Visualization of how the world views US election

Unless you've been living in a cave, you are probably aware that there is an important election about to take place in the United States (though I suspect at least some cave dwellers are very much aware of this too). Although one candidate seems to have an advantage with one week to go, it's more or less a race that's too close to call. You know how Americans feel about the candidates, but what about the rest of the world?

This satirical world map above from Dan Roam's blog is quite amusing, and although it's strictly tongue-in-cheek, it does somewhat reflect how those outside the United States actually view the US presidential candidates and the election.

If the world could vote
If you want a more accurate depiction of what the world thinks, checkout an interesting site by the folks at Gallup on the Foreign Policy website. I've met a lot of people from all over the world this past year. Many times people tell me — jokingly, of course — that they should be allowed to vote in the US election since the results have such an impact on their own country. Well, no one is suggesting that non US citizens be allowed to vote for the next US president, but the question is a good one: What if the world could vote? What would the polls look like? Gallup conducted this poll in 70 countries between May and September of this year. (Teachers in the US may find this website particularly useful. And make sure you checkout the videos and data on the Gallup World Poll website — some really interesting data there.)


Above: This map (click to enlarge) from the foreignpolicy/gallup page gives a quick, superficial overview of who the majority of people in each country prefer to win the election. The reason you do not see red (McCain) is that in the four countries where McCain polls ahead of Obama, McCain is still surpassed by the number of people who have no preference. Go to the foreignpolicy/gallup page and select a country to get more detailed information on poll results and some analysis.


Above: This map shows the results for the question "do US election results make a difference in your country?"

Gallup: In developed Asia, a clear preference for Obama
Here are some simple bar charts. The color pallet is very simple and consistent. (Source.)





Gallup: Japanese back Obama over McCain
Gallup suggests that Japan may in part have a more favorable view of Obama due to his opposition to the Iraq war. The US-Japan relationship is very strong, but President Bush is not popular here for various reasons and this is seen to help make Obama more popular.



The line chart below shows the general mood of Japanese toward the US on the issue of trust over time (though Japanese do not give high marks for their own government either).


Who cares?
So what does all this mean? Gallup gives some analysis for many of the countries, and you will have your own conclusions, including that it just doesn't matter. That's fine. My only real intent was to point out this Gallup website as I know many of you will find this useful. I have a class tomorrow which has students from 14 different countries; we're going to spend some time looking at the results and interpreting what they mean, etc.

• Here's another website that's been taking some polling (unscientific, but interesting nonetheless).
• Find the latest Gallup polling news on the election here.

Comments

[AndrewE]

No sunny NZ on those maps!

[MattM]

How does this apply to design???

[Hooray, For The U.S.A!]

That shows how special the U.S. is.

And we don't lead by what other countries think. If that was the case, we'd give up our freedom and economic might like the other countries, and be third world hellhole. Sometimes pictures reveal more about the other countries' views that hold their own citizens down and won't allow them to pursue their dreams.

[Harold Jarche]

This list of US-led military interventions may indicate why many countries are interested in a US election:

http://academic.evergreen.edu/g/grossmaz/interventions.html

or just watch the movie:

http://www.sonyclassics.com/whywefight/

[Teylyn]

@AndrewE
My thoughts exactly. Guess we just don't count. A measly 4 Million at the edge of the civilised world. Who cares? Hope they'll forget about us too if the start the next global war!

[Garr]

Yes, I noticed that NZ was not shown. Not only not polled, but not even on the map. Ridiculous! NZ, of course, rocks! I can't wait to return to New Zealand -- there is not a cooler country on the planet!

[anonymous]

For presentations, the graphics could be better, right? What about a pie chart somewhere or take out all those numbers above the columns? Or at least present NZ in the map!

[Brian]

No, Hooray to the USA, America leads by selfish disregard for other people and profiteering from Indians, slaves, selling to both sides in both world wars, multinational corporations, etc. It has made America very rich and influential but those chickens are coming home to roost, and the good ol' boys are gonna get a whippin'. Or you could change course and put that wealth and influence to good use. Over to you, America.

[Brian]

Well, I'd say it's no longer "Too close to call". The properly compiled results at http://fivethirtyeight.com/ of all the polls clearly show who is going to win barring any unforeseen media shocks.

I'm glad though, I'm in a country that thinks we suffer when the US choses poorly.

Somehow it also seems to reflect into embassy designs. When comparing the US embassy (a concrete fortress) to the other embassies (nice open, old style mansions), I get some shivers. The US embassy just screams "You are not welcome here" and "We fear you" at the same time. Quite the image to convey..

[Gary]

What a great set of diagrams, if we get away from the presidential race what we have is great ways of representing world data and I personally can make use of that if I can work out how to do it and recognise situations where they are appropriate!

[Robin Capper]

Others beat me to the New Zealand missing comment bur I did thunk it before I saw the comments!

I wonder what impact is the New Zealand Election, happening on the 8th Nov, having on the US one!*

We are getting a double dose of politics by the time you wade through both lots of election coverage.

* I'm guessing not much :-)

[fear public speaking]

It's just a dream.Once upon a time.the world have elected a new US president

[hotsauce]

I hope the US is white in the does-the-election-make-a-difference-in-your-country map because it was not included in the poll, rather than the "no" indicated by the key.