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List of Countries Seen as Our Closest Allies, According to Harris Poll
Harris Interactive ^ | September 1, 2004 | The Harris Poll

Posted on 09/05/2004 12:32:19 PM PDT by yonif

Harris Interactive

The Harris Poll® #62, September 1, 2004

Britain, Canada, Australia, Israel and Japan Top the List of Countries Seen as Our Closest Allies, According to Harris Poll

The Iraq effect continues: attitudes toward France and Germany are still much more critical than in 2002

Every year at this time Harris Interactive® asks a nationwide cross section of Americans how they feel about a list of countries with a scale varying from "close ally" at one end to "unfriendly" at the other. In this year’s survey, Great Britain, Canada and Australia continue to lead the list as our closest allies, followed by Israel and Japan. Many of the 25 countries included in the list have not changed their ratings or positions substantially since last year.

The Iraq effect

The quite sharp changes which we reported last year, resulting from the situation in Iraq, have not been reversed. France, the country which was most outspoken in its opposition to the Iraq war, slipped all the way from eighth place to 18th place last year. This year it is in 17th place, and fully 42 percent of Americans think of France as less than friendly. Germany, which was almost as strong in its criticism of the U.S. in Iraq, fell from sixth to 14th place last year. This year it is in 10th place and 25 percent of Americans still think of it as less than friendly.

In addition to the five countries (mentioned above) which are most widely perceived to be close allies, other countries which are viewed favorably as friends or close allies by substantial numbers are Mexico, Italy, South Korea, Spain and the Netherlands.

Countries perceived as "not friendly"

The countries which the largest number of people see as "not friendly" or worse are China (54%), Pakistan (49%), France (42%) and Colombia (40%).

Countries about which many people have no opinions

More than 80 percent of all adults have an opinion, positive or negative, about most of the countries listed. However, substantial numbers have no opinion about Chile (38%), Argentina (31%), Norway (30%), Brazil (27%), the Netherlands (26%), Colombia (25%) and South Africa (24%).

These are the results of a nationwide Harris Poll of 1,012 adults surveyed by telephone by Harris Interactive between August 10 and 15, 2004.

TABLE 1

HOW AMERICANS VIEW 25 COUNTRIES

"Do you feel that (READ EACH ITEM) is a close ally of the U.S., is friendly but not a close ally, is not friendly but not an enemy, or is unfriendly and is an enemy of the U.S.?"

Base: All Adults

Rank Now

   

Close Ally

Friendly Not Close Ally

Not Friendly, Not Enemy

Unfriendly

/Enemy

Not Sure/ Refused

Rank in:

2002

2003

1

Great Britain

%

70

14

6

*

9

1

1

2

Canada

%

51

29

9

1

9

2

2

3

Australia

%

45

32

10

*

13

3

3

4

Israel

%

43

26

16

4

10

4

4

5

Japan

%

33

34

16

5

13

=8

=6

6

Mexico

%

29

44

14

2

11

=6

5

7

Italy

%

27

43

11

1

18

5

=6

8

South Korea

%

25

28

23

12

13

14

9

9

Spain

%

20

43

18

3

17

=12

8

=10

Germany

%

19

40

21

4

15

=6

=14

=10

Holland (Netherlands)

%

19

39

15

1

26

=10

10

=12

Sweden

%

18

41

20

2

20

=10

=12

=12

Taiwan

%

18

33

19

7

22

=15

=12

14

Norway

%

17

38

15

*

30

=12

11

=15

Greece

%

16

45

17

1

22

=15

16

=15

South Africa

%

16

35

22

2

24

=18

=18

=17

Brazil

%

15

36

21

1

27

20

=14

=17

France

%

15

35

32

10

8

=8

=18

=17

India

%

15

33

30

2

20

17

21

=20

Russia

%

11

40

33

4

12

=18

=18

=20

Argentina

%

11

34

22

2

31

=21

17

=22

Chile

%

10

27

24

2

38

23

=22

=22

Pakistan

%

10

26

25

24

15

24

=22

24

Colombia

%

7

27

27

13

25

=21

=22

25

China

%

6

26

38

16

14

25

25

TABLE 2

HOW AMERICANS VIEW NATIONS -- TRENDS ON "CLOSE ALLY" SINCE 1982

"Do you feel that (READ EACH ITEM) is a close ally of the U.S., is friendly but not a close ally, is not friendly but not an enemy, or is unfriendly and is an enemy of the U.S.?"

