Russia

Just 16% of Americans see Vladimir Putin favorably, with more Republicans than Democrats holding that view.

The Trump administration’s plans to impose $50 billion in tariffs on Chinese imports, as well as tariffs recently placed on imported steel and aluminum and on imports of solar panels and washing machines, mark a distinct break from decades of U.S. trade policy, which long has generally favored lower tariffs and fewer restrictions on the movement of goods and services across international borders.

People who live in countries where the political system is less than “fully democratic” tend to give Beijing and Moscow higher marks for upholding individual rights than people who live in full democracies, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of public opinion in 38 countries across the globe.

Across 35 nations, a median of 26% do not identify with any political party in their country. In countries where more people are unaffiliated with any political party, popular support for representative democracy is also lower.

A majority of Americans say 2018 will be a better year than 2017, a shift from a year ago when public expectations were far less positive.

Across 37 countries surveyed in the spring of 2017, a median of 48% say they closely follow news about the U.S., compared with 50% who do not. Interest in news about the U.S. is highest in Canada, where 78% say they track it closely. Next highest is the Netherlands (75%), followed by some of America’s closest allies: Japan, Germany and Australia. Across 10 European nations, a median of 51% say they follow news about America closely.

A global median of 75% want their news media to be unbiased when covering political issues, yet many say the news media do a poor job of reporting on political issues fairly.

Explore the data on how publics across 38 countries think their news media are doing on issues like reporting the news accurately.

A majority of Americans say they think senior members of Donald Trump’s administration definitely or probably had improper contacts with Russia during last year’s presidential campaign.

People in Vietnam, India and South Korea are generally positive about life today in their countries compared with 50 years ago. But in many places, like Latin America, peoples' outlooks are more negative.