E-Paper
Indians three times more likely than Pakistanis to favour US: Pew
The report reveals a growing bond between the US and Pakistan while highlighting stark differences in perceptions of global allies between India and Pakistan.
Indians feel three times as favourably as Pakistanis when it comes to views of the United States, according to a report by the US-based Pew Research Center.
"Indeed, across 36 countries, the favourability gap between the US and China is largest in Pakistan," the report said. Of those surveyed, just 15% of Pakistani adults had a favourable opinion of the US, while an overwhelming 90% seemed to back the country’s all-weather ally, China.
"India is one of the most comparatively pro-US countries surveyed, and one of only six where people express more positive views of the US than China," the report added.
In India, 45% of adults had a favourable opinion of the US; in the case of China, the figure stood at 23%. "Indian Muslims are more likely than Indian Hindus to have a positive view of China and confidence in Xi, but on balance, their opinions of both are negative," the report said.
India's ties with these players
The findings come even as Islamabad is seen to be getting closer to the US on the global stage—from praising Donald Trump for what it calls a key role in brokering an India-Pakistan ceasefire after a four-day conflict last year, to mediating between the US and Iran for a peace deal in West Asia.
On the other hand, trade tensions have persisted between the US and India, which are negotiating a deal. The US side has not held back on its criticism of some trade practices in India, though both sides stress the strong bond between Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The latest Pew Research Center report surveyed 3,566 people in India and 1,039 people in Pakistan, alongside respondents in other countries included in the surveys, which were conducted in India from February to April 27, 2026, and in Pakistan from April 8 to May 7, 2026.
"On a variety of questions about the role the US and China play in the world–like reliability as a partner, taking other countries’ interests into account, interfering in other countries’ affairs, and maintaining global peace and stability– a similar pattern holds, with Indians more positive toward the US and Pakistanis far more positive toward China," the report said.
Geopolitical play
Pakistanis think of China (75%) as their most important ally and, to a lesser degree, Saudi Arabia (12%), according to the report.
It said about a third of Indians say Russia is their top ally (36%), while 16% name the US.
"Indians, for example, show much more positive views of Russia (58% favorable) and President Vladimir Putin (51% confidence) than Pakistanis do (39% and 32%). In fact, Indians are among the most positive toward Russia and Putin across 37 countries surveyed this spring," the survey found.