Base: All Adults

 

1982

1983

1985

1991

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

 

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

Great Britain

58

 

62

 

61

56

59

62

63

65

66

63

80

64

74

70

Canada

63

58

     

61

62

70

73

70

69

63

73

60

57

51

Australia

         

36

36

47

48

43

45

42

47

43

53

45

Israel

33

 

34

44

26

26

27

32

29

31

37

31

38

37

44

43

Japan

35

   

27

13

14

14

19

21

19

23

23

26

28

32

33

Mexico

 

31

     

25

24

33

30

31

31

28

40

29

33

29

Italy

                     

27

37

30

32

27

South Korea

                         

21

25

25

Spain

                     

21

27

23

30

20

Germany

32

   

27

21

22

22

30

29

29

32

29

39

29

19

19

Holland (Nether lands)

                     

22

22

24

22

19

Sweden

                         

24

20

18

Taiwan

           

14

18

20

21

21

19

22

17

20

18

Norway

                       

20

23

21

17

Greece

                       

18

17

16

16

South Africa

             

15

14

   

9

13

12

13

16

Brazil

         

11

10

15

14

15

15

11

15

11

19

15

France

       

25

29

27

36

36

33

38

38

41

28

13

15

India

                       

8

13

12

15

Russia (Soviet Union)

(7)

(2)

(1)

(14)

10

7

4

8

6

6

6

5

17

12

13

11

Argen tina

       

7

   

10

11

   

7

9

10

14

11

Chile

                     

5

7

9

8

10

Pakistan

                         

8

8

10

Colom bia

                       

8

10

8

7

China

15

 

5

   

4

3

5

6

4

6

3

11

5

7

6

NOTES:

1) Blanks where not asked.

2) Results in ( ) indicate the former use of the words "Soviet Union" before the current use of the word "Russia."

TABLE 3

THOSE WHO VIEW COUNTRIES AS NOT FRIENDLY

(Includes net percentages for "not friendly but not an enemy" and "unfriendly and is an enemy" responses)

"Do you feel that (READ EACH ITEM) is a close ally of the U.S., is friendly but not a close ally, is not friendly but not an enemy, or is unfriendly and is an enemy of the U.S.?"

Base: All Adults

 

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

 

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

China

59

69

59

60

57

63

64

49

56

54

54

Pakistan

               

54

52

49

France

15

14

18

15

18

18

14

11

25

43

42

Colombia

             

41

48

43

40

Russia

38

51

43

45

48

54

50

33

38

37

37

South Korea

               

33

36

35

India

             

29

32

29

32

Taiwan

 

27

25

24

26

26

25

18

26

25

26

Chile

           

29

17

27

23

26

Germany

19

19

21

21

20

24

20

10

19

28

25

South Africa

       

33

31

26

21

24

28

24

Argentina

25

     

26

23

25

16

24

19

24

Brazil

16

22

20

21

22

22

23

16

22

23

22

Sweden

               

13

20

22

Japan

30

33

32

27

31

28

29

24

24

22

21

Spain

           

16

12

19

20

21

Israel

29

29

28

32

30

23

24

24

22

19

20

Greece

             

15

20

21

18

Mexico

19

14

18

20

21

24

20

14

21

20

16

Holland (Netherlands)

           

14

11

14

15

16

Norway

             

12

15

14

15

Italy

           

16

10

13

15

12

Canada

2

3

6

6

6

5

7

3

6

10

10

Australia

5

7

8

5

9

9

10

7

9

8

10

Great Britain

7

7

7

7

9

8

8

1

6

6

6

NOTE: Blank where not asked.

Methodology

The Harris Poll® was conducted by telephone within the United States between August 10 and 15, 2004 among a nationwide cross section of 1,012 adults (ages 18+). Figures for age, sex, race, education, number of adults, number of voice/telephone lines in the household, region and size of place were weighted where necessary to align them with their actual proportions in the population.

In theory, with a probability sample of this size, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the results have a statistical precision of plus or minus 3 percentage points of what they would be if the entire adult population had been polled with complete accuracy. Unfortunately, there are several other possible sources of error in all polls or surveys that are probably more serious than theoretical calculations of sampling error. They include refusals to be interviewed (nonresponse), question wording and question order, interviewer bias, weighting by demographic control data and screening (e.g., for likely voters). It is impossible to quantify the errors that may result from these factors.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

J21930

Q555


TOPICS: Australia/New Zealand; Canada; Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Israel; Japan; News/Current Events; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: allies; poll
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1 posted on 09/05/2004 12:32:20 PM PDT by yonif
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To: yonif

Canada?


