International opinion polling for the United States presidential election, 2008
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This article lists international
opinion poll An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll (although strictly a poll is an actual election) is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinion ...
s taken in various countries around the world during 2008 relating to the
2008 United States presidential election The 2008 United States presidential election was the 56th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior senator f ...
. Most polls measured foreign preference for Democratic candidate
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
and Republican candidate John McCain. For international reaction to the election, see International reaction to the United States presidential election, 2008.


Summary

Most polls during the 2008 election year showed greater global support for Senator Barack Obama over Senator John McCain. A poll for the BBC World Service conducted in 22 countries found Obama favored in each one by varying margins, with an overall average of 49% preference for Obama, 12% for McCain, and 40% with no preference. Similarly, a 73 country
Gallup poll Gallup, Inc. is an American analytics and advisory company based in Washington, D.C. Founded by George Gallup in 1935, the company became known for its public opinion polls conducted worldwide. Starting in the 1980s, Gallup transitioned its ...
found that 24% of those polled favored Obama compared with 7% who favored McCain; 69% of those surveyed had no opinion. An international ''
Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wif ...
'' survey also reported more support for Obama than McCain in all 16 foreign countries polled, though not in the U.S. itself. However, certain countries did prefer McCain to Obama in some polls, including
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
, Laos by a small margin, and the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
(which is in contrast to the capital
Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
). A poll done by the
Pew Global Attitudes Project The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the wo ...
investigated whether other countries believed
American foreign policy The officially stated goals of the foreign policy of the United States of America, including all the bureaus and offices in the United States Department of State, as mentioned in the ''Foreign Policy Agenda'' of the Department of State, are ...
"will change for the better" with a new president. Although majorities held this belief in several major European and African countries, 67% of Japanese respondents said it would not change very much and more Jordanians and Egyptians believed American foreign policy would get worse than better. In terms of confidence in the candidates, the Pew poll found most but not all countries had more confidence in Obama to do the right thing in global affairs. In several countries a majority of those polled said they were following the campaign closely, including Australia,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
, and the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. A global non-scientific Internet vote conducted by ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...
'', with 52,000 respondents, indicated that Obama was favored over McCain by a vast majority of poll respondents, with over 44,000 votes for Obama, or roughly 85% (there were no third party or abstain options).


Multi-country polls


Individual country polls


Argentina

A poll taken on August 26 by Ibarómetro reported that 53.2% of those polled preferred Obama against 8.8% for McCain; 38% were unsure.


Canada

Polls taken in Canada showed widespread and overwhelming support for Obama, even in traditionally conservative parts of the country.


France

A poll conducted on September 2–3 by TNS Sofres/Logica for the
French-American Foundation The French-American Foundation is a privately funded, non-governmental organization established to promote bilateral relations between France and the United States on topics of importance to the two countries, with a focus on contact between upco ...
and Fondation Robert Schuman found that 80% of the French polled hoped for an Obama victory, 8% for a McCain victory, 7% for neither, and 5% without an opinion. A later poll done on October 10–11 by BVA for ''
La Tribune ''La Tribune'' () is a French weekly financial newspaper founded in 1985 by Bruno Bertez. Its main competitor is the French newspaper '' Les Échos'', which is currently owned by LVMH. From 1993 to 2007, ''La Tribune'' was part of LVMH. In 2010 ...
'' found an even higher 86% who preferred to see Obama elected, with 6% hoping the same for McCain and 8% not expressing an opinion. The day after the election, a poll conducted by CSA for '' Le Parisien'' found that 84% of those polled were satisfied with the election of Obama, while 6% were dissatisfied and 10% expressed no opinion.


Germany

During the Democratic primary campaign, 43% of Germans supported Obama and 39% supported challenger Senator
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
according to a poll by Forsa for '' Stern''. In terms of the general election, a Forsa poll carried out on August 20–21 found 74% of respondents would vote for Obama, 11% for McCain, and 15% other or not sure.


Israel

The Rabin Center for Israel Studies commissioned a poll by TNS Teleseker in the months before the election, which found that 46.4% of those polled supported McCain, 34% supported Obama, and 18.6% were undecided.


Palestinian territories

A poll by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion taken September 1–10 reported 33.5% of respondents favoring McCain, 27.7% Obama, 30.4% neither, and 8.3% unsure.


See also

*
International opinion polling for the United States presidential election, 2016 This article lists international opinion polls taken in various countries around the world prior to the United States presidential election of 2016. Clinton was heavily favored in every foreign country where polling occurred, except for Russia. ...


References

{{United States presidential election, 2008 navigation Opinion polling for the 2008 United States presidential election