The referendum, which is backed by the ruling religiously-oriented Justice and Development Party (AKP) and opposed by more secular opposition groups, includes provisions regarding the judiciary, as well as measures that would increase civilian control of the military.  Throughout the country’s history, the military has a played a major role in Turkish politics, and it continues to be a popular institution: 72% say it is having a very or somewhat good influence on the way things are going in Turkey.  However, this is down from 85% in 2007.  And the number of Turks who believe the military is having a very good impact has declined from 57% to 30% over this period.  Confidence in the military has dropped most steeply among the nation’s Kurdish population – just 37% of Kurds give the military a positive rating, compared with 64% in the 2007 poll.

Among the institutions and leaders tested on the poll, which was conducted April 12-30, the police receive the second highest ratings, with 68% of Turks saying the police are having a good influence on the way things are going.  The police receive especially favorable ratings from AKP supporters (84% good).  Relatively few Kurds (39% good) offer a positive assessment.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ratings have slipped over the last three years.  Currently, 52% say he is having a good impact and 43% say he is having a bad impact, while in 2007 63% described his impact as good and 33% as bad.  Unsurprisingly, Erdogan gets his highest marks from supporters of his own AKP, 90% of whom think he is having a positive effect.  The prime minister receives especially strong ratings in the Central Anatolia region of the country (71% good), which is a stronghold of the AKP.

Views about Erdogan are also correlated with religiosity.  Two-thirds (67%) of Muslim Turks who pray five times a day assign the prime minister a positive rating.  Among those who pray at least once a week but less than five times daily, views are essentially split (51% good, 47% bad).  And among those who hardly ever pray or only do so during religious holidays, just 36% say Erdogan is having good impact.

Although Erdogan’s ratings have declined since 2007, he still gets considerably better marks than former Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit received in 2002 – at the time only, 7% of Turks felt he was having a good influence on the country.

Views about the national government are very similar to views about Prime Minister Erdogan.  Roughly half (51%) think the national government is having a positive impact, down from 61% three years ago.  And the national government gets its best reviews among AKP supporters, residents of Central Anatolia, and Muslims who pray frequently.

Ratings for religious leaders have declined substantially since 2007 – 41% believe they are having a positive influence, a decline of 20 percentage points from three years ago.    Muslims who pray five times daily (56% good) give religious leaders higher ratings than do those who pray at least once a week but less than five times a day (37%) and those who rarely pray (24%).  AKP supporters (63% good) and residents of Central Anatolia (61%) also believe religious leaders are having a positive effect in Turkey.

The media receive the lowest ratings among the institutions tested: only 30% of Turks think the media is having a positive effect on society.

Negative Ratings for Major Powers

In recent years, the image of the United States has been largely negative in Turkey.  In fact, Turkey was the country in which the U.S. received its lowest favorability rating in every Pew Global Attitudes survey conducted between 2006 and 2009.  This year, just 17% of Turks have a positive opinion of the U.S., tying Turkey with Pakistan and Egypt for the lowest U.S. favorability rating among the 22 nations surveyed. ¹ Still, the number of Turks who hold a positive view of the U.S. is larger today than it was at its nadir in 2007, when only 9% rated the U.S. favorably.

The U.S. is not alone in receiving negative reviews in Turkey.  Ratings for other countries and organizations are also low, and in many cases are lower today than they were a few years ago.

For instance, as negotiations regarding Turkey’s bid for membership in the European Union have stalled, attitudes toward the EU have deteriorated.  In 2004, 58% of Turks held a favorable opinion of the EU, however, by 2009 this number had plummeted to 22%.  Views of the EU have improved slightly over the last year – currently, 28% rate the organization favorably.  Support for joining the EU has also declined: in 2005, 68% of Turks wanted their country to become an EU member; today, a slim 54% majority holds this view.

The Kurdish minority is much more pro-European than the rest of the population.  About half (49%) express a favorable opinion of the EU and eight-in-ten favor EU membership for Turkey.

Ratings for Iran and China have also tumbled in recent years.  In 2006, when the Pew Global Attitudes Project first asked about Iran, 53% of Turks expressed a positive opinion; today, just with 26% hold this view.  In 2005, 40% expressed a favorable opinion of China, compared with 20% now.  However, as is the case with the EU, ratings for both Iran and China did improve marginally between 2009 and 2010.

Attitudes toward Russia have remained consistently low over the last three years – 17% of Turks said they had a positive view of Russia in 2007 and 16% express this view in the 2010 survey.

While Turks express largely negative opinions about other countries, they also tend to believe the feeling is mutual.  When asked how they think people in other nations around the world feel about Turkey, 68% of Turks say they think their country is generally disliked, the highest percentage among the 22 countries surveyed.  The only other nation in which a majority believes their country is unpopular abroad is the U.S. – 60% of Americans think the U.S. is generally disliked by others around the globe.

Survey Methods

Results for the survey are based on face-to-face interviews conducted April 12 to 30, 2010.  The survey in Turkey is part of the larger 2010 Pew Global Attitudes survey conducted in 22 nations from April 7 to May 8, 2010, under the direction of Princeton Survey Research Associates International.  (For more results from the 22-nation 2010 poll, see “Obama More Popular Abroad Than At Home, Global Image Of U.S. Continues To Benefit” released June 17, 2010.)

The table provides details about the survey’s methodology, including the margin of sampling error based on all interviews conducted in Turkey.  For the results based on the full sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the error attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus the margin of error.  In addition to sampling error, one should bear in mind that question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of opinion polls.

Nearly two decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, publics of former Iron Curtain countries generally look back approvingly at the collapse of communism. Majorities of people in most former Soviet republics and Eastern European countries endorse the emergence of multiparty systems and a free market economy.

However, the initial widespread enthusiasm about these changes has dimmed in most of the countries surveyed; in some, support for democracy and capitalism has diminished markedly. In many nations, majorities or pluralities say that most people were better off under communism, and there is a widespread view that the business class and political leadership have benefited from the changes more than ordinary people. Nonetheless, self reported life satisfaction has risen significantly in these societies compared with nearly two decades ago when the Times Mirror Center¹ first studied public opinion in the former Eastern bloc.

The acceptance of — and appetite for — democracy is much less evident today among the publics of the former Soviet republics of Russia and Ukraine, who lived the longest under communism. In contrast, Eastern Europeans, especially the Czechs and those in the former East Germany, are more accepting of the economic and societal upheavals of the past two decades. East Germans, in particular, overwhelmingly approve of the reunification of Germany, as do those living in what was West Germany. However, fewer east Germans now have very positive views of reunification than in mid-1991, when the benchmark surveys were conducted by the Times Mirror Center for the People & the Press. And now, as then, many of those living in east Germany believe that unification happened too quickly.

One of the most positive trends in Europe since the fall of the Wall is a decline in ethnic hostilities among the people of former communist countries. In a number of nations, fewer citizens say they hold unfavorable views of ethnic minorities than did so in 1991. Nonetheless, sizable percentages of people in former communist countries continue to have unfavorable views of minority groups and neighboring nationalities. The new poll also finds Western Europeans in a number of cases are at least as hostile toward minorities as are Eastern Europeans. In particular, many in the West, especially in Italy and Spain, hold unfavorable views of Muslims.

Concern about Russia is another sentiment shared by both Eastern and Western Europeans. A majority of the French (57%) and 46% of Germans say Russia is having a bad influence on their countries; this view is shared by most Poles (59%) and sizable minorities in most other Eastern European countries. The exceptions are Bulgaria and Ukraine, where on balance Russia’s influence is seen as more positive than negative.

As for the Russians themselves, there has been an upsurge in nationalist sentiment since the early 1990s. A majority of Russians (54%) agree with the statement Russia should be for Russians; just 26% agreed with that statement in 1991. Moreover, even as they embrace free market capitalism, fully 58% of Russians agree that it is a great misfortune that the Soviet Union no longer exist. And nearly half (47%) say it is natural for Russia to have an empire.”

These are among the major findings of a new, 14-nation survey by the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project that was conducted Aug. 27 through Sept. 24 among 14,760 adults. The survey, which includes nations in Eastern and Western Europe, as well as the United States, reexamines many of the key issues first explored in the 1991 survey conducted by the Times Mirror Center, the predecessor of the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.

Varied Reactions to Democracy and Free Markets

While the current polling finds a broad endorsement for the demise of communism, reactions vary widely among and within countries. In east Germany and the Czech Republic, there is considerable support for the shift to both a multiparty system and a free market economy. The Poles and Slovaks rank next in terms of acceptance. In contrast, somewhat fewer Hungarians, Bulgarians, Russians and Lithuanians say they favor the changes to the political and economic systems they have experienced, although majorities or pluralities endorse the changes. Ukraine is the only country included in the survey where more disapprove than approve of the changes to a multiparty system and market economy.

In Hungary, there is clear frustration with the current state of democracy, despite the public’s acceptance of the shift to a multiparty system. More than three-quarters of Hungarians (77%) are dissatisfied with the way democracy is working in their country. This may be due in part to an overwhelmingly dismal national mood: About nine-in-ten think the country is on the wrong track (91%) and that the economy is in bad shape (94%). Disenchantment with political elites is especially strong in Hungary, where only 38% believe voting gives them a say in politics. And even more than other publics included in the survey, Hungarians are frustrated by the gap between what they want from democracy — such as a free press, free speech and competitive elections — and what they believe they currently have.

Across virtually all of these former communist countries, with the notable exception of the former East Germany, the patterns of acceptance of political and economic changes mirror what was evident from the very start of the political and economic upheavals of two decades ago. Younger, better educated and urban people tend to be more accepting of changes and register greater gains in life satisfaction than do older people, the less well educated and those living in rural areas.

In Russia, for example, majorities of those younger than 50 years of age approve of the changes to a multiparty system and a free market system. But older people are far less approving; among those ages 65 and older, just 27% express positive views of each of these changes. Similar disparities in acceptance are evident by education in Russia and among most of the other former communist publics surveyed.

That is not the case, however, in the former East Germany, where both older and younger people — as well as the better educated and less educated — overwhelmingly endorse the political and economic changes they have experienced. And while about as many east Germans say their former country was overwhelmed and taken by West Germany as said this in 1991, an increasing proportion of east Germans say that reunification has improved their lives. Fully 63% of those questioned now say their lives are better as a result of unification; just 48% felt that way in 1991. Moreover, about eight-in-ten of those living in the former East Germany say they favor the unification of Germany. Those in the former West Germany are equally accepting of unification.

Life Gets Better Ratings

Opinions among east Germans about the impact of unification on their lives are consistent with one of the most striking trends observed in the new survey. People in former communist countries now rate their lives markedly higher than they did in 1991, when they were still coming to grips with the massive changes then taking place. This is true even in countries where overall levels of satisfaction with life — as well as positive assessments of political and economic changes — are significantly lower than in the most upbeat of the nations surveyed.

Czechs, Poles, Slovaks and east Germans report the most satisfaction with their lives and posted the greatest gains over the past two decades. Russians, Ukrainians and Lithuanians also judge their personal well-being much better than they once did, and they view their lives more positively than do Hungarians and Bulgarians. However, even those two downbeat publics show improvements in self-assessments of life compared with 1991.

