Poll: Outside U.S., Obama support high

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- A straw poll of people in more than 30 countries shows U.S. President Barack Obama would win by a landslide if they were allowed to vote in the U.S. election.

The poll conducted for United Press International by CVOTER International/WIN-Gallup International found the strongest support for Obama in Iceland, Netherlands, Portugal, Germany and Ireland while Republican challenger Mitt Romney's highest support was found in Israel, Pakistan, Georgia, Macedonia and China.

The poll queried more than 26,000 men and women outside the United States. Sixty-three percent of those queried said the U.S. president has a high or very high impact on their lives while 29 percent discounted the impact and 9 percent said they were uncertain or didn't know.

Asked if they would like to vote in the United States, 42 percent said yes, with the percentage rising to 46 percent among those less than 30 years of age.

If U.S. elections were a global affair, 63 percent said they would vote and 81 percent said they would support Obama, compared to 19 percent for Romney. Among U.S. voters, the two candidates are separated by only 3-5 percentage points, recent polls have indicated, giving Obama the edge.

"In 29 of the 32 countries polled, Obama's rating for policies and competence is 55 percent and above, the lowest figure being in Pakistan," the pollsters said. "In seven countries, the approval for his policies and competence is in the 90s, and in another nine it is in the 80s."

Obama's support was highest in Iceland (98 percent); Netherlands, Portugal, Germany (97 percent); Ireland, Denmark (96 percent); Switzerland, France, Finland (95 percent); Italy and Turkey (94 percent); Brazil (93 percent); Romania, Saudi Arabia (91 percent) and Australia (90 percent).

"Surprisingly, support for Romney fails to match Obama's everywhere except Israel. The most notable is Pakistan, where despite Obama's controversial handling of AfPak [Afghanistan and Pakistan] that has nosedived ties with Islamabad and where an overwhelming majority of citizens increasingly identify America as an archenemy, Obama leads 59 percent to 41 percent among those who would vote -- although the actual numbers are 13 percent to 9 percent in Obama's favor, as a majority of Pakistanis say either they don't know or they would choose neither," pollsters noted.

Romney garnered the most support in Israel (65 percent), Pakistan (41 percent), Georgia (36 percent), Macedonia (30 percent), China (29 percent), Lebanon (26 percent), Iraq (20 percent), India (19 percent), Colombia (16 percent), Hong Kong (15 percent) and Cameroon (15 percent).

The poll, conducted among most of the Group of 20 nations and others in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas, Aug. 20-Sept. 5, had an error rate of 3.5 percentage points and a confidence level of 95 percent.