countries such as Canada, Mexico and much of Europe.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, co-author of the index and founder of the Alliance of Democracies Foundation, said he was not surprised by the sudden drop in the United States' image worldwide.

However, the surprise was that China surpassed it in positive image in much of the West. This phenomenon was particularly noticeable in Latin America, North America and Europe. Within this group, the biggest surprises came from Canada and Mexico. On the other hand, the United States surpassed China among some Asian countries, such as Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines.

"The perception of the United States has declined noticeably over the past year. Its global net perception rating dropped from +22% in 2024 to -5% in 2025, which is lower than that of China (+14%) and is similar to Russia’s (-9%). The proportion of countries where the US held a net positive image decreased from 76% to 45% over the same period," the study noted.

In addition, President Donald Trump scored lower overall popularity ratings than other leaders such as Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi and even Vladimir Putin.

"Trump is the most globally recognized political leader, with 85% of respondents saying they know who he is. Vladimir Putin follows closely at 81%, while 63% are familiar with Xi Jinping and 35% with Narendra Modi. When it comes to perception, however, Trump has an almost universal negative perception rating: in 82% of countries around the world, Trump has a net negative rating, significantly worse than both Putin (61%) and Xi (44%)," the report added.