While the current survey finds people in former communist countries feeling better about their lives than they did in 1991, the increases in personal progress have been uneven demographically, as has been acceptance of economic and political change. There are now wide age gaps in reports of life satisfaction. In Poland, for example, half of those younger than age 30 rate their lives highly, compared with just 29% of those ages 65 and older. These gaps were not evident in 1991, when all age groups expressed comparably negative views of their lives. The same pattern is evident among all of the former communist publics surveyed.

An urban-rural gap also is evident in life satisfaction in two principal republics of the former Soviet Union included in the poll — Russia and Ukraine — as well as in Bulgaria and Hungary. In Ukraine, for example, 30% of urban dwellers express high satisfaction with their lives, compared with just 17% of those residing in rural areas. These disparities in reports of well-being were not apparent two decades ago. Then, on average, people were less happy, but there were no significant demographic differences in their opinions.

The demographic gaps in well-being among the publics of former Iron Curtain countries were suggested by reactions to the end of communism two decades ago. It was the young, the better educated and the urban populations who were cheering. How older, less well educated and rural people would adapt was then identified as one of the principal challenges to acceptance of democracy and capitalism. This remains the case, especially in Russia and Ukraine, where people who now rate their lives well voice the strongest support for democratic values, while those less satisfied are the least disposed to the new values.

Indeed, the prevailing view in Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Hungary is that people were better off economically under communism. Only in the Czech Republic and Poland do pluralities believe that most people are now better off. Furthermore, the consensus in many of these countries is that ordinary people have benefited far less than have business owners and politicians.

Nonetheless, many people in former communist countries broadly endorse the free market economy. This is particularly the case in countries where sizable numbers of people rate their lives better than they did in surveys two decades ago. But in countries where people do not register as much progress since 1991, there is much less unanimity about the benefits of the free market.

Acceptance of Democratic Values

The survey also shows substantial differences in acceptance of democratic values among people in former communist countries. While majorities in most countries approve of the transition to a multiparty system, it remains a rocky transition in many countries. The appeal of a strong leader over a democratic form of government is evident in Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Hungary. Only in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the former East Germany do most people believe that a democratic form of government is the best way to solve the country’s problems.

The embrace of political rights and civil liberties is also varied and disparate across countries in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. On every dimension studied, more people say they value these rights and liberties than say they enjoy them.

A fair judiciary is the value most prized in the former communist countries surveyed. And in every country in the region, large numbers say that right does not prevail. Freedom of speech, a free press and even honest elections are given somewhat lower priority in most societies, especially Russia.

Frustrations with the democratic experience are clearly evident in a number of countries. In Hungary, relatively large numbers prize the ability to criticize the state and want press freedom and honest elections, but only small percentages say these conditions prevail. In Ukraine, where support for democracy is tenuous by many standards, very few say that honest elections or a fair judicial system describe their country well.

A general conclusion that can be drawn from the poll’s results suggests that Russians express the least enthusiasm for democratic values, while the most acceptance is expressed by those in the former East Germany, closely followed by the Poles and Czechs.

Corruption, Crime Concerns Widespread

There is a good deal of agreement across former Eastern bloc publics concerning the major problems facing their countries. As might be expected, large majorities express negative views of their economies, but this also is the case for Western Europeans and Americans. In fact, of the 14 publics included in the survey, the Poles render the most positive economic report: 38% describe their country’s economy as very or somewhat good.

Beyond the economy, crime, corruption and drugs are widely seen as major problems in each of the former communist countries surveyed. The environment, the poor quality of schools, and the spread of AIDS and other infectious disease are also common concerns in all countries.

Concerns about people leaving the country are especially high in the former East Germany, Bulgaria and Lithuania. Throughout Eastern Europe, people generally express more concern about emigration than immigration. However, relatively few Russians cite emigration as a major problem. The Russians express greater concern about terrorism than any other Eastern European public.

Views of Minorities and Ethnic Conflicts

Conflict among ethnic groups is viewed as a problem in several former communist countries, especially Russia, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. These tensions are reflected in the relatively large percentages that hold unfavorable opinions of minority groups within their countries. However, in almost all nations, less hostility is expressed toward most minority groups and other nationalities than in 1991.

The Roma, or Gypsies, continue to stand out as the most widely disliked ethnic group. More than eight-in-ten Czechs (84%) hold an unfavorable view of them, as do 78% of Slovaks and 69% of Hungarians. Many of the expressed antagonisms reflect historic enmity with neighboring peoples, or long-standing dislike of religious or ethnic minorities. In Hungary, 33% have an unfavorable opinion of Romanians, and 29% say they dislike Jews. Many Poles have a negative opinion of Russians (41%), Ukrainians (35%) and Jews (29%). A sizable number of Lithuanians hold unfavorable views of Poles (21%), but many more dislike Jews (37%). More than one-in-four Slovaks (27%) express a negative opinion of Jews.

Czechs are well liked in Slovakia and vice versa. However, Czechs and Slovaks have differing views of the breakup of Czechoslovakia — on balance, Slovaks think the split was a good thing by a margin of 49% to 39%; Czechs, by a margin of 53% to 40%, mostly think it was a bad idea.

Ukrainians have an overwhelmingly positive view of Russians living in their country (84%), but many fewer like Georgians (54%). A significant number of Russians (32%) have an unfavorable view of Ukrainians residing in Russia, but even more give Georgians a negative rating (53%).

Dislike of minority groups is not limited to Eastern Europeans. Roughly a quarter of the French have an unfavorable opinion of North Africans, which is comparable to negative opinions of Muslims in Britain (27%) and Turks in Germany (30%). In the West, Italians hold the most negative views toward minority groups — 69% say they dislike Muslims and 84% have negative views of the Roma. Negative views toward these two groups run high in Spain as well — 46% have an unfavorable opinion of Muslims and 45% say this about Roma.

Concerns About Russia

Views of Russia differ widely across the surveyed countries. Many of Russia’s neighbors in Eastern Europe see its influence as a bad thing, perhaps reflecting concern over resurgent nationalism in Russia.

Nearly six-in-ten Poles (59%) see Russia’s influence as negative, the highest percentage of any country in the region. In the Czech Republic, Hungary and Lithuania, pluralities see the Russian influence on their countries as a bad thing. In contrast, more Bulgarians and Ukrainians see Russia’s impact as positive than negative. In Western Europe, the balance of opinion is that Russian influence is negative, although many in Spain and Britain have no opinion on the subject.

Wider Values Divides

The long-existing transatlantic divide in attitudes toward the role of the state in society has grown over the past two decades. In nine of the 13 European countries surveyed, fewer people today than in 1991 think that people should be free to pursue their life’s goals without interference from the state. Only in Britain and Italy have the proportions expressing this view increased. However, Italians and the British are still more supportive of an active role for the state in society than are Americans. The least support for a laissez-faire government is in Lithuania (17%) and in Bulgaria (23%).

Similarly, while Europeans are generally less fatalistic than they were in 1991, Americans remain far more individualistic than Europeans. Fewer than a third (29%) of Americans surveyed believe success in life is pretty much determined by forces outside their control. Majorities in 10 of the 13 European countries surveyed think they have little control over their fate. Publics in nine of the 13 European nations surveyed are more individualistic today than they were in 1991.

Views of the EU and NATO

European opinion of the European Union is generally good, but, in the wake of the recent economic crisis, there is some evidence of disgruntlement. While two-thirds of the Spanish (67%) and more than six-in-ten Germans (63%) and Poles (63%) think their country’s EU membership is a good thing, only a slim majority (54%) of the French and a plurality of the Italians (47%) agree.

Frustration with the EU is greatest in Hungary, where only one-in-five people (20%) think their country’s membership has been a good thing and about seven-in-ten (71%) say their economy has been weakened by European economic integration. A strong majority of Bulgarians (63%), as well as 55% in France, 54% in Britain, and a plurality in Italy (41%) agree that their country has been weakened economically by integration.

British wariness of the Brussels-based European Union persists and could be worsening. The British are evenly split on whether membership in the European club is a good thing. And the proportion of the British population that thinks the EU has had a good influence on the way things are going in their country is lower in 2009 than in 2002. That is also the case in France and Italy.

Since the 1991 Times Mirror Center survey, the European Union has grown from 12 nations to 27. Support for further enlargement among the publics in the 11 EU member states surveyed is mixed. Large majorities favor Iceland’s EU membership within the next decade. And backing of Croatia’s application is almost as strong. Smaller majorities or pluralities in most countries also support membership ambitions by Ukraine, Serbia and Georgia.

The weakest backing and the strongest opposition is for Turkey’s long-standing effort to join the union. Notably, in Germany, the EU’s richest member and long the paymaster of EU enlargement, majorities oppose EU membership not only for Turkey but also for Georgia, Serbia and Ukraine.

NATO, the transatlantic security organization that celebrated its 60th anniversary this year, draws favorable reviews in the 12 NATO member countries surveyed.

Notably, slightly more than half of Americans (53%) express a favorable opinion of NATO — the lowest percentage among NATO countries surveyed.

Finally, while NATO is committed to eventual membership for Ukraine, majorities in only three of the 12 NATO members surveyed support such inclusion in the next 10 years. About half of Ukrainians (51%) themselves actually oppose joining. Also, majorities in both Ukraine (51%) and Russia (58%) express unfavorable opinions of NATO.

Ethnocentric attitudes are on the rise in Europe. Growing numbers of people in several major European countries say they have an unfavorable opinion of Jews, and opinions of Muslims also are more negative than they were several years ago.

A spring 2008 survey by the Pew Research Center’s Pew Global Attitudes Project finds 46% of the Spanish rating Jews unfavorably. More than a third of Russians (34%) and Poles (36%) echo this view. Somewhat fewer, but still significant numbers of the Germans (25%) and French (20%) interviewed also express negative opinions of Jews. These percentages are all higher than obtained in comparable Pew surveys taken in recent years. In a number of countries, the increase has been especially notable between 2006 and 2008.

Great Britain stands out as the only European country included in the survey where there has not been a substantial increase in anti-Semitic attitudes. Just 9% of the British rate Jews unfavorably, which is largely unchanged from recent years. And relatively small percentages in both Australia (11%) and the United States (7%) continue to view Jews unfavorably.

Opinions about Muslims in almost all of these countries are considerably more negative than are views of Jews. Fully half of Spanish (52%) and German respondents (50%) rate Muslims unfavorably. Opinions about Muslims are somewhat less negative in Poland (46%) and considerably less negative in France (38%). About one-in-four in Britain and the United States (23% each) also voice unfavorable views of Muslims. Overall, there is a clear relationship between anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim attitudes: publics that view Jews unfavorably also tend to see Muslims in a negative light.

The trend in negative views toward Muslims in Europe has occurred over a longer period of time than growing anti-Jewish sentiment. Most of the upswing took place between 2004 and 2006, and there has even been a slight decrease in some countries since 2006.

