Russia's favorability rating among Americans dropped seven points to a new low of 15%, according to the latest Gallup World Affairs poll.
According to Gallup, 22% of Americans viewed Russia favorably in 2021, compared to 15% in the latest reading.
The poll was taken prior to the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, as Russia was amassing troops along the Ukrainian border. Gallup said it is likely that ratings of Ukraine would be more positive and ratings of Russia more negative if the poll were conducted today.
According to the poll, 62% of Americans view Ukraine favorably.
How Americans view a country depends on the relationship between the U.S. and that country, Gallup said. The polling organization has historically found that U.S. ally nations are viewed positively by Americans, while the countries that have troubled relationships with the U.S. receive negative ratings.
More than 8 out of 10 Americans said they viewed Canada, Great Britain, France and Japan as favorable in this year's poll.
At the other end of the spectrum, North Korea, Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq all received favorable ratings of less than 20%, according to Gallup.
In addition to the four countries with ratings above 80%, Germany (78%), India (77%), Israel (71%), Egypt (64%), and Mexico (63%) are viewed favorably by majorities.
Down nine points from last year, Afghanistan’s favorable rating declined the most and is currently sitting at 12% — its lowest point on record. The U.S. military withdrew from the country in a chaotic operation last August.
Along with the five countries at the bottom of the list that have favorable ratings of less than 20%, four others are rated favorably by less than half — China (20%), the Palestinian Authority (27%), Saudi Arabia (33%) and Cuba (40%).
China's 20% favorable rating is the country's lowest on record, after falling sharply last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Democrats and left-leaning independents are significantly more likely than Republicans and right-leaning independents to view 10 countries favorably: Mexico, the Palestinian Authority, Cuba, France, Canada, China, Germany, Ukraine, Iraq and Iran.
Mexico has a 77% favorable rating among Democrats and 49% among Republicans, while the favorability gap on the Palestinian Authority is 21 points — 38% among Democrats and 17% among Republicans.
On Israel, both Republicans and Democrats view the country favorably, however, Republicans' favorable rating was 15 points higher, at 80%.
With the exception of Ukraine, Gallup has tracked Americans' favorable ratings of these 19 countries for 20-30 years.
The poll was conducted Feb. 1-17, using a random sample of 1,008 adults, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
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