In addition to views of Biden and Trump, our survey asked people how much confidence they have in French President Emmanuel Macron, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
- People are roughly split in their ratings of Joe Biden: Across 34 countries, a median of 43% trust him to do the right thing regarding world affairs, while 46% do not. Ratings of Emmanuel Macron are similarly divided.
- A median of 28% have confidence in Donald Trump. And roughly a quarter trust Xi Jinping to do the right thing in world affairs.
- Vladimir Putin receives the lowest ratings globally, and views of the Russian leader are especially negative in Europe.
Confidence in Macron is similar, overall, to confidence in Biden: A median of 44% trust the French president to do the right thing in world affairs. People in Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden are particularly likely to have confidence in Macron, but few hold this view in Hungary, Tunisia or Turkey. Confidence in Macron is also low in South Africa, though more than four-in-ten there do not offer an opinion on him.
Views of Macron have not changed much since 2023, when this question was last asked in most countries. Greece and Israel are the only countries where confidence in Macron has fallen by more than 10 percentage points. In 2023, 42% of Israelis trusted the French president, compared with 31% now. The share of Greeks who give Macron a favorable assessment has dropped from 59% last year to 46% now.
Confidence in Xi and Putin is generally low across the countries surveyed. A median of 24% trust the Chinese president, while 21% trust the Russian leader.
Around one-in-ten adults in Australia, Japan, Poland and Sweden trust Xi’s handling of world affairs. But views of Xi are not negative everywhere: Half or more in Bangladesh, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Singapore, Thailand and Tunisia have confidence in him.
Putin’s ratings fare a bit worse, especially in Europe. No more than a third in any European country surveyed trust him to do the right thing in world affairs. Only 4% in Sweden and 1% in Poland report confidence in the Russian president.