Negative attitudes toward Christians in Europe are less common than negative ratings of Muslims or Jews. And views about Christians have remained largely stable in recent years, although anti-Christian sentiments have been on the rise in Spain – about one-in-four Spanish (24%) now rate Christians negatively, up from 10% in 2005. Similarly, in France 17% now hold an unfavorable view of Christians, compared with 9% in 2004.

A notable parallel between anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish opinion in Western Europe is that both sentiments are most prevalent among the same groups of people. Older people and those with less education are more anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim than are younger people or those with more education. Looking at combined data from France, Germany and Spain – the three Western European countries where unfavorable opinions of Jews are most common – people ages 50 and older express more negative views of both Jews and Muslims than do those younger than 50. Similarly, Europeans who have not attended college are consistently more likely than those who have to hold unfavorable opinions of both groups.

There are some political parallels too. Anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish opinions are most prevalent among Europeans on the political right. For example, among respondents from France, Germany and Spain who place themselves on the political right, 56% express a negative view of Muslims, compared with 42% of those on the left and 45% of those in the center. Similarly, 34% of people on the political right have a negative opinion of Jews, compared with 28% of those on the left and 26% of centrists.

These are among the latest findings from the 2008 Pew Global Attitudes survey. The current report focuses on findings related to religion, and several sections are devoted specifically to issues among Muslim publics. The polling was conducted March-April 2008 in 24 countries from regions throughout the world.¹

Widespread Religiosity

In most of the countries included in the survey, religion is considered a central feature of life. However, this is often less true among younger people. In many nations, including the United States, people under age 40 are less likely than others to say religion is very important to them.

And there is also a notable gender gap in many nations regarding religion’s importance. Consistently, women are more likely than men to say religion plays a very important role in their lives. Among the countries on the survey, the largest gender gap is in the United States, where 65% of women rate religion as very important, compared with only 44% of men.

Muslim Views On Terrorism

The decline in support for terrorism observed in Pew Global Attitudes surveys over the last few years continues this year among Muslims in Nigeria, Turkey and Pakistan. Elsewhere, there has been virtually no change, or in the case of Egypt, a slight increase in support for terrorism.

Since 2002, the percentage saying that suicide bombing and other forms of violence against civilians are justified to defend Islam from its enemies has declined in most predominantly Muslim countries surveyed. For instance, in 2002 roughly three-in-four Lebanese Muslims (74%) said such attacks could often or sometimes be justified; today, 32% take this view.

Opinions about Osama bin Laden have followed a similar trend. For instance, only three years ago, about six-in-ten (61%) Jordanian Muslims voiced at least some confidence in the al Qaeda leader; today, just 19% express a positive view. In 2003, 20% of Lebanese Muslims and 15% of Turkish Muslims had positive views of bin Laden. Today, seven years after the September 11 attacks, bin Laden’s ratings have plummeted to the low single digits in both countries (Turkey 3%, Lebanon 2%). Still, substantial numbers of Muslims continue to express confidence in bin Laden in Nigeria (58%), Indonesia (37%) and Pakistan (34%).

Conflict in the Muslim World

Most Muslims in the nations surveyed by Pew continue to worry about the rise of Islamic extremism, both at home and abroad. Majorities in Indonesia, Pakistan, Tanzania, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan and Nigeria say they are concerned about extremism in their own country and in other countries around the world.

Many are also concerned about growing tensions between Sunni and Shia Muslims. There is a widespread perception that Sunni-Shia tensions are not limited to Iraq and instead are a broader problem affecting the Muslim world more generally.

Large numbers of Muslims in several countries surveyed also see a struggle taking place within their countries between Islamic fundamentalists and those who want to modernize the nation. In Turkey, in particular, a large and growing majority sees such a conflict taking place, but this view also is common in Lebanon, Tanzania, Indonesia and Pakistan.

Additional Findings

• France stands out as the most secular nation included in the survey. Only one-in-ten in that country consider religion very important in their lives and 60% say they never pray.
• While European views towards Jews have become more negative, the deepest anti-Jewish sentiments exist outside of Europe, especially in predominantly Muslim nations. The percentage of Turks, Egyptians, Jordanians, Lebanese and Pakistanis with favorable opinions of Jews is in the single digits.
• Two pillars of Islam are commonly practiced by the Muslims surveyed: prayer and fasting. Majorities in most of the eight Muslim publics included pray five times a day and fast most days of Ramadan.
• Views of Hamas tend to be negative in Lebanon, Turkey, and Egypt. Jordan is the only predominantly Muslim country surveyed in which a majority express a positive view of the militant Palestinian organization.
• Views of the militant Lebanese Shia organization Hezbollah are overwhelmingly negative in Turkey, while slim majorities in Egypt and Jordan express positive views of Hezbollah. In Lebanon itself, Hezbollah is almost unanimously popular among the country’s Shia community, but is overwhelmingly unpopular among Sunnis and Christians.
• Saudi Arabia receives positive ratings from most of the publics in the predominantly Muslim countries surveyed, although Turkey is an exception; 43% of Turks express an unfavorable view of Saudi Arabia, while just 36% hold a favorable view.

Views of U.S. intentions toward democracy in countries with large Muslim populations are more mixed. Nigerians and Tanzanians largely trust that the U.S. favors democracy in their country while Turks and Pakistanis do not. For Pakistanis, faith in U.S. intentions has fluctuated in the last several years, but is now weaker than ever.

Positive Views of Saudi Arabia

Among the eight countries in the survey in which Muslims are a substantial proportion of the population, views of Saudi Arabia are largely positive, particularly in Pakistan and Jordan. Nearly all Pakistanis (97%) and Jordanians (91%) surveyed hold positive views of Saudi Arabia. Favorable views of the home of Islam are also widespread in Egypt (84%) and Indonesia (81%). Fewer but still solid majorities of Lebanese (69%) and Nigerians (60%) express favorable views of Saudi Arabia. Just under half of Tanzanians feel the same, though many (30%) do not express an opinion.

In Turkey, however, negative views prevail. More than four-in-ten Turkish hold unfavorable views of Saudi Arabia.

Lebanese Sunni and Shia Muslims views about Saudi Arabia are polarized. Sunni Muslims in Lebanon almost universally rate Saudi Arabia positively (98%) while their Shia brethren uniformly rate the Kingdom negatively (98%).

Views of Saudi Arabia are generally similar among men and women and across age groups, but differ somewhat according to education. Nigeria’s least educated – those with only a primary school education – are more likely than the most educated – those with a college education or more – to hold positive views of Saudi Arabia (78% vs. 60%). Similarly, in Turkey the college educated are the most likely to hold unfavorable views of Saudi Arabia (72%). By contrast, in Lebanon the college educated largely hold positive views (82%).

Views of Saudi Arabia have changed somewhat in both Lebanon and Pakistan, and remained steady elsewhere. Overall, fewer Lebanese hold positive views in 2008 (69%) than in 2007 (82%). This drop in positive views is likely because of a dramatic change in Shia Muslim views of Saudi Arabia. While the Sunnis are as likely to hold positive views now (98%) as they did one year ago (94%), Shias are not. In 2007, nearly two-thirds (64%) of Shia Muslims in Lebanon held favorable views of the Saudi Kingdom while in 2008, none do. In Pakistan, positive views of Saudi Arabia are even more pervasive now (97%) than just one year ago (87%).

Among the nations with sizeable Muslim publics, Saudi Arabia receives more positive ratings than any other major country asked about in the survey – China, Pakistan, Iran, India and the U.S. Across these countries, the median percentage giving Saudi Arabia a positive rating is 75%. China receives the second best ratings with a median of 59% while Pakistan is not too far behind (49% median). By contrast, the U.S. ranks dead last in positive marks. The median percentage with a favorable view of the U.S. is 30%.

Attitudes toward largely Shia Iran are far less positive than toward predominantly Sunni Saudi Arabia. Majorities in only two of these eight Muslim nations – Pakistan and Indonesia – hold favorable views of Iran. About two-thirds in neighboring Pakistan (67%) express positive views of Iran, and just over half of Indonesians (53%) express the same view.

Few in Turkey hold favorable views of any of the major countries asked about in the survey, though more hold positive views of Saudi Arabia (36%) and Pakistan (36%) than any other country. Only 12% in Turkey give the U.S. a favorable rating.

Does the U.S. Favor or Oppose Democracy in Muslim Publics?

Views of whether the U.S. government favors or opposes democracy in their country are mixed in these eight countries with sizeable Muslim populations.

Nigerians (68%) and Tanzanians (66%) are largely convinced that the U.S. favors democracy in their respective countries. Just under half feel the same among Jordanians (49%) and Lebanese (48%).

Indonesians are, on balance, more convinced the U.S. favors (42%) than opposes (34%) democracy in their country, though many say they do not know (24%). Egyptians are split on American intentions – 39% think the U.S. opposes democracy and 41% believe it favors democracy.

Few in Pakistan or Turkey believe the U.S. supports democracy in their respective countries. In Turkey, only 14% say that the U.S. favors democracy in their country. In Pakistan, only two-in-ten hold this view.

Men are more likely than women in Egypt and Jordan to trust U.S. intentions. Nigerians (75%) and Jordanians (51%) age 18-29 are also most likely to say that the U.S. favors democracy in their country. By contrast, Turks age 18-29 (65%) and 30-49 (65%) are most likely to believe that the U.S. opposes democracy in their country.

A majority of Sunni Muslims (52%) in Lebanon trust that the U.S. favors democracy in their country while most Shia do not (81%).

Views of U.S. interests in democracy in Indonesia and Pakistan have fluctuated somewhat in recent years. In 2005, nearly two-thirds (65%) of Indonesians felt that the U.S. favored democracy in their country while just 42% feel that way in 2008. Similarly, fewer Pakistanis are convinced of a U.S. interest now (20%) than in 2005 (39%).

Chinese views toward some of their country’s key international competitors are largely negative. In particular, positive ratings for Japan are scarce, and the U.S. and India also receive largely negative reviews. Relatively few Chinese name the U.S., India, or Japan as a partner of their country, and many consider them enemies.

How the World Sees China and China Sees Itself

Overwhelmingly, the Chinese believe their country enjoys international popularity. Fully 77% of those surveyed say people in other countries generally like China – a significant increase from the 68% who expressed this view in Pew’s 2005 poll.

In fact, the current survey reveals mixed – and increasingly negative – international views of China. Majorities in only seven of 23 countries have a positive opinion of China, and in the 21 countries where trends from last year are available, China’s favorability rating has declined in nine, increased in only two, and remained basically the same in 10.

A similar gap is seen between China’s self-perception and the views of other publics regarding China’s approach to international affairs. Slightly more than eight-in-ten (83%) Chinese think their country takes into account the interests of other nations when making foreign policy decisions, but in the other countries surveyed, relatively few believe China considers their interests. Across the 23 other nations in the poll, the median percentage saying China considers the interests of countries like theirs in its foreign policy decision making is only 30%.

A somewhat smaller gap exists on the question of whether China will replace, or already has replaced, the United States as the world’s dominant superpower. Nearly six-in-ten Chinese (58%) think this has either already occurred or will in the future, compared with a median of 43% across the other 23 countries surveyed.

