Germany by far most admired country, with US, China and Russia vying for second, global poll finds

Annual Gallup survey sheds light on global opinion of world's leadership, Kate Ng reports

Global approval of US leadership falls far behind approval of Germany's, a Gallup poll finds (REUTERS)

Germany's leadership is the most highly regarded in the world, while the US, China and Russia compete for a distant second place, a new world leadership approval poll has found.

The annual Gallup poll surveyed people from 135 countries, and found confidence in Germany under Angela Merkel had risen following a 40-per-cent drop in 2018. The country’s median approval rating rebounded to 44 per cent in 2019.

Competing for second place were the US, China and Russia, with the US only 1 point ahead of China with 33 per cent, and Russia receiving a 30-per-cent rating for the second year in a row.