Pakistanis had the least favourable view of the US in 2013. NOTE: This is a redacted version of the full list of countries for which results are available. Please see story, and PEW site for the full list. PHOTO: COURTESY PEW
According to the Washington DC based think tank, Pew Research Center, public sentiment in Pakistan on whether the US was an enemy, fell to 64% in July 2013, down from 74% in 2012 after three consecutive years if increasingly adverse sentiment.
Only Palestine held a stronger view of America as an enemy with 76% of the respondents considering the US as an enemy.
On the other hand, only eight per cent of Pakistanis considered the US as a partner.
Of the countries surveyed, Pakistanis held the least favourable view of the US with 11%. Though, this has fallen from 12% of those polled in 2012.
In contrast, Pakistan, was the fourth country to hold an unfavourable view of the US at 72%, behind the likes of Jordan (85%), Egypt (81%) and Palestine (79%). Unfavourable view by Pakistanis fell from 80% in 2012.
Drone strikes, which has been the major sticking point between Pakistan and the US over the past few years, contributed the most towards Pakistani sentiments against the US with 68% of those polled in spring 2013 disapproving the strikes.
Given that Pakistan is one of the few countries in the world to be actively bombarded by such attacks, disapproval of the strikes lagged behind 19 other countries. The PEW poll found that the 68% Pakistani disapproval towards drone attacks was well behind Venezuela’s 91%, Greece 89% and Egypt’s 89%.
Meanwhile, only five per cent of Pakistanis approved drone strikes. Israel (64%) and US (61%) led with the most approval for drone strikes.
Disapprove the US, not Americans
Despite the low opinion that Pakistanis have for the state of US, it is a different story when it comes to the American people.
Pakistanis had an increasingly favourable view of Americans, rising from just 14% in 2012, to 17% in 2013.
This is much higher from the 10 year low in 2011, where only 12% of those polled held a favourable view of the Americans. However, this is quite short of the 2006 high when 27% of those polled held a favourable view of Americans.
Despite the increasing favourable view of Americans, Pakistan still holds the least favourable view towards Americans in the countries that were polled.
By contrast, the poll recorded a massive fall in the unfavourable view of Americans held by Pakistanis, down to 60% in 2013 from 73% in 2012. It also marked a turn in the rise in an unfavourable view of Americans in recent years which had steadily increased from 56% in 2008 to 73% in 2012.
Egyptians (32%), Jordanians (31%) , Palesitinians (25%) and Turks (20%) held better views of Americans than Pakistanis. Philippines (85%), Ghana (84%), South Korea (80%) and Israel (80%) held the most favourble views towards Americans.
Pakistan falls behind Palestine (69%), Turkey (68%), Jordan (65%) and Egypt (65%) in list of countries with the most unfavourble view of Americans.
Increased consumption of American life style
Despite the issues with the US and Americans, Pakistanis became increasingly fond of the way Americans did business and of their entertainment products such as music, television and films.
Pakistanis who liked American entertainment, doubled in 2012 (12%) from the number of Pakistanis who liked it in 2002 (four per cent).
Those Pakistanis who disliked American content fell from 79% in 2002, to 78% in 2012, having risen to 80% in 2007.
Pakistanis who liked the way Americans did business also doubled in the same period, from 14% in 2002 to 28% in 2012. Those who disliked the way Americans did business fell from 53% in 2002, to 51% in 2012, having risen to 56% in 2007.
COMMENTS (19)
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@Adil Uddin - Is it possible to keep the focus on Pakistan I know its a typical reaction from Pakistanis to try and compare as they do not have other choices, We Americans feels like we give many pennies to the poor man on the street and yet he complains & moans. @Ali Mohsin: You are probably lacking to assume that only Indians comment and your jaded view of freedom of expression in Pakistan is to ban YOUTUBE it best you go back to understand the definition! also unless you are of the editorial board of ET I doubt you have the authority to give or refuse anyone any platform. Just work with your censor board to explain why India does not ban social sites as Pakistan?