Chinese views mirror public opinion elsewhere on the question of which country is currently the world’s leading economic power. In China, as well as in nearly every other nation polled, the U.S. is considered the dominant economic power. Still, in many countries a sizeable minority name China. The percentage of Chinese who see their own country in the top spot is 21%, just slightly more than the 23-country median of 18%.

China’s Economic Influence

Most Chinese believe their country’s rapidly expanding economy is having an impact around the globe, and they largely see this as a positive development, not only for China itself, but the rest of the world. A clear majority (55%) thinks China’s economy is having a positive effect on the economies of other countries, while just 3% think it is hurting other countries. This view is especially common among the well-educated – 64% of those with a college education think China’s growing economy is a benefit to the rest of the world.

The way the Chinese people feel about the impact of their country’s economy contrasts sharply with the way Americans currently feel about theirs. About six-in-ten Americans (61%) think the U.S. economy is currently having a negative effect on the rest of the world, while just 20% say the impact is positive.

Views of Japan, India, U.S.

The longstanding historical animosity between China and Japan is clearly reflected in this survey. Only 21% of Chinese have a favorable view of Japan, while 69% have an unfavorable opinion. Nearly four-in-ten (38%) Chinese consider Japan an enemy, while just 11% think it is a partner, and 37% say it is neither. Men (42%) are somewhat more likely than women (35%) to identify Japan as an enemy. The extent to which these views are tied to the past is illuminated by the fact that 76% of Chinese do not think Japan has apologized sufficiently for its military actions during the 1930s and 1940s.

Of course, China has had tensions with neighboring India in the past as well, including a brief border war in 1962. Chinese attitudes toward India are more positive than attitudes toward Japan – still, only 29% hold a favorable opinion of India, while 50% have a negative view. The Chinese public is split, however, over whether India is a partner (25%) or an enemy (24%).

Favorable views of the United States are more common than positive views of Japan or India – 41% give the U.S. a favorable rating. However, only 13% see the U.S. as partner, while roughly a third (34%) consider the U.S. an enemy.

Where Are Lands of Opportunity?

There is no consensus among Chinese about where outside of China one can go to lead a good life. When respondents were asked to recommend a country where a young person could move to lead a good life, the most frequently cited countries are Australia (22%), Canada (17%), and the United States (15%).

Several European countries make the list, including Britain (8%), France (8%) and Germany (3%). However, few recommend any of China’s Asian neighbors, such as Japan (3%), South Korea (1%) or Singapore (1%).

Attitudes toward the U.S. are tied to perceptions of the ideal destination for a young person. Respondents who have a favorable opinion of the U.S. are twice as likely to recommend the U.S. as are those with an unfavorable opinion (23% vs. 10%).

Fewer View Learning English as Necessary for Success

English has often been viewed as the language for business and trade, but the Chinese have begun to place less value on learning English in order to succeed in the world. While a majority of Chinese agree that “children need to learn English to succeed in the world today,” this percentage has dropped from 92% in 2002 to 77% in 2008. Moreover, they are now much less likely to completely agree – today, only one-third (33%) completely agree that children need to learn English, compared with two-thirds (66%) who did so in 2002.

Wealthy Chinese are slightly more likely than low-income individuals (37% vs. 30%) to completely agree that children need to learn English, but among most demographic groups opinion on this issue is largely uniform. Indeed, men and women of all age groups are equally likely to agree on the need to learn English to succeed in today’s world. Moreover, education is not a factor in whether or not respondents agree on this issue, as opinion is equally strong across all educational levels.

As they eagerly await the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese people express extraordinary levels of satisfaction with the way things are going in their country and with their nation’s economy. With more than eight-in-ten having a positive view of both, China ranks number one among 24 countries on both measures in the 2008 survey by the Pew Research Center’s Pew Global Attitudes Project. These findings represent a dramatic improvement in national contentment from earlier in the decade when the Chinese people were not nearly as positive about the course of their nation and its economy.

The new Pew Global Attitudes survey also finds that most Chinese citizens polled rate many aspects of their own lives favorably, including their family life, their incomes and their jobs. However, levels of personal satisfaction are generally lower than the national measures, and by global standards Chinese contentment with family, income and jobs is not especially high. Further, Chinese satisfaction with these aspects of life has improved only modestly over the past six years, despite the dramatic increase in positive ratings of national conditions and the economy.

In that regard, Pew’s 2007 survey showed that the relatively low Chinese personal contentment was in line with the still modest level of per-capita income there – looking across the 47 countries included in that poll, life satisfaction ratings in China fell about where one would predict based on the country’s wealth.¹ The current poll takes a deeper look into how the Chinese people evaluate their lives and specific conditions in their country, providing further insight into the contrast between the average Chinese’s satisfaction with the state of the country and its economy and relative dissatisfaction with elements of personal life.

The new data suggest the Chinese people may be struggling with the consequences of economic growth. Notably, concerns about inflation and environmental degradation are widespread. And while most Chinese embrace the free market, there is considerable concern about rising economic inequality in China today.

These are the latest findings from the 2008 Pew survey of China. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 3,212 adults in China between March 28 and April 19, 2008, a period which followed the March 10 onset of civil unrest on Tibet and preceded the May 12 earthquake in China’s Sichuan Province. The sample, which is disproportionately representative of China’s urban areas, includes eight major cities, as well as medium-sized towns and rural areas in eight Chinese provinces. The area covered by the sample represents approximately 42% of the country’s adult population.²

Almost universally, the Chinese respondents surveyed complain about rising prices – 96% describe rising prices as a big problem for the country, and 72% say they are a very big problem. And nearly half (48%) of those polled say health care is difficult for their family to afford.

But the Chinese are almost as concerned about equity in China as they are about inflation. About nine-in-ten (89%) identify the gap between rich and poor as a major problem and 41% cite it as a very big problem. Worries about inequality are common among rich and poor, old and young, and men and women, as well as the college-educated and those with less education. In that regard, despite economic growth, concerns about unemployment and conditions for workers are extensive, with 68% and 56% reporting these as big problems, respectively.

Complaints about corruption are also widely prevalent, with 78% citing corruption among officials and 61% citing corruption among business leaders. Six-in-ten also rate crime as a big problem. Concerns about both corruption and crime are widespread among all segments of China’s population.

While corruption is seen as a problem, most Chinese (65%) believe the government is doing a good job on issues that are most important to them. However, poorer Chinese and residents of the western and central provinces covered in the survey give the government somewhat lower grades than do citizens in eastern China.

Environmental issues also emerge as a top problem and a top priority. Roughly three-in-four (74%) cite air pollution as a big problem and 66% so named water pollution. In response, as many as 80% of Chinese think protecting the environment should be made a priority, even if this results in slower growth and a potential loss of jobs.

Free Markets and Modernity Embraced

Broad public recognition of China’s growing pains notwithstanding, the polling found broad acceptance of China’s transformation from a socialist to a capitalist society. Seven-in-ten say people are better off in a free market economy, even though this means some may be rich while others are poor. This sentiment is true across demographic groups, and even those in the low-income category believe in the benefits of the free market system.

The social changes in Chinese society that have accompanied the transformation and growth of the economy get a somewhat mixed review. On the one hand, about seven-in-ten (71%) say they like the pace of modern life. But on the other, many worry about vanishing traditions – 59% believe their traditional way of life is getting lost, while just 37% say these traditions remain strong.

The belief that traditional ways are being lost is less prevalent among rural residents, older people, and lower socioeconomic groups. Instead, those who tend to be on the cutting edge of China’s rapidly modernizing society – the college educated (68%), 18-29 year-olds (67%), high income earners (67%), and city dwellers (65%) – are the most likely to see traditional ways disappearing.

On many of the most important issues facing China, discontent is associated with how people feel about free markets. Those among the 28%-minority who oppose the free market system are more likely than others to voice concerns about economic problems such as unemployment and conditions for workers. They are also more worried than others about education and health care. Moreover, free market opponents have more lukewarm views about the Chinese government – only 53% believe the government is doing a good job on the issues that matter most to them personally, compared with 71% of those who support the free market.

Olympic Optimism

The Chinese are as upbeat about the Olympics as they are about their national economy. Fully 96% believe China’s hosting of the games will be a success, and 56% say it will be very successful. While this survey was in the field, the Olympic torch relay was being hounded by demonstrations in Britain, France, the United States, Argentina and elsewhere, and these protests received considerable coverage in the Western media. However in China, press coverage of the relay might have been more positive, because despite the negative international publicity generated by these events, nearly all of those surveyed think the games will improve China’s global profile – a remarkably high 93% say the Olympics will help the country’s image around the world.

Most Chinese not only see the Olympics as important for their country, they also feel a personal connection to the games. Roughly eight-in-ten (79%) say the Olympics are important to them personally, and 90% feel this way in the host city, Beijing.

The Chinese public is also confident that their country’s athletes will shine – 75% say the Chinese team will win the most medals, while only 15% believe the U.S., which brought home the most medals from the 2004 Summer Olympics, will win the medal count. Despite all the excitement, however, there are some signs of Olympic fatigue – 34% say too much attention is being paid to the games, up from 25% in 2006. This view is especially common in Beijing, where nearly half (46%) believe the Olympics are receiving more attention than they should.

Uneasy Foreign Relations

The Chinese public expresses a great deal of confidence about their nation’s place on the world stage. In particular, most Chinese also recognize the growing impact their economy has on others around the world, and they believe it is a positive impact. Only 3% of Chinese think their economy is hurting other countries. This is very different from how Americans currently view the effects of their nation’s economy – 61% say the U.S. is having a negative impact on other countries.

Overwhelmingly, the Chinese think their country is popular abroad – roughly three-in-four (77%) believe people in other countries generally have favorable opinions of China. However, the polling highlights significant tensions between China and other rival powers. Views toward Japan are especially negative – 69% have an unfavorable opinion of Japan, and a significant number of Chinese (38%) consider Japan an enemy. Opinions of the United States also tend to be negative, and 34% describe the U.S. as an enemy, while just 13% say it is a partner of China. Views about India are mixed at best – 25% say India is a partner, while a similar number (24%) describe it as an enemy.

Additional Findings

• China’s “one-child policy” is overwhelmingly accepted. Roughly three-in-four (76%) approve of the policy, which restricts most couples to a single child.
• Few Chinese have heard much about product recalls in their country – only 1% have heard a lot, while 15% have heard a little about this issue.
• There is no consensus about what countries one can emigrate to in order to lead a good life, although Australia (22%), Canada (17%) and the United States (15%) are the top choices.
• Most Chinese (77%) agree that “children need to learn English to succeed in the world today,” but this is down substantially from 2002, when 92% agreed with this view.
• More than one-in-three Chinese report using the internet (38%) and owning a computer (36%), and one-in-four send email at least occasionally. The use of information technology is more common among the young, educated, wealthy and urban.
• Television continues to be the primary source for national and international news for most Chinese (96% say it is one of their top two sources). Newspapers are a distant second (56%), and as in much of the world, readership is on the decline.
• A small but growing number of Chinese are going online for news (13% name it as one of their top two sources), especially people with a college education and those under age 30.

