- When asked which country poses the greatest threat to the U.S., China remains at the top of Americans’ list. Since we last asked this question in 2023, however, the share who name China as the biggest threat has declined, while the share who name Russia has grown.
- Roughly four-in-ten Americans (37%) say they are unsure which country is the United States’ greatest ally. As in the past, the United Kingdom is mentioned more than any other nation. But the shares who call Canada or Israel the top ally have increased since 2023.
Which country poses the greatest threat to the U.S.?
Roughly four-in-ten Americans (42%) say China poses the greatest threat to the U.S. when asked in an open-ended question. Russia is named by the next-largest share (25%).
Smaller shares say no country (4%), the U.S. itself (3%) or Iran (2%) is the greatest threat. One-in-five say they are not sure.
The share who name China as the greatest threat has declined from 50% in 2023. Conversely, the share who see Russia as the United States’ greatest threat has grown from 17%.
Views by party
Whether China or Russia is viewed as the top threat to the U.S. varies by party affiliation.
Republicans and Republican-leaning independents are most likely to say that China is the United States’ greatest threat (58% vs. 12% who name Russia). Conversely, Democrats and Democratic leaners are most likely to call Russia the top threat (39% vs. 28% who name China).
In 2023, China was the top choice among both Republicans and Democrats.
Conservative Republicans are especially likely to see China as a threat (68%) compared with their moderate or liberal peers (45%). Among Democrats, liberals are more likely to name Russia (46%) than those who are moderate or conservative (34%).
Do China and Russia present economic or security threats?
After respondents named the country they see as the greatest threat to the U.S., we asked them to rate how much of a threat that country poses to the U.S. economy and to U.S. national security.
Among those who name China as the country’s greatest threat, overwhelming majorities say it threatens the U.S. economy (97%) and U.S. security (94%) at least a fair amount. Indeed, most think China poses a great deal of threat to each.
Among those who name Russia, more see it as a security threat (98%) than an economic threat (71%).
Who is the United States’ most important ally?
We also asked Americans which country they think is the United States’ most important ally. Roughly four-in-ten (37%) say they are unsure. Among those who do give an answer, the United Kingdom is mentioned most often (by 18% of adults), followed by Canada (12%) and Israel (9%).
The share naming Canada as the top U.S. ally has doubled from 6% since we last asked this question in 2023. In that time, the share naming Israel has also roughly doubled – from 4% in 2023.
These shifts over time in large part reflect changes in partisan attitudes. Republicans have become more likely to say Israel is the United States’ top ally (17% vs. 8% in 2023), while views among Democrats have not changed.
At the same time, Democrats have become more likely to say that Canada is the most important ally (19% vs. 9% in 2023), while Republicans’ views have not shifted.
Today, opinions also vary somewhat by age and religion:
- Age: Americans ages 50 and older most frequently point to the UK as the top U.S. ally (24%). In contrast, the UK is named by half as many adults under 50 (12%), and a similar share also name Canada (11%). Younger adults are much more likely than older adults to say they are not sure who the country’s most important ally is (44% vs. 29%).
- Religion: Around a quarter each among White evangelical Protestants (25%) and Jews (26%) say Israel is the country’s most important ally.
Americans’ ratings of other countries
Majorities of Americans give positive ratings to fellow G7 member countries Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the UK.
Democrats are more likely than Republicans to see these allies in a favorable light, though. Between 75% and 87% of Democrats rate these countries positively, compared with 51% to 76% of Republicans. Japan is the only country in this group that gets similar – and overwhelmingly positive – ratings from both parties.
Americans also give the EU a favorable rating (60%). Once again, Democrats rate the EU more positively than Republicans (78% vs. 44%).
Half of Americans have positive views of Mexico, up from 37% last year.
Favorable ratings of the United States’ southern neighbor have increased among both Democrats and Republicans, though a large gap remains: Democrats are more than twice as likely as Republicans to have a positive view of Mexico (67% vs. 32%). Adults under 50 also tend to have more positive views of Mexico when compared with those ages 50 and older (55% vs. 44%).
Roughly half of Americans have a positive opinion of India (49%), a slight increase from 43% in 2024.
Israel stands out among the countries included in our survey: Though 9% of Americans say it is the United States’ most important ally – making it the third-most commonly named – fewer than half have a favorable view of the country (45%). This is down from 55% since we last asked in 2022.
Israel is also one of the only countries asked about that Republicans are more likely to rate positively than Democrats. In fact, Republicans are about twice as likely as Democrats to say they have a positive opinion of Israel (62% vs. 29%). And adults ages 50 and older are more likely to say this than younger adults (54% vs. 37%).
Related: How Americans view Israel and the Israel-Hamas war at the start of Trump’s second term
Few Americans hold positive views of China, Russia and Iran. Around one-in-five rate China positively, and roughly one-in-ten have a favorable opinion of Russia or Iran.
Along with Israel, Russia is the only other country that Republicans rate more favorably than Democrats (16% vs. 9%).
Younger adults tend to have more positive views of all three of these countries. Roughly a quarter of adults under 50 (27%), have a favorable opinion of China, compared with 15% of adults ages 50 and older; 16% of younger adults rate Russia positively, compared with 9% of older adults; and 14% of younger adults have a positive view of Iran, as do 6% of older adults.
