Over 70% of global citizens see Russia as a threat to the world after more than a year of the country’s war with Ukraine, even as support appears to be waning slightly for the invaded nation, according to findings from the 2023 U.S. News Best Countries survey.
A similar share of survey respondents agreed to some extent with the same sentiment about China, while half consider the United States a threat, underscoring global tensions and highlighting how perceptions of three of the world’s influential powers can vary by individual nation.
Respondents also were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with a series of statements, many of which related to international policies and priorities. About 72% of those surveyed agreed to some extent with the statement that “Russia is a threat to the world,” with 66% agreeing with the same statement about China and 50% agreeing about the United States.
On the overall list of the world’s Best Countries, Russia – where the survey was not fielded for the second year in a row – fell one spot to No. 37 overall, though that followed a tumble of 12 places in last year’s rankings – the first time countries were assessed by U.S. News since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Among individuals in specific nations, the percentage of those agreeing this year that Russia is a “threat to the world” eclipsed 90% in several: Denmark, Finland, Japan and Poland. Prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Finland officially joined NATO earlier this year, while Poland bolstered its border with Russian ally Belarus amid the presence there of Moscow-aligned mercenaries from paramilitary organization the Wagner Group.
Yet while Ukraine jumped nine spots in last year’s Best Countries rankings in a potential sign of growing support for the country amid the war, findings from the 2023 survey indicate that endorsement might be weakening. Ukraine dropped six places to No. 68 in the overall rankings, and 67% of those surveyed across 36 nations agreed that theirs “should be supportive of Ukraine in their defense against Russia” – a fall of 5 percentage points compared with last year’s results for the same statement.
Support for Ukraine does remain high in multiple countries, with agreement eclipsing 80% in nations including Australia, Denmark and the United Kingdom. And just under half of respondents overall agreed with a statement saying, “I would support my country sending troops into Ukraine.”
The findings come as the war rages on in Eastern Europe and as Ukraine recently launched a counteroffensive against Russia that’s seen halting progress. Meanwhile, the costs are mounting: U.S. officials estimated in mid-August that the total number of casualties on both sides was approaching 500,000, according to The New York Times. The majority of those killed and wounded came from the Russian side, though officials noted Russia is thought to routinely undercount its losses and the Ukrainian government doesn’t share official figures.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown no signs of calling back his troops, despite his sinking international favorability and some recent embarrassments, including a June mutiny attempt by the Wagner Group. The mercenary group’s leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, died in a suspicious plane crash on Aug. 23 following months out of the public eye.
The U.S. under President Joe Biden has supported Ukraine since the start of the war, providing the most aid among all countries by far. Americans also appear to remain in favor of that assistance: Nearly 80% of U.S. respondents to the Best Countries survey agreed with the statement saying their country should be supportive of Ukraine’s defense against Russia, though that support, too, has eroded somewhat from 85% a year ago.
And while it’s clear that Americans specifically view Russia as a global threat, they are also concerned about China: Nearly 88% of U.S.-based Best Countries survey respondents agreed to some extent with the statement saying, “Russia is a threat to the world.” Close to 84% agreed with the same statement about China. The only other countries with higher majorities agreeing that China is a global threat were Japan (91%) and South Korea (86%).
When it comes to American beliefs about which country poses the greatest threat to the U.S. itself, analysis elsewhere points to China. A survey earlier this year by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center found 50% of respondents holding that view while Russia garnered only a 17% share – perceptions fueled heavily by the sentiments of conservative Republicans.
Richard Wike, director of global attitudes research at Pew, notes that Americans see the threat of China as more “multidimensional” – meaning the country poses both an economic and national security threat to the U.S., while Russia is viewed as less of an economic threat.
“Increasingly, Americans have a negative opinion of China,” Wike says. “They’re increasingly worried about a variety of threats from China, anything from cyberattacks to economic competition, or they’re concerned about Beijing’s record on human rights.”
But even as ratings of China from other countries studied by Pew have gotten more negative, Wike clarifies that attitudes about Russia are “overwhelmingly negative,” both from an American viewpoint and internationally.
International views of the U.S., on other hand, have improved since Biden took office, and the U.S. saw the lowest percentage of agreement as the subject of a “threat to the world” statement, according to the Best Countries survey. Among respondents who do consider the U.S. a global threat, the highest share of agreement came from China at about 75%, while agreement eclipsed 60% among those from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and New Zealand.
“You see some interesting trends heading in different directions for these big global powers,” Wike adds.
No matter where these three countries stand in the eyes of others, a large share of the world’s citizens appear uneasy about the possibility of global conflict, as 72.5% of Best Countries survey respondents agreed with a statement, “I fear we are moving closer to World War 3” – down slightly from about 75% in 2022.
How founded those fears are remains to be seen. Notably, the World Economic Forum’s 2023 Global Risks Report pegged “geoeconomic confrontation” – which can play out through mechanisms like sanctions, currency measures and trade controls – as a top 10 risk in terms of severity for both the short and long terms. The risk of interstate conflict, encompassing actions such as cyberattacks and military wars, was further down both lists.
Still, the possibility of geoeconomic conflict is troubling, according to Ellissa Cavaciuti-Wishart, head of the Global Risks Initiative at the World Economic Forum.
“There’s all of these spillover impacts in terms of geoeconomic confrontation,” Cavaciuti-Wishart says. “We’ve seen these intensified geopolitical dynamics, they may actually have spillover effects and weaken the economic landscape. And it’s a shame because what this means is that some of these actions then undermine any efforts to kind of build national resilience.”