With the exception of the Chinese, as well as the South Koreans, whose opinion of Japan is mixed (47% favorable vs. 51% unfavorable), Asian publics express positive views of Japan. Fully 77% in Australia and Indonesia have a favorable view, as do six-in-ten Indians. India is also generally liked by its neighbors – majorities in Australia (71%), Indonesia (63%), Japan (60%), and South Korea (52%) hold positive views.

Views of Pakistan and South Korea are more mixed. A solid majority in Japan (60%) and pluralities in China (49%) and South Korea (42%) express negative views of Pakistan, while the Australians are split (45% favorable vs. 41% unfavorable). Only in Indonesia does a majority have a positive view of Pakistan; nearly six-in-ten in that country hold a favorable opinion (58%). South Korea receives positive ratings by majorities in Australia (64%), China (56%), and Japan (57%), and by a plurality in Indonesia (43%). In India and Pakistan, however, more express negative opinions than express positive opinions about South Korea (41% vs. 31% in India; 28% vs. 18% in Pakistan).

How the Rest of the World Views Asia

Opinions of Asian countries are mixed in other parts of the world. Japan and India are generally viewed favorably, while views of Pakistan and South Korea are more mixed. Publics in 15 of the 17 countries surveyed in North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East rate Japan favorably. Only in Jordan is Japan viewed negatively by a majority (53%), while South Africans are evenly split (39% favorable and 39% unfavorable).

The balance of opinion about India is also favorable in much of the world, but publics in Middle Eastern countries largely dislike the Asian nation. Majorities in Egypt and Jordan (55% in each country) hold negative views, as do half of Lebanese and a 42%-plurality in Turkey. Opinion of India is most positive in Europe. Fully three-quarters in Britain express favorable views and about seven-in-ten in Russia (71%) and France (70%) express favorable views of the former British colony.

The British also hold positive views about another country that once belonged to the British Empire – a 56%-majority offers favorable ratings of Pakistan. Egypt is the only other non-Asian country where a majority (51%) shares that view. Opinions of Pakistan are divided in the rest of the Middle East – 49% favorable vs. 45% unfavorable in Jordan, 48% vs. 45% in Lebanon, and 36% vs. 38% in Turkey. Americans are also split; 37% view Pakistan favorably and 39% view it unfavorably. The French, German, and Spanish respondents are the most negative about Pakistan; 69%, 64%, and 58%, respectively, have an unfavorable view.

Japan’s Role in World War II

Overwhelming majorities in China and South Korea believe that Japan has not apologized sufficiently for its military actions during the 1930s and 1940s. This view is expressed virtually unanimously in South Korea (96%) and by about three in four (76%) in China. The Japanese are split – 42% think their country’s apology to its neighbors has been sufficient, while 41% disagree.

Japanese men and women are about equally likely to say their country has not apologized enough for its role in World War II – 40% of women and 42% of men share that view. The percentage of Japanese women who think their country’s apology is not sufficient has declined somewhat since 2006, when 47% thought that was the case. The percentage of Japanese women who think their country has either apologized sufficiently or that no apology is necessary is virtually unchanged, but fewer now offer an opinion on the matter.

While the Japanese are divided about whether their country’s apology for its military past has been adequate, a clear majority opposes changes to Article 9 of the Japanese constitution that would allow the country to establish an official military. Nearly six-in-ten (58%) oppose the changes, including a majority of men (55%) and women (60%), as well as majorities of all age groups. However, opposition to the measure is lower now than it was two years ago, when 67% of Japanese respondents were against changing Article 9.

Five years after the start of the war in Iraq, the image of the United States abroad remains far less positive than it was before the war and at the beginning of the century. However, the latest survey by the Pew Global Attitudes Project finds some encouraging signs for America’s global image for the first time this decade.

Favorable views of the United States have increased modestly since 2007 in 10 of 21 countries where comparative data are available. Perhaps more importantly, the polling finds many people around the world paying close attention to the U.S. presidential election. Moreover – except in countries that are extremely anti-American – those who are paying attention generally believe the next president may well change U.S. foreign policy for the better. In nearly every country surveyed, greater numbers express confidence in presidential candidate Barack Obama than in John McCain.

However, the survey of more than 24,000 people in 24 countries, conducted March 17 to April 21, finds another change in global opinion that could present a formidable challenge to the United States in the future. Around the world, people have a new concern: slumping economic conditions. And they have a familiar complaint – most think the U.S. is having a considerable influence on their economy, and it is largely seen as a negative one.

Majorities in 18 of the 24 countries surveyed describe current economic conditions in their country as bad. Assessments have worsened over the past year among countries surveyed in both this year and 2007. The median percentage rating their national economy as bad rose from 50% in 2007 to 61% in the current poll. The proportion of respondents expressing a positive view of their nation’s economy has declined in 14 of the 22 countries since last year.

The publics of two emerging Asian superpowers – China and India – remain upbeat about national economic conditions, though Indians are less positive than they were a year ago. In contrast, some of the most negative evaluations of economic conditions come from citizens of advanced Western countries. Positive views of the economy have declined sharply over the past year in Great Britain, the United States and Spain. France, where most people were already quite negative about the economy, registered a further decline; in the current survey, just 19% of the French view the national economy as good, down from 30% in 2007.

While American and Chinese publics are at opposite poles with the respect to opinions about their national economies, the new Global Attitudes survey finds growing symmetry in the way that the United States and China are viewed by people all around the world. Overall, favorable ratings of the two countries are fairly comparable as China’s image has slipped a bit and the U.S. image, if anything, has improved slightly. Both the United States and China are widely viewed as taking a unilateralist approach in their relations with other nations, while at the same time both are seen as having considerable influence on other countries. And as global warming is of increasing importance to the citizens of the world, both the U.S, and China are criticized for the way they deal with environmental problems.

Blaming the United States

Large majorities in countries ranging from economically advanced Great Britain and Germany to developing nations such as Egypt and Indonesia say that what happens in the American economy affects economic conditions in their own countries. With only a few exceptions, the American economy is now seen as having a negative impact on national economies, both large and small, in all parts of the world.

The view that the American economy is hurting their national economies is most prevalent among the publics of Western Europe. About seven-in-ten in Great Britain, Germany (72% each) and France (70%) say that the U.S. economy is having a negative impact on economic conditions in their country. India and Nigeria are the only nations surveyed where more than a third of respondents express a positive view of America’s economic influence.

U.S. Favorability Edges Up

Despite these economic concerns, there is little evidence that the overall image of the United States has slipped further as a consequence. In fact, positive views of the United States have risen sharply in Tanzania (by 19 points) and South Korea (12 points), and by smaller but significant margins in Indonesia, China, India and Poland. Overall, opinions of the United States are most positive in South Korea, Poland, India and in the three African countries surveyed this year – Tanzania, Nigeria and South Africa.

However, positive opinions of the United States have declined by 11 points in Japan – a traditional U.S. ally – and in neighboring Mexico (by nine points). The image of the United States also remains overwhelmingly negative in most of the predominantly Muslim countries surveyed, though no more so than in recent years.

Fewer than a quarter of respondents express positive opinions of the United States in Egypt (22%), Jordan (19%), Pakistan (19%) and Turkey (12%). Large majorities in Turkey and Pakistan say they think of the United States as “more of an enemy” rather than as “more of a friend” (70% in Turkey; 60% in Pakistan). In Lebanon, 80% of Shia Muslims consider the United States to be more of an enemy.

As in recent years, favorable views of the United States remain fairly low among the publics of a number of its traditional Western European allies. Solid majorities continue to express unfavorable opinions of the U.S. in France, Germany and Spain. Great Britain is the only country – of four Western European nations surveyed – where a majority (53%) expresses a positive view of the U.S.

Next American President

The survey also finds a widespread belief that U.S. foreign policy “will change for the better” after the inauguration of a new American president next year. Among people who have been following the election, large majorities in France (68%), Spain (67%) and Germany (64%) say that they believe that U.S. foreign policy will improve after the election. This sentiment is also common in the African countries included in the survey – Nigeria (67%), South Africa (66%) and Tanzania (65%).

Yet this belief is far from universal. In Jordan and Egypt, more people who are following the election say they expect new leadership to change U.S. foreign policy for the worse than say they expect a change for the better. Two-thirds of the Japanese (67%) who are following the election say it will not bring about much change in U.S. foreign policy. That is the plurality opinion in Russia and Turkey as well.

There is considerable interest in the presidential campaign in the surveyed countries. A large majority of Japanese say they are following the election very closely (24%) or somewhat closely (59%). As a point of comparison, a third of Americans are following the election very closely, with another 47% saying they are tracking the campaign somewhat closely.

At least half or more of respondents in such countries as Germany, Australia, Great Britain and Jordan are closely following the election. There is less interest in the election in many other countries, including France, where 40% are focusing on the campaign, Mexico (33%) and Spain (25%).

People around the world who have been paying attention to the American election express more confidence in Barack Obama than in John McCain to do the right thing regarding world affairs. McCain is rated lower than Obama in every country surveyed, except for the United States where his rating matches Obama’s, as well as in Jordan and Pakistan where few people have confidence in either candidate.

Obama’s advantage over McCain is overwhelming in the Western European countries surveyed: Fully 84% of the French who have been following the election say they have confidence in Obama to do the right thing regarding world affairs, compared with 33% who say that about McCain. The differences in ratings for Obama and McCain are about as large in Spain and Germany, and are only somewhat narrower in Great Britain.

China Under the Microscope

With global attention focused on China in anticipation of the Beijing Olympics, people around the world express considerable concern about Chinese policies and the impact that China is having on their own countries and lives. China is faulted for a unilateral approach in its dealings with other countries and for not respecting human rights at home. And it is increasingly seen as hurting the global environment at a time when concerns about global warming run very high and have increased in many countries.

The verdict is more mixed with regard to China’s growing economic power and the impact it is having on the well being of other nations. China is a consistent worry to the publics of most Western nations, as well as to the South Koreans, but the publics of other Asian nations, including the Japanese, Indonesians and Pakistanis generally see increasing Chinese economic power as a good thing. And the publics of African nations, in particular Nigeria and Tanzania, are most likely to look favorably upon China’s burgeoning economic impact and influence.

Overall the current survey, which was conducted at a time when China was coming under harsh criticism for its crackdown on political dissent in Tibet, once again finds favorable ratings of China slipping in many countries. Positive views fell significantly in nine of 21 countries in which polls were taken in 2007, as well as in the current survey. Opinions of China tumbled the most in France (47% to 28%) and in Japan (29% to 14%). Favorable ratings of China are highest in Nigeria, Pakistan, Tanzania and Russia.

Despite growing anti-Chinese sentiment, people in most countries surveyed approve of the decision to hold the Olympics in Beijing. In 14 of 23 countries, clear majorities favor the idea. Dissenters are most prevalent in Japan (55%), France (55%), Germany (47%) and the U.S. (43%).

Advocates of the Olympics decision are most often found in neighboring Asian nations India, Indonesia, Pakistan and South Korea. But many people in African and Latin American nations that have strong economic ties to China, including Nigeria (79%), Argentina (72%), Mexico (67%) and Brazil (76%), are also overwhelmingly enthusiastic about the decision.

