U.S. Global Image

When President Barack Obama travels to Kenya and Ethiopia later this week, he will likely receive a warm public reception. Obama, whose father was Kenyan, is very popular in both countries, as well as in many other nations in sub-Saharan Africa. But it’s not just Obama – as Pew Research Center surveys have shown over the years, the United States consistently receives high marks throughout the region.

Our most recent survey of 40 countries from around the world included a number of questions about Obama and his handling of major international issues.

The U.S. image abroad remains mostly positive, although it has suffered somewhat from negative views of post-9/11 interrogation methods. China also is seen positively, though not on the issue of protecting individual freedoms.

Ratings for the U.S. remain mostly positive, with a global median of 69% expressing a favorable view. Countries also express broad support for America's military efforts against ISIS, but are critical of the U.S. government's use of torture after 9/11.

Not since the end of the Cold War has Russia loomed so large in German-American relations, due in large part to recent developments in Ukraine.

Four decades after the controversial war, the Vietnamese public sees the United States as a helpful ally and even embraces some of the core tenets of capitalism.

Obama's visit to India on Republic Day is expected to usher in a new, positive era in India-U.S. relations -- especially at a time when a majority of Indians have a favorable view of the United States and a majority of Americans express a positive opinion of India.

In August 2011, 53% of Americans said the use of torture to question suspected terrorists could be often or sometimes justified, while 42% said it could only rarely be justified or not justified at all.

Since we began polling the Turkish people in 2002, never have more than three-in-ten held a favorable view of the U.S.