2 posted on 09/05/2004 12:34:20 PM PDT by BenLurkin (We have low Inflation and and low unemployment.)
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Comment #3 Removed by Moderator

To: yonif

Even thought they're our neighbors neither Canada nor Mexico has seemed much of a friend recently. I think some of the East European countries such as Poland should have been included.


4 posted on 09/05/2004 12:37:08 PM PDT by bereanway
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To: yonif

Poland not mentioned? Canada number 2? Hmmm......


5 posted on 09/05/2004 12:37:21 PM PDT by somemoreequalthanothers
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To: yonif

Whoever answered 'Canada' needs to crawl out from under their rock now.


6 posted on 09/05/2004 12:39:04 PM PDT by dougherty (I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free. - Michelangelo)
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To: somemoreequalthanothers

I think I would rank Poland over Canada.

Right up there with Australia and Britain...


7 posted on 09/05/2004 12:41:28 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach (A Proud member of Free Republic ~~The New Face of the Fourth Estate since 1996.)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

This is a clear example of why opinion polls suck. You're getting the opinions of people that get their opinions hand fed to them by Tom, Peter and Dan. There's no logical reason for Canada to be in the top 20, let alone number 2 on such a list.


8 posted on 09/05/2004 12:44:28 PM PDT by digitalbrownshirt
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Poland should indeed be way up there. Other Eastern European countries as well. Italy, Holland and Denmark are also allies of ours in Iraq. Australia as well.


9 posted on 09/05/2004 12:46:25 PM PDT by Koblenz (Not bad, not bad at all. -- Ronald Reagan, the Greatest President.)
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To: yonif
Canada, no way! I agree, Poland and Italy, in particular should be much further up.

What would be interesting is to see the same poll given from the perspective of those nations...who do they consider their ally?

10 posted on 09/05/2004 12:51:17 PM PDT by highlander_UW (" Just bear in mind that there is no Botox for the soul.". - Sam Smith)
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To: bereanway
Even thought they're our neighbors neither Canada nor Mexico has seemed much of a friend recently. I think some of the East European countries such as Poland should have been included.

I agree with you 100%. The "Vilnius 10" of the former Eastern Bloc are far more friendly with us than some in "Old Europe." Poland and others stand shoulder to shouder with us. Also notable.... ranking Canada ahead of Australia shows the ignorance of those polled.

11 posted on 09/05/2004 12:55:14 PM PDT by CurlyBill (John Kerry is PeeWee Herman in a Frankenstein costume)
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To: yonif

Mexico is not an ally, they are an invading force.


12 posted on 09/05/2004 12:56:56 PM PDT by rolling_stone
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To: yonif

Canada is only our ally when they need us. Canada has a great past. Their future seems to be rooted in hating the USA. #2 no way.


13 posted on 09/05/2004 12:58:34 PM PDT by sgtbono2002 (I aint wrong, I aint sorry , and I am probably going to do it again.)
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To: BenLurkin
Canada?

A lot of people confuse "nearest" with "closest"

14 posted on 09/05/2004 1:00:33 PM PDT by Oztrich Boy ("Despise not the jester. Often he is the only one speaking the truth")
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To: yonif

Canada... ??
What about POLAND, HUNGARY, CZECH REP. !


15 posted on 09/05/2004 1:03:57 PM PDT by traumer
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To: traumer

The Harris Poll® ......... HA!


16 posted on 09/05/2004 1:05:45 PM PDT by traumer
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To: BenLurkin

Canada! Not!


17 posted on 09/05/2004 1:07:27 PM PDT by RAY (They that do right are all heroes!)
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To: yonif

Interesting data. From 2001 to 2004, the perceptions of most other countries are that they are less of a close ally, and more of an unfriendly or enemy country.


18 posted on 09/05/2004 1:12:37 PM PDT by Lessismore
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To: Lessismore

Unpopularity of France 1994-2004 (in %)
15
14
18
15
18
18
14
11
25
43
42


19 posted on 09/05/2004 1:18:08 PM PDT by traumer
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To: yonif

What is france doing on the list???


20 posted on 09/05/2004 1:20:03 PM PDT by rang1995
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