The Pew Global Attitudes Project is a unique, comprehensive, internationally comparable series of worldwide public opinion surveys. It aims to gauge attitudes in every region toward various issues of importance.

Pew Global Attitudes Project Spring 2006 Survey comprised the following six nations: United States, Russia, China, Japan, India, Pakistan.

The national surveys were taken during the period March 31 through May 14 and constituted telephone or face—to—face interviews of adults at least 18 years old. Margins of error range from 2 percentage points to 5 percentage points. Sample sizes were 500 in Japan; about 1,000 each in Pakistan, Russia and the United States; and slightly more than 2,000 each in China and India.

The surveys were conducted under the direction of Princeton Survey Research Associates International, which manages the fieldwork conducted by local research organizations in each country. All surveys are based on national samples except in China, India, and Pakistan, where the sample was disproportionately or exclusively urban. The results of the survey were released on September 21, 2006.

Some findings of interest:

**70% of Indians believe relations between their country and the U.S. have improved in recent years, and those who think relations have improved overwhelmingly (91%) consider this to be a good thing.

** 62% of Indians  have heard about the nuclear agreement between the U.S. and their country. Three—quarters (75%) of those who have heard of the nuclear deal approve of it.

** 65% of Indians see China replacing the US as the dominant power in the next 50 years; however, only 43%of Americans see China replacing their country as the dominant power in the next half a century; while 47% do not. {My comment: Looks like Indians are more farsighted than Americans. The complacency of Americans will prove costly to their country. However, American political leadership seems to be ahead of emerging public opinion.}

**93% of Japanese, 76% of Russians and 63% of Indians see China's growing military power as a bad thing. (Americans were not asked this question)

**50% of Indians, 39% of Russians and 28% of Japanese see China's growing economic power as a bad thing. (Americans were not asked this question).

**56% of Americans rate India favorably (28% unfavorably); 47%of Americans rate China favorably (43% unfavorably); 27% of Americans rate Pakistan favorably (56% unfavorably) {My comment: The fact that Pakistan continues to be the epicenter of terrorism in the world is getting increasingly embedded in American minds}.

**65% of Indians think favorably of Japan (28% unfavorably); 60% of Japanese think favorably of India (25% unfavorably);

**33% of Indians think favorably of China (43% unfavorable); 47% of Chinese think favorably of India (39% unfavorable); 69% of Chinese think favorably of Pakistan (7% unfavorable); surprisingly, only 33 % of Pakistanis rate China favorably (42% unfavorable).

**When asked which country in the world poses the greatest danger to their country, most Chinese (58%) say the U.S.

For a summary of the findings as officially released by Pew, see this.

Ram Narayanan   9 24 06