U.S. image plummets internationally as most say country has handled coronavirus badly

Since Donald Trump took office as president, the image of the United States has suffered across many regions of the globe. As a new 13-nation Pew Research Center survey illustrates, America’s reputation has declined further over the past year among many key allies and partners. In several countries, the share of the public with a favorable view of the U.S. is as low as it has been at any point since the Center began polling on this topic nearly two decades ago.

• The coronavirus pandemic’s impact on our polling

Despite pandemic, many Europeans still see climate change as greatest threat to their countries

In a year when the COVID-19 pandemic has dominated news headlines around the world, it is perhaps unsurprising to discover that majorities in 14 countries surveyed this past summer see the spread of infectious disease as a major threat to their countries. But across European countries polled, climate change remains the top-most perceived threat.

• A majority of young adults in the U.S. live with their parents for the first time since the Great Depression
• The U.S. budget deficit is rising amid COVID-19, but public concern about it is falling
• See all our coronavirus coverage

Views of the economy have turned sharply negative in many countries amid COVID-19

Public attitudes about the economy have turned bleak in much of the world as the coronavirus outbreak continues to affect daily life, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted this summer in 14 nations in Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific region. Assessments of national economies have seen swift downturns in many countries, and few see improvements anytime soon amid what the International Monetary Fund calls a “crisis like no other.”

• In many countries, people are more negative about the economy amid COVID-19 than during Great Recession

In the news

Notable global research

From our research