Poll: U.S. public sees Canada as No. 1

PRINCETON, N.J., Feb. 19 (UPI) -- Canada, which Barack Obama visited Thursday in his first foreign trip as U.S. president, ranks No. 1 in U.S. public opinion among 19 nations, a poll indicated.

Ninety percent of U.S. respondents view Canada, the United States' largest trading partner, favorably, while only 6 percent view it unfavorably, a Gallup World Affairs survey said.

Britain, another U.S. ally, ranks No. 2, with an 89 percent favorable rating, Gallup said.

Japan and Germany are viewed favorably by about 80 percent of U.S. respondents, followed by France, India and Israel, all with positive ratings around 64 percent, the poll indicated.

Iran ranks last on a list of 19 countries, with a 12 percent favorable rating and an 80 percent unfavorable rating, preceded by North Korea and the Palestinian Authority, both with 15 percent favorable scores, Gallup said.

Afghanistan and Pakistan are viewed as only slightly better, with 19 percent and 20 percent favorable ratings, respectively, Gallup said.

This is the fourth straight year that Canada has topped the country rankings.

The telephone survey of 1,022 adults, age 18 and older, was conducted Feb. 9-12 and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points, so differences of less than that amount are statistically insignificant.

From the other side of the border, 75 percent of Canadians predict good to excellent relations with the United States, a Harris-Decima Research poll found.

The Feb. 12-15 telephone poll of more than 1,000 Canadians has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.