Germany rated world’s most admired country

Germany has snagged the title of the most admired country in the world for the third year in a row, according to a new Gallup Poll.

Published: 27 July 2020 11:08 CEST
Updated: 28 July 2020 15:37 CEST

Germany rated world's most admired country

Clouds over the Brandenburg Gate on July 24th. Photo: DPA

Germany stood out from other surveyed countries with a government approval rating of 44 percent, 11 percentage points ahead of the US, according to the poll published on Monday.

The Bundesrepublik's approval has consistently stayed over 40 percent since 2008, except for in 2018, when it dipped slightly to 39 percent.

The US-based Gallup Poll surveyed 1,000 adults in 134 countries in 2019 – before the coronavirus pandemic had hit the world – on what they think of leadership around the globe.

Germany has come in first place every year during the Donald Trump administration.

In the years when Barack Obama was president, the US came in first place as the world’s most admired country, with the exception of 2011, when it barely trailed behind Germany.

Poll courtesy of Gallup.

Predictable leadership

After Trump became president in 2016, however, the US ratings sunk to an all-time low of 30 percent.

Gallup’s editor-in-chief, Mohamed Younis said that countries with the strongest, most predictable leadership fare best in the poll.

“Longtime German chancellor Angela Merkel, loved or hated, has been one of the most predictable leaders in highly uncertain times in both Europe and the global order,” he said.

According to a June survey conducted by ZDF 'Politbarometer', both Merkel and her Christian Democratic Party are faring very well.

Their approval is higher than its been in three years, largely due to the government's handling of the coronavirus crisis.

Germany has also ranked high in other global surveys. In 2019, US World News and World Reports ranked it as the fourth best country in the world due to factors such as quality of life, economic strength and innovation.

Germans unhappy with US leadership

Germans disapproval for the US, on the other hand, stood at an all time high: 78 percent disapproved of the administration in Washington, with only 12 percent approving.

That stood higher than the rest of Europe, which gave the US a disapproval rating of 61 percent, with only a 24 percent approval.

In the survey, China and Russia trailed behind Germany, with approval ratings of 32 percent and 30 percent respectively.