The new survey finds that global views of China and the U.S. are parallel in many respects. First, there is parity in the worldwide images of the two nations. The survey found the publics of nine countries holding a more favorable view of the U.S. than China, which was matched by 10 countries where there is a more favorable view of China. (In three countries, publics had an equally favorable view of the U.S. and China.)

In Asia, the U.S. is much better rated than China by the Indians and the South Koreans. But, the Chinese image far outshines the U.S. image among Indonesians, Pakistanis and Russians. In Western Europe, the British, French, and Germans rate both the U.S. and the American people more positively than they do China and the Chinese people.

As with the United States, people around the world are critical of China for not taking into account the interests of other countries in the formulation of international policies. Criticisms of Chinese unilateralism are particularly prevalent in neighboring Japan and South Korea.

Also paralleling opinion of the United States, many people around the world think that China has a direct bearing on how things are going in their country. This view is especially prevalent among Asian publics, as well as those of leading Western powers: Fully 86% of Japanese respondents think that China has a significant amount of influence on the way things are going in their country, a view shared by 76% of the American public. Somewhat smaller majorities in France, Germany and Great Britain concur.

However, large majorities of the publics of two of the three African nations included in the survey are also of the view that China has an impact on their respective countries – 70% of Nigerians and 63% of South Africans believe that China has a bearing on the course of their nations. But, for the most part, African publics, unlike most people in other parts of the world, think that China’s influence is positive. For example, 85% of Nigerians who think China is having an influence on their country believe its impact is a good one, while only 22% of the British hold the same view.

Human Rights Concerns

One continuing advantage for the U.S. over China is that large majorities of people in most countries are critical of China for not respecting the personal freedoms of its people. By contrast, for the most part, the U.S. is seen as mindful of the rights of its citizens. Overwhelming numbers of people in Western countries are critical of China in this regard, rating it as negatively as Iran in terms of respect for human rights. Only in Nigeria, Pakistan, Tanzania and Indonesia do most people think well of China’s concern for personal freedoms.

Closer to the lives of people all around the world, respondents in most countries say they think that products made in China are less safe than products made in other countries. Majorities of respondents in 18 of 24 countries expressed concerns about Chinese exports.

Yet, for all the criticisms of China with respect to how it operates both at home and abroad, there is little public alarm. China is not seen as an enemy by the vast majority of people in the countries surveyed. Even in Japan where views about China are highly unfavorable, only 23% of respondents describe China as an enemy. Indeed, China is more often thought of as a partner in Africa – majorities in Nigeria (78%), Tanzania (74%) and South Africa (53%) express this view.

Additional Findings

• Support for international trade continues to decline in the United States – 53% of Americans say trade is good for their country, down from 59% last year and 78% in 2002. Support for trade is lower in the U.S. than in any other country included in the survey.
• The survey finds little optimism about the likelihood of success in Iraq. Americans are much less optimistic than they were two years ago – 40% now say efforts to establish a stable democratic Iraqi government will succeed, down from 54% in 2006. However, optimism has increased slightly in both Egypt (32% in 2006, 41% now) and Jordan (34% in 2006, 41% now).
• Majorities or pluralities in 21 of 24 countries want the U.S. and NATO to remove their troops from Afghanistan as soon as possible. However, public opinion in the U.S., Great Britain and Australia – all of which have a military presence in Afghanistan – leans toward keeping troops there until the situation has stabilized.
• In 22 of 24 countries, the U.S. is most commonly identified as the world’s leading economic power. Pluralities in Germany and Australia, however, name China.
• Western European publics are more likely than China’s Asian neighbors to believe China will ultimately replace the United States as the world’s leading superpower. Most Chinese think their country either has already supplanted the U.S. (5%) or will eventually do so (53%).
• Asian publics generally have favorable views of both Japan and India, although neither country fares so well among its traditional rivals. Only 21% of Chinese have a positive opinion of Japan and just 27% of Pakistanis hold a favorable view of India.
• As he nears the end of his second term, U.S. President George W. Bush continues to receive negative reviews from international publics. In 14 of 24 countries, two-thirds or more of respondents express little or no confidence in him to do the right thing in world affairs.
• In the U.S., just 37% voice confidence in Bush, that compares to 78% in May 2003, just months after the beginning of the Iraq war.
• Views of French President Nicholas Sarkozy are mixed, both inside and outside Europe. Among the French themselves, 51% have a lot or some confidence in their president to do the right thing in foreign policy, while 49% have little or no confidence. However, the French hold decidedly positive views of Angela Merkel – 84% have confidence in the German Chancellor. This is similar to 2006, when the French held Merkel in much higher regard than Sarkozy’s predecessor Jacques Chirac.
• Merkel also receives high marks from her fellow Germans – 76% have confidence in her. Of the three European leaders assessed on the survey – Merkel, Sarkozy and Russia’s Vladimir Putin – Merkel generally receives the highest ratings from global publics.
• The U.S. is blamed more often than any other country for harming the world’s environment, although concerns about China’s environmental record are on the rise as well – the view that China is most to blame is up significantly in 13 of 20 countries.

In fact, publics in 19 of the 47 countries surveyed cite the United States more often than any other nation as a dependable ally in the future. At the same time, the United States also is named more frequently than any other country or group as one of the greatest threats by 17 publics, including several in Latin America and predominantly Muslim countries, as well as in China and Russia.

Iran tops the list of potential threats in the United States, Canada and in much of Europe. Majorities in Israel (65%) and Kuwait (52%) and nearly half of Jordanians (46%) also name Iran among the nations or groups that pose the greatest threats to their own country, but Iran does not register as a major threat in other parts of the world. Across much of the globe, opinions about potential threats and dependable allies often reflect regional conflicts and partnerships.

U.S. Viewed as an Ally and a Threat

Among the publics surveyed, Israelis are the most likely to consider the United States among their country’s most dependable allies. Nearly nine-in-ten in Israel (87%) cite the United States, in an open-ended format, as a country that Israel “can most rely on as a dependable ally in the future.” Three-quarters of South Koreans and nearly the same proportion of Japanese (74%) also name the United States as a close ally, as do close to seven-in-ten Canadians (69%).

Views of the United States as a dependable ally also are widespread in Africa, where majorities in eight of the ten publics polled list the United States among their countries’ top three allies. Yet several African publics also cite China as a trusted ally; in fact, as many people in Ivory Coast point to China as their country’s most dependable ally as name the United States (69% each), and China is mentioned nearly as often as the United States by Ethiopians, Malians and Tanzanians.

Religious divisions are evident in Africans’ views of allies. Majorities in Nigeria and Ethiopia (58% in each country) cite the United States as a reliable ally, but these views mostly reflect the opinions of Christians in those countries. Eight-in-ten Christians in Nigeria and about the same proportion of Ethiopian Christians (77%) say their countries can rely on the United States as a dependable ally. By contrast, just 37% of Nigerian Muslims and 27% of Muslims in Ethiopia agree.

Latin Americans offer conflicting views about the United States. For example, the United States is cited more frequently than any other country as a dependable ally by Mexicans (41%) and Brazilians (32%). But more Mexicans and Brazilians also volunteer the United States most often as a country or group that poses “the greatest threat” to their nations in the future (44% in Mexico; 45% in Brazil).

Venezuelans and Argentines are the most likely in the region to see the United States as a threat. More than half in those countries (54% in Venezuela and 52% in Argentina) share this opinion. Iran is named second most frequently as a threat in Venezuela, with just 14%. Al Qaeda is the second most frequently mentioned threat in Argentina, with 8%.

Publics in predominantly Muslim countries in Asia also are inclined to see the United States as a threat. The United States is cited most often as a major threat in Bangladesh (72%), Pakistan (64%), Indonesia (63%) and Malaysia (46%). In the Middle East, respondents in Turkey, a NATO ally, also are fearful of the United States. Nearly two-thirds in that country (64%) say the United States poses a great threat to their country. And while Israel tops the list of potential threats in four of the seven Muslim countries polled in the Middle East, about half (48%) in the Palestinian territories name the United States as a potential threat.

Nearly half of Russians (49%) say the United States poses a serious threat to their country. More people in Ukraine (31%) and Spain (29%) also name the United States more often as a threat than other countries or groups. In the rest of Europe, however, the United States is generally not viewed as a top threat.

Who Sees Iran as a Top Threat?

Despite widespread concern throughout the world over Iran’s possible acquisition of nuclear weapons, publics in just nine of the 47 countries surveyed most often name Iran as the greatest threat to their own countries. Majorities in Israel (65%) and Kuwait (52%) see Iran as a major threat, as do pluralities in the United States, Canada and several European countries. Iran also is seen as a threat by a large share of Jordanians (46%), but it is a distant second to Israel, which is named by 81% of Jordanians. (For a more detailed analysis of opinions about Iran, see Global Unease with Major World Powers , released June 27).

More than four-in-ten Americans (44%) say Iran presents a major threat to their country, far more than name any other country or group. By contrast, North Korea, which was labeled as part of an “axis of evil” by President George W. Bush in 2002 along with Iran and Iraq, is seen as a threat by fewer than a quarter in the United States (23%). Iraq is mentioned by about three-in-ten Americans (31%).

In Western Europe, Iran is named most frequently as a serious threat in France (45%), Germany (38%), and Britain (37%). Iran also receives more mentions than any other country in the Czech Republic, where a third of the public views Iran as a potential threat to their country. In Slovakia, slightly more name Iran than Iraq as major threats (27% name Iran as a threat; 25% name Iraq).

Few people in Latin America, Asia, and Africa volunteer Iran as a country that might pose a threat to their own countries. In Latin America and Asia in particular, Iran is considered far less threatening that the United States. Mexicans are more likely than other Latin Americans to name Iran as a potential threat, but only a quarter in that country does so.

Allies and Threats in the Americas

The relationship between the United States and Canada is viewed very differently on either side of the border. Nearly seven-in-ten Canadians (69%) cite the United States as a country that Canada can most rely on as a dependable ally in the future. By contrast, just 28% of Americans say the same about Canada. One-in-five Canadians also think about their neighbors to the south when asked about potential threats, but virtually no one in the United States names Canada as a threat.

For the most part, however, Americans and Canadians share similar concerns regarding threats to their countries. Iran tops the list in both countries, with Iraq and China close behind. About three-in-ten (31%) Americans and nearly a quarter of Canadians (23%) name Iraq as a threat to their country. A quarter in the United States and about one-in-five in Canada (22%) say China is a threat.

Nearly six years after the Sept. 11 attacks, relatively few Americans cite al Qaeda as the biggest threat to the United States, though the question asks about countries or groups that represent the greatest threats. Just 5% of Americans name al Qaeda among the greatest threats to their country.

Majorities in the United States and Canada see Great Britain as a dependable ally. More than six-in-ten Americans (62%) say their country can depend on Great Britain, more than name any other country. About half of Canadians (51%) agree.

In the Latin American countries surveyed, regional countries – particularly Brazil – often appear on the list of most dependable allies. A third of Argentines and about as many Bolivians (32%) say Brazil is a reliable ally, more than name any other country. Nearly half of Venezuelans (47%) share this opinion, as do 30% of Peruvians.