It's amazing India is taken out from the list here it actually hate America more then Russia... New Poll. Why was that removed from data here.... I wonder?
@Janet: I doubt you are an American from Texas, as mostly we give the platform to Indians ONLY to comment here. Because these residents of Rape Capital of the World dont have freedom of expression in their own country
And if you offer any of these haters a greencard, they'll be in America the next minute. America was hardly ever bad with you Pakistan.
@Mirza:
Not surprising at all. The purpose of foriegn aid is to extract policy concessions. Most aid goes to countries where the governments are least reflective of the will of the people and the aid goes to the government to gain policy concessions that are against the will of the people
Jordan, Egyprt, Palestine, Pakistan, Lebanon, China, Greece, Tunisia...lolx...except China there is hardly any country in top 10 list which matters for US...
@Janet Garcia Texas USA:
Yeah right, ever heard about Medea Benjamin and Russia Today? And what about anti-US feelings in Latin America?
We are America's slaves, more loyal than a dog.Anyone in Pakistan who hates U.S will not miss an opportunity to work and live there, even though if it means a menial job.
Shut up call for the so called Pakistani hating America who think Drones are not helping Pakistani masses! There would be "NO DRONES" if you cleaned your backyard of all the terrorists that move freely in your nation. Not only are they killing your neighbors but the civilian casualties due to drones are the responsibility of the people of Pakistan if you did assumed your responsibility there would be NO collateral civilian casualties. .
Only a day ago more than a dozen people were killed by self made explosives mostly women and children in Northern Pakistan. Yet there were no big news no comments any outrage against the killings of mostly women and children. They were not targeted by a drone but homemade explosives went wrong. It is only when a high value TTP or other terrorist leader is killed the rightwing leaders and apologists start crying against the drones targeting innocents. Not a peep when women and children are specifically killed in residential areas.
@Tahir: But probably ten times as many "TTP apologists" in Pakistan!
Based on the numbers presented and the content on this article, one can conclude that Pakistanis (and perhaps other countries as well) who hold a strong unfavourable view of US, is towards its policies. But as a whole they do not hate US. They like US entertainment and would like to do business with them as well.
US neocons always like to bundle up things and announce that "They hate us and our freedom". This way they can mask wrong doings in their foreign policy. Reality is that most nations disagree/dislike US foreign policy and its interference/invasions of other countries, but do like its democracy internally, freedom of speech, technology advancement, sports and entertainment.
Why is it not 100%? ET why you spread propoganda!
Do another poll between American Foreign Policy and America. American Foreign Policy may get 17% but America will score 100% liking.
We Pakistanis need to educate ourselves on US-Pak relations from the beginning until now. We claimed US friendship and loyalty for times immemorial and served as their proxy and agent for much too long to be now complaining about it. We were targets of criticism, and not totally unjustifiably either, from India, Afghanistan, Russia and others for being agents of America in the area. We were allowing spying over Russia and surrounding from our territory. Do a search about U2 and Gary Powers to see what I am talking about. When America wanted to establish relations with China Henry Kissinger contacted Pakistanis to initiate it, came to Karachi, went underground on the pretext of illness, was surreptitiously driven to the airport by Sultan Mohammed Khan, to fly to Peking to arrange for Nixon's visit in 1969.
How we have reached this stage of animosity from being bosom buddies need some soul-searching and introspection. It is Pakistan's own mismanagement of priorities and faulty policies that has resulted in present day fiasco. America may have many faults, as every super power tend to have, but there is a limit to blaming everything on them exclusively.
Figures suggest that there are too many drone apologists in Pakistan.
Shut up call for the so called liberals who think Drones r helping Pakistani masses!
It is ironic that most of the US aid goes to Pakistan and Egypt beside Israel. However, these aid recipient Muslims countries have the most negative opinion of the US. How can this be justified on one hand grabbing most money and on the other hate the donor?