Americans favour India more than Pakistan

Image: A peace activist waves the national flag in front of the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai
Photographs: Arko Datta/Reuters

India is viewed better than Pakistan as a country to visit by Americans.

Gallup's annual World Affairs survey, which was released on Friday, said 66 per cent of the Americans participating in the poll, preferred India, while only 23 per cent viewed Pakistan favourably.

about the poll....

Canada takes the honours

Image: The downtown core of Vancouver, British Columbia is seen in the background as tourists take in the view from Cypress Mountain on the north shore
Photographs: Andy Clark/Reuters

Canada topped the list, while Iran was in last position.

According to the Gallup survey, 90 per cent of Americans viewed Canada favourably among 20 nations that figure prominently in the news or US foreign policy.

... and Iran is least favoured

Image: A cleric is seen in front of the Iranian national flag
Photographs: Damir Sagolj/Reuters

Only 49 per cent viewed Mexico favourably at a time its image has suffered from intensifying violence in the drug war.

Iran was seen favourably by only 10 per cent of Americans in the poll after a year dominated by headlines over its nuclear program and crackdown on anti-government protesters.

North Korea was next-to-last with only a 14 per cent favourability rating.

Favoured allies

Image: A spectator waves the British flag
Photographs: Toby Melville/Reuters

Gallup found six other countries were viewed favourably by a majority of Americans: Britain (87 per cent), Germany (80 per cent), Japan (77 per cent), Israel (67 per cent), France (63 per cent) and Egypt (58 per cent).

At the bottom of the list are...

Image: An Afghan boy looks on as his father is searched by a policeman at a checkpoint at Delaram district in Nimroz province, southern Afghanistan
Photographs: Marko Djurica/Reuters

Those nations with the lowest favourability ratings in the poll included: Afghanistan (18 per cent), the Palestinian Authority (20 per cent), Yemen (21 per cent), Iraq (23 per cent), Cuba (29 per cent), and Saudi Arabia (35 per cent).

Yemen was included for the first time in the survey.

Overtones about China

Image: A paramilitary policeman practises during a daily training session at the Forbidden City in Beijing
Photographs: Jason Lee/Reuters

Americans had mixed views about China, a growing economic rival, with 42 per cent viewing it favourably and 53 per cent unfavourably.

No more cold vibes?

Image: Russian soldiers march during a military parade rehearsal in Red Square Moscow
Photographs: Viktor Korotayev/Reuters

Russia, which saw its favourability rating in 2009 drop to 40 per cent, rebounded in this year's survey to 47 per cent.

The results were based on telephone interviews with a random sample of 1,025 adult Americans, conducted from February 1 to 3. The survey has a margin of error of four percentage points.

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