In Bolivia (27%) and Argentina (25%), roughly a quarter consider Venezuela a dependable ally. And Argentina is named by about one-in-five in Bolivia (19%) and Venezuela (18%). Mexicans, however, are not inclined to cite other Latin American countries as close allies.

While the United States is mentioned as an ally by a number of Latin American publics, its importance in Mexico is particularly notable. About four-in-ten (41%) in Mexico say their country can rely on their neighbor to the north. The next most frequently mentioned allies are Canada and the European Union, at just 15% each. But the ambivalent views that many Mexicans have regarding the United States are reflected in the relatively large percentage viewing the United States among the greatest threats to Mexico (44%). In fact, 6% of Mexicans simultaneously list the United States as both as Mexico’s greatest threat and most dependable ally.

In four of the seven Latin American publics surveyed (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Venezuela) more see the United States as a threat to their nation than as a reliable ally. This is particularly the case in Venezuela, where a 54% majority cites the United States as a threat while just 17% see it as an ally. But in Chile and Peru, the United States is named as an ally more often than it is named as a threat.

While the U.S. presence in the region looms large – both positively and negatively – it is not the only country perceived as a threat. In Peru, Bolivia and Chile, opinions reflect an unresolved border dispute that dates more than a century. A majority in Peru (53%) and a large proportion in Bolivia (43%) say Chile is a major threat to their countries. Chileans, for their part, see Bolivia and Peru as their country’s greatest threats (42% name Bolivia and 41% name Peru).

Allies and Threats in Europe

Europeans generally are more likely to see international rather than regional actors as serious threats. Iran is viewed as the top threat by several publics in the region, and China and Iraq also are frequently mentioned.

In addition, al Qaeda raises more concern among European publics than it does in the United States. Fully half of Bulgarians name bin Laden’s organization as a threat to their country, as do 27% in Russia and Italy, and 23% in Spain, where a 2004 terrorist attack linked by authorities to al Qaeda killed nearly 200 people. One-in-five in Poland and a similar number in Ukraine (19%) also cite the terrorist group as a threat to their countries.

In Poland, 36% cite Russia as their country’s greatest future threat, more than name other countries or groups. Nearly one-in-five Germans (18%) and Czechs (19%) also say Russia poses a threat. And while no country emerges as a clear threat in Sweden, Russia tops the list in that country at 15%.

When it comes to naming allies, a solid majority in Great Britain (57%) says their country can most rely on the United States. But in every other European country, regional partners are named more often. For example, eight-in-ten French respondents cite Germany as a dependable ally, and about half in Germany (51%) name France. In Sweden, nearly two-thirds (65%) cite another Scandinavian country or “Scandinavia” more generally as their country’s most dependable ally.

In Bulgaria, the most recent addition to the European Union, nearly seven-in-ten (68%) see that organization as a strong ally. The EU also receives more mentions than any other country or group in Poland (48%), Spain (44%), Slovakia (29%), and Italy (33%). And while 59% of Ukrainians say Russia is their country’s most dependable ally, nearly four-in-ten (37%) cite the EU, although Ukraine is not a member of that organization.

Allies and Threats in the Middle East

Overwhelming majorities in four of the seven predominantly Muslim countries surveyed in the Middle East view Israel as a major threat to their countries. More than eight-in-ten in Egypt (86%) and Jordan (81%), nearly three-quarters in Lebanon (74%) say Israel represents a serious future threat to their country. Notably, somewhat fewer Palestinians (60%) cite Israel as a major threat, though more name Israel than any other country or group. (The current survey was conducted April 6-May 29, before Hamas took over the Gaza Strip following a violent struggle with Fatah.)

Israel is not the only country causing concern to its neighbors in the Middle East, however. More than half in Kuwait (52%) name Iran among their country’s greatest future threats, as do 46% of Jordanians and 42% of Lebanese. But in Lebanon, Christians and Sunni Muslims are particularly concerned about Iran – 56% of Lebanese Christians and 59% of Sunnis in that country name Iran as Lebanon’s biggest threat, compared with just 8% of Shia Muslims.

Two-thirds of Lebanese Christians and more than half of Lebanese Sunnis (52%) also express concern about Syria becoming a threat to their country, but only a small share of Shia in Lebanon share this view (8%). The Shia organization Hezbollah is cited as a top threat by 66% of Christians and 33% of Sunnis in Lebanon, but relatively few Shia Muslims (7%) in Lebanon also view the movement as a threat.

Saudi Arabia tops the list as a dependable ally in four of the seven predominantly Muslim countries in the Middle East. A majority in Lebanon (57%) and large proportions of Egyptians (44%), Kuwaitis (48%) and Jordanians (42%) view Saudi Arabia as their country’s most dependable ally. Yet other countries in the region also are mentioned frequently. More than four-in-ten in Jordan (41%) mention Egypt as a dependable ally. Among Shia Muslims in Lebanon, more than six-in-ten (62%) see Iran as a close ally, while 51% name Syria.

In Lebanon, a former French colony, more than half (53%) also say France is an important ally. This is especially the case among Christians in that country; 78% of Lebanese Christians view France as their country’s most dependable ally, compared with 42% of Lebanese Muslims.

Respondents in Israel overwhelmingly name the United States as their country’s most dependable ally (87%), but Great Britain also is mentioned by a considerable proportion of Israelis (46%). Regarding threats to their country, nearly two-thirds of Israelis name Iran (65%); about half (47%) name Hezbollah; and slightly more than a third name Hamas (35%).

Allies and Threats in Asia

The United States is cited most frequently as the greatest national threat in the four predominantly Muslim countries surveyed in Asia, as well as in China. Two-thirds (66%) in China cite the United States among their country’s greatest threats. In addition, the United States is cited as a serious threat by 23% of Japanese.

Publics in Asia also say their countries face threats from other countries in the region. Nearly half in Pakistan (45%) and Bangladesh (47%) say India poses a threat to their countries, while three-quarters of Indians express concerns about Pakistan. In Japan, two-thirds (66%) name North Korea, with whom Japan has had strained relations for decades, and nearly half (49%) name China as their country’s greatest threat. And in South Korea, the three most frequently mentioned threats are regional neighbors: 70% name Japan; 64% name China; and 50% cite North Korea.

But Asian publics also say their countries can rely on their neighbors as allies. Nearly six-in-ten in Pakistan (58%) and about half in South Korea (48%) and Bangladesh (45%) name China as their country’s most dependable ally. More Indonesians name Japan than any other country (41%), and the second and third most mentioned allies in that country also are in Asia (36% cite Malaysia and 24% name China).

Chinese respondents see Russia as their country’s top ally (46%); in India, comparable numbers name Russia and the United States (43% and 46%, respectively). In Pakistan, Saudi Arabia receives slightly more mentions than China; 60% name Saudi Arabia as Pakistan’s most dependable ally, while 58% cite China.

Allies and Threats in Africa

African publics are particularly likely to cite a neighboring country as a major threat to their countries. In fact, in five of the ten African countries surveyed, large proportions name a bordering country as a threat.

For example, more than eight-in-ten Ethiopians (86%) name Eritrea as their country’s greatest threat; the two countries fought a war several years ago and tensions remain high. Six-in-ten in Ivory Coast are concerned about Burkina Faso, which has been accused of arming Ivory Coast’s 2002 rebellion. More than four-in-ten (42%) in Uganda cite Sudan among their country’s biggest threats. Most Kenyans (55%) see Somalia as a major threat, while 41% of South Africans name Zimbabwe.

Al Qaeda also is viewed as a major threat by publics across the region. One-third in Ghana name bin Laden’s group – more than any other country or group as a threat – to their country. A similar share in Kenya (32%) and Mali (31%) and just slightly fewer in Ethiopia (29%) and Tanzania (27%) also cite the terrorist group as their countries’ biggest threat.

Besides the United States, which is seen as the top ally in eight of the ten African countries surveyed, China also is considered an important partner in the region. Majorities in Ivory Coast (69%) and Ethiopia (53%) and considerable proportions in Mali (49%) and Kenya (41%) see the Asian superpower as a close ally.

Notably, former colonial powers in Africa also are generally viewed as important partners in the region. More than half in Ghana (56%) and four-in-ten Nigerians say Great Britain is a close ally, while half of Senegalese name France.

This year’s first Global Attitudes report showed that the overall U.S. image remains abysmal in predominantly Muslim countries. Notably, solid majorities in every largely Muslim country surveyed – as well as in the Palestinian territories – also say they are very or somewhat worried that the U.S. could be a military threat. Concerns are greatest in Bangladesh, Morocco and Indonesia, but even in Turkey – a NATO ally of the United States – 76% are worried that the U.S. could become a military threat to their country.

The survey also finds that, amid continuing sectarian violence in Iraq, there is broad concern among Muslims that tensions between Sunnis and Shia are not limited to that country and represent a growing problem for the Muslim world more generally. Fully 88% in Lebanon and 73% in Kuwait – and smaller majorities or pluralities of Muslims elsewhere in the Middle East – say that Sunni-Shia tensions represent a growing problem for the Muslim world. Only in countries far removed from the region’s strife – such as Indonesia and Senegal – do most Muslims believe that Sunni-Shia tensions are limited to Iraq.

Saudi Arabia and its leader, King Abdullah, are well regarded in most predominantly Muslim countries. Afghanistan’s pro-U.S. president, Hamid Karzai generally inspires less confidence, although he is an unfamiliar figure in many countries. In neighboring Pakistan, only about a quarter (23%) say they have a lot or some confidence in Karzai to do the right thing in world affairs, while many Pakistanis (42%) decline to offer an opinion of the Afghan leader.

Opinion about the radical Palestinian Sunni group Hamas varies widely among Muslim publics, and this also is the case with views of Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite movement. Palestinians express largely favorable opinions of both groups.

Declining Acceptance of Extremism

Support for suicide bombing and similar extreme terrorist tactics has fallen since 2002 in seven of the eight countries where trend data are available. In Lebanon, the proportion of Muslims who say suicide attacks are often or sometimes justified fell from 74% to 39% between 2002 and 2005, and stands at just 34% today. Just 9% of Pakistanis believe suicide bombings against civilian targets can be justified often or sometimes, down from 33% in 2002 and a high of 41% in 2004. And in Jordan, acceptance of suicide bombings grew from 43% to 57% between 2002 and 2005, but has dropped to just 23% today.

The pattern is equally stark among Muslims in Bangladesh and Indonesia, where support for suicide bombing as a tactic in defense of Islam is down by at least half since 2002. Changes have been more modest among Muslims in Africa. In Tanzania, the share of Muslims who say suicide attacks are often or sometimes justified dropped to 11% from 18% in 2002, and 42% of Nigerian Muslims believe suicide bombings can be justified, down only slightly from 47%. But the share saying such attacks are “never” justified has risen from 26% to 39% in Nigeria. In Turkey, opinion has been more stable. Since 2002, fewer than one-in-five Turks has approved of suicide bombing; currently just 16% believe the tactic can be justified often or sometimes.

