The U.S. is seen as both a top ally and threat by its neighbors, a new survey has found.
The Pew Research Center polled around 32,000 adults from 25 middle- and high-income countries across every continent but Antarctica between Jan. 8 and April 26 about their geopolitical views.
The respondents from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the U.K., and the U.S. were asked to respond freely, rather than choose from a list of countries. The results were released on Tuesday.
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]Many respondents named the U.S. when asked what country was their own’s most important ally. For 15 of the 24 non-U.S. surveyed countries, the U.S. was the most common response (including statistical ties).
But for eight countries, including five of the ones where the U.S. was the top response for most important ally, the U.S. was the most common response when respondents were asked about their own country’s greatest threat. That’s more than any other country but Russia, which is seen as the greatest threat to the most respondents from nine other countries (including statistical ties).
Canada and Mexico were among those where the U.S. is considered both a top ally and top threat.
The view of the U.S. as a threat to Canada and Mexico has grown significantly since researchers conducted a similar survey in 2019. The share of Canadians naming the U.S. as the country’s top threat nearly tripled from 20% to 59%, while that of Mexicans grew from 56% to 68%.
Canada and Mexico were two of the first countries to be hit by U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs that have rocked the world. Trump has also repeatedly threatened to annex Canada and turn it into the 51st U.S. state, triggering backlash, including consumer and travel boycotts, by some Canadians.
Read More: Trump’s Trade Deals, Negotiations, and New Tariffs for Each Country
U.S., Russia, and China are most commonly named threats
While the U.S. was the most commonly mentioned threat for respondents from eight countries and the most commonly named ally for 15, China, the world’s second biggest economy that is ensnared in trade and geopolitical tensions with the U.S., was the most commonly named ally in just four countries (Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa) and the most commonly named threat in three (Australia, Japan, and the U.S.).
Russia emerged as the biggest threat in Europe, as it was the most commonly named threat in nine of the 10 European countries surveyed. The share of respondents naming Russia as a key threat in Europe has grown significantly since a similar survey was conducted in 2007, according to the report. At least half of the respondents in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, and the U.K., named Russia as their countries’ top threat. And in the U.K., the share who named Russia as the top threat has grown from less than 10% in 2007 to 49% today.
Greece was the only European country where less than a quarter of respondents named Russia as the top threat. There, the majority named Turkey, reflecting a bilateral relationship that has been marked by historical territorial and cultural tensions.
The U.S. was also a commonly named threat across Europe. The U.S. was the second-most common response in six European countries. Only Hungary and Poland did not rank the U.S. among its top three threats.
China was among the most commonly named threats in all five Asia-Pacific countries surveyed. Around half of respondents in both Australia and Japan ranked China as their top threat, while around 20% of respondents in the same two countries named the U.S., making the U.S. the second-most common response.
China was also the second-most common response in India and South Korea, behind rival neighbors Pakistan and North Korea respectively.
The U.S. was also among the most commonly named threats in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. It’s named as the biggest threat to all three Latin American countries surveyed: Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico. Among African countries, 35% of South Africans, 23% of Kenyans, and 13% of Nigerians view the U.S. as the biggest threat. Around the same share of Nigerians named China as the country’s biggest threat.
Respondents from the U.S. mainly named China as the country’s biggest threat (42%), followed by Russia (25%). The U.S. was the only country outside the Asia-Pacific where over 20% of respondents named China as the top threat, Pew researcher Janell Fetterolf told the South China Morning Post.
Global views reflect ideological divides
Attitudes towards the U.S. and China vary across ideological lines, even within the same country.
While China was the most commonly named threat in the U.S., the share of respondents who identified as Democrats or Democrat-leaning that named China as a top threat has fallen since a similar survey in 2023. That year, the most commonly named threat by both Republicans and Democrats was China. Today, around 58% of Republican and Republican-leaning respondents named China while just 28% of Democrat and Democrat-leaning respondents did; instead, more ranked Russia as the biggest threat.
The survey also asked respondents in 19 countries, not including the U.S., to place themselves on a scale ranging from “Extreme left” to “Extreme right.” In Japan and South Korea, that scale ranged from “Extremely progressive” to “Extremely conservative.” Respondents in India, Indonesia, and Kenya were not asked about ideology.
In several of the surveyed countries, respondents who identified as being on the left were more likely to name the U.S. as the country’s biggest threat, while respondents on the right were more likely to name China as their country’s biggest threat.
In Europe, Pew says supporters of right-wing populist parties were more likely to see the U.S. as an ally. Supporters of Fidesz in Hungary, Law and Justice in Poland, Reform U.K., AfD in Germany, Lega in Italy, Vox in Spain, Party for Freedom in the Netherlands, and National Rally in France all polled higher in naming the U.S. as an ally compared to supporters of other parties.
U.S. mainly seen as an economic threat
The poll also showed that the U.S. is largely seen as an economic threat, rather than a national security threat, while Russia is mostly seen as a security threat and opinions on China were mixed.
In Canada, more than three-quarters of respondents who named the U.S. as a top threat said it poses an economic risk to Canada, as did a majority of respondents in Argentina, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, South Korea, and Turkey. Still, more than half of Canadians and Mexicans also said the U.S. poses a significant national security threat.
The survey took place as Trump has levied harsh tariffs on much of the world, including some of its longtime trading partners and allies like Japan and South Korea. It’s also come after Trump shuttered USAID, risking the lives of millions around the world in dozens of low- and middle-income countries.
Russia, on the other hand, is mainly viewed as a security risk, particularly in Europe where its yearslong war with Ukraine has raised concerns about respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty. Among Americans, too, who ranked Russia as their top threat, nearly three-quarters said it poses a national security threat while a third said it poses an economic threat.
China, meanwhile, is seen as both an economic and national security risk by roughly the same share of respondents in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., South Korea, Australia, India, and South Africa. Overall, China is seen as more of an economic threat, except by Japan, which sees China as more of a security threat. In the U.S., 64% of respondents that ranked China as a top threat see it as an economic threat, while 61% see it as a security threat.
China has in recent months ramped up its efforts to position itself as a key economic and diplomatic partner, in contrast with Trump’s more volatile leadership. But Pew’s survey—and an earlier survey of Southeast Asian nations—suggests that many countries may not be ready to fully embrace China as a global leader, especially those in its vicinity amid continuing concerns around Chinese aggression in the disputed South China Sea or towards Taiwan.
“What a lot of countries value the most is stability, a trusted, reliable, authentic partner,” Mark Cogan, associate professor of peace and conflict studies at Japan’s Kansai Gaidai University, tells TIME. The U.S. under Trump isn’t exactly prioritizing trust-building with other nations around the world, he adds, leaving it an open question should allegiances ever have to be drawn outside of a survey: “Who are they going to pick in the end?”
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