Pakistan’s favourability of US president Barack Obama is the lowest among 44 surveyed countries, with an approval rating of 7%, an influential American research group said on Monday.
However, he remains popular in much of the world, except for the Middle East, where residents of every nation surveyed, except Israel, gave Obama an approval rating of 35% or below, according to Pew’s sweeping survey of 48,643 adults in 44 nations.
The study also showed Obama’s overall favourability has changed little since 2013, with a median of 56% expressing confidence he will “do the right thing in world affairs.”
And while the US remained relatively popular, the Pew Research Center said it found widespread opposition to US eavesdropping as well as to the Pentagon’s use of drones overseas.
German and Russian support for Obama has nosedived in the past year over revelations of spying and tensions in Ukraine.
Israelis’ Obama favourability jumped 10 points year on year, to 71%, while the Chinese had a sudden infatuation with the US president, jumping 20 points to 51% favourability.
But he suffered a stark drop in Germany, Russia and Brazil, three nations where tensions with Washington have soared over the past year.
“Revelations that Washington systematically reads both Americans’ and some foreigners’ emails and listens in on their telephone conversations appears to have significantly damaged Obama’s approval in only one European Union country: Germany,” Pew reported.