Palestinians See Suicide Bombings as Justified

But support for suicide bombing is widespread among Palestinians: 41% say such attacks are often justified while another 29% say it can sometimes be justified (no comparative data from 2002 are available). Only 6% of all Palestinians say it is never justified, by far the smallest proportion in any Muslim public surveyed.

Acceptance of extreme terrorist tactics in the Palestinian territories is remarkably uniform across major demographic groups, including roughly equal proportions of men (44%) and women (38%), Palestinians under the age of 30 (41%) and those 50 years old or older (47%), as well as among those who are the most committed to Islam (38%) and Palestinians who are less religious (45%).

Pockets of significant Muslim support for suicide bombing also are found in countries outside the Palestinian territories. While a majority of Muslims in Mali (53%) say suicide attacks are rarely or never justified, 39% believe such tactics are often or sometimes acceptable, a view shared by substantial minorities in Nigeria (42%) and Lebanon (34%).

In both Lebanon and Nigeria, higher proportions of Shia Muslims than Sunnis view suicide bombings as justified. Shia in Lebanon are nearly three times more likely than Sunnis (54% vs. 19%) to endorse suicide bombing. In Nigeria, 60% of Shia say the tactic is often or sometimes justified; this compares with 43% of Sunnis in Nigeria.

Few consistent demographic patterns emerge in Muslim attitudes toward suicide bombing. In Turkey, those older than 50 are more likely than those younger than 30 to say such attacks are never justified (65% vs. 50%) while in Bangladesh, it is young Muslim adults who are more likely to reject the tactic (79% to 68%). Elsewhere, there are no noteworthy differences between the old and young Muslims. Similarly, men are more likely than women in Turkey to say terrorist acts against civilians are often or sometimes acceptable (20% vs. 12%) while in Nigeria, a substantially larger proportion of women (49%) than men (36%) men say suicide attacks could at least sometimes be justified.

The marked decline in the acceptance of suicide bombing is one of several findings that suggest a possible broader rejection of extremist tactics among many in the Muslim world. In many of the countries where support for suicide attacks has fallen there also have been large drops in support for Osama bin Laden. For example, the percentage of Jordanian Muslims who have confidence in bin Laden as a world leader has fallen 36 percentage points since 2003 while the proportion who say suicide bombing is sometimes or always justified has dropped 20 points. (For a more detailed analysis of opinions about bin Laden, see Global Unease with Major World Powers , released June 27).

Tensions between Sunnis, Shia

Substantial numbers of Muslims throughout the Middle East believe tensions that between Sunnis and Shia in Iraq reflect a growing problem throughout the Muslim world. Fully 88% of Muslims in Lebanon, and solid majorities in Kuwait, Jordan, the Palestinian territories and Egypt say these tensions are not limited to Iraq and are a larger problem for the Muslim world.

However, these concerns are not shared as widely in Asian countries with large Muslim populations. Only about three-in-ten Muslims in Malaysia (31%) and 23% in Indonesia see Sunni-Shia tensions as extending beyond Iraq. However, two-thirds of Pakistani Muslims (67%) say the violence in Iraq reflects broader problems between the two largest branches of Islam.

In Africa, more than half of Senegalese Muslims (52%) say the sectarian tension is limited to Iraq. Pluralities in Ethiopia and Mali share this view. But Muslims in Nigeria and Tanzania tend to believe that tensions between Sunnis and Shia represent a broader problem.

In Muslim countries with sizable Sunni and Shia populations, there are only slight differences between these groups in views of the implications of sectarian conflicts in Iraq for Islam. In Lebanon, for example, nearly nine-in-ten Shia (88%) say tensions between the two groups in Iraq reflect a growing problem for Islam, a view shared by 86% of all Lebanese Sunnis. Similarly, two-thirds of both groups in Pakistan say sectarian violence in Iraq signaled a broader problem, as do slightly more than half of Sunnis and Shia in Nigeria.

Muslim Publics See U.S. as a Military Threat

Large majorities of Muslims in Asia and the Middle East worry that the U.S. could become a military threat to their countries. Muslims in Bangladesh and Morocco are almost unanimous in their concern about the U.S. posing a military threat to their countries someday (93% very/somewhat worried in Bangladesh; 92% in Morocco). In Turkey, more than three-quarters (77%) worry that the U.S. could become a military threat to their country, as do majorities of Muslims in other countries that have close ties with the U.S., such as Pakistan and Kuwait.

In both Turkey and Kuwait, concern that the U.S. may emerge as a military threat has grown modestly. Two years ago, 66% of Turkey’s Muslims said they were worried about a possible military threat from the U.S.; today that figure stands at 77%. Since 2003, more Kuwaiti Muslims also express this concern (55% then, 63% today). Conversely, while concern is still high among Lebanese Muslims, the proportion saying they worry about a U.S. military threat to Lebanon has dropped 17 points since 2005 (81% vs. 64%).

The belief that the U.S. might pose a military threat varies among people of different faiths in Lebanon and Malaysia. Nearly two-thirds of Lebanese Muslims (64%) worry that the U.S. may become a military threat to their country, compared with 41% of Christians. In Malaysia, Muslims are considerably more likely than Buddhists to see the U.S. as a potential military threat, but a majority of Buddhists also express this concern (81% of Muslims vs. 53% of Buddhists).

Views of Leaders: Afghan President Karzai

Afghan leader Hamid Karzai, a key ally of the United States, provokes particularly strong feelings of mistrust in the Middle East and in sub-Saharan Africa, while in Asia judgments of him are somewhat less critical.

In the Palestinian territories, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt, majorities say they have little or no confidence in the Afghan president. Karzai is held in particularly low regard in the Palestinian territories, where 65% have little or no confidence in him to make the right decisions when it comes to world affairs, compared with just 11% who express at least some confidence in him.

The Afghan leader is viewed even more negatively in Ethiopia, where 71% say they have little or no confidence in Karzai – the highest level of mistrust recorded in any of the 16 nations where the question was asked. Elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa, the balance of opinion about Karzai also is mostly negative. Nigeria is the only country in the region where as many as a third express some confidence in Karzai.

A majority in Bangladesh (56%) expresses confidence in Karzai to deal with foreign affairs, the only country surveyed where this is the case. In Pakistan, which borders Afghanistan, 23% express a lot or some confidence in Karzai, while 35% have little or no confidence, and 42% offer no opinion.

In countries outside the Middle East, Muslims have significantly more positive views of of Karzai than do non-Muslims. For example, 55% of all Muslims in Nigeria say they had a lot or some confidence in Karzai, more than four times the proportion of non-Muslims (13%). In Malaysia, the differences also are substantial: 34% of Muslims and 7% of non-Muslims expressed confidence in him, though pluralities of each group did not know enough about him to have an opinion.

King Abdullah Viewed Favorably

The publics in most predominantly Muslim countries in the Middle East express confidence in Saudi King Abdullah. Nearly nine-in-ten Egyptians (88%) say they trust the monarch to do the right thing in world affairs, a view shared by nearly as many Kuwaitis (83%), Jordanians (81%) and Lebanese (79%).

Attitudes are more mixed but still positive in the Palestinian territories, where 52% express a lot or some confidence in Abdullah. In Morocco, 49% say they have a lot of some confidence in the king, compared with 19% who voice little or no confidence.

Only in Turkey and Israel do negative views of the king outweigh positive evaluations. Turkey is the only predominantly Muslim country surveyed where feelings about Abdullah tip decidedly negative: About half (48%) say they have little or no confidence in him to do the right thing in foreign affairs, while 17% express at least some confidence. In Israel, critical evaluations of Abdullah outnumber positive views by more than six-to-one.

Mixed Views on Hezbollah and Hamas

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and its leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah are viewed favorably among the Muslim publics in the Middle East. Opinions of Hamas, the Palestinian Sunni group, are comparable in most of the countries where the question was asked. (For a more detailed analysis of opinions about Hamas, see Global Unease with Major World Powers , released June 27).

Hezbollah, whose followers are predominantly Shia, is viewed most favorably in the Palestinian territories, where 76% have a favorable view of the organization. Elsewhere in the Middle East, solid majorities express positive opinions of Hezbollah in Egypt (56%) and Jordan (54%). But the story is very different in Lebanon, where Hezbollah precipitated a military confrontation with Israel last summer. Nearly two-thirds of all Lebanese (64%) have an unfavorable view, including a 55% majority who say their opinion of the organization is very unfavorable. In Turkey, opinions of Hezbollah are equally negative: 66% of Muslims have an overall unfavorable opinion of the group and more than half of all Muslims in Turkey (58%) characterize their feelings as very unfavorable.

In Lebanon, views of Hezbollah, as well as Hamas, are deeply divided along religious lines. Fully 85% of Lebanese Shia have a favorable view of Hezbollah, while about as many of the country’s Shia and Christians have a negative opinion of the movement. However, Lebanese Shia also have a more favorable view of Hamas, a Sunni movement, than do the country’s Sunnis.

Not surprisingly, views of Hezbollah’s political leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah closely track opinions of Hezbollah. For example, 79% of all Palestinians have a favorable view of Nasrallah, as do 54% of all Jordanians – proportions that almost exactly match their respective views of Hezbollah. At the same time, two-thirds of all Lebanese (66%) have a negative opinion of him, virtually identical to the 64% who have an unfavorable view of his organization.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt Viewed Favorably

Throughout the Muslim world, large majorities have a favorable view of Saudi Arabia, the historic center of the Sunni branch of Islam and home to its most sacred shrines, while opinions of Egypt are only slightly less positive.

About nine-in-ten have a favorable view of Saudi Arabia in Egypt (91%), Jordan (90%) and Pakistan (87%), whose populations are largely Sunni Muslim. Saudi Arabia also is viewed positively in Lebanon. More than eight-in-ten Lebanese have a positive opinion of Saudi Arabia, including an overwhelming majority of Sunnis (94%) and a smaller majority of Shia (64%). Turks express divided opinions of Saudi Arabia (40% favorable/39% unfavorable).

Elsewhere in the Muslim world, substantial majorities have favorable views of Saudi Arabia in Indonesia, the Palestinian territories, Malaysia and Morocco while opinions are mixed in Bangladesh. In Israel, attitudes are overwhelmingly negative: 79% say have an unfavorable view of Saudi Arabia, including 44% who say they have a very negative impression of the kingdom.

Similar patterns occur in attitudes toward Egypt. In seven of the 11 countries (other than Egypt) where the question was asked, majorities ranging from 55% in Morocco to 88% in Jordan have a favorable view of Egypt. Opinions divide evenly in Turkey, where 37% feel positively toward Egypt but an equal share does not. In Israel, which shares a troubled border with Egypt, more than three-quarters report they have a negative opinion of Egypt.

Iran’s image among predominantly Muslim nations is mixed. Opinions of Iran are significantly more favorable in countries outside the Middle East than they are in that region. In Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan, majorities say they have an unfavorable view of Iran, and opinions are about evenly divided in Egypt. Most Palestinians (55%) say they have favorable impression of Iran. Elsewhere, substantial majorities in Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh say they have a positive view of Iran. (For a more detailed analysis of opinions about Iran, see Global Unease with Major World Powers , released June 27).