Ranked: Approval Ratings of World Leaders Heading Into 2026
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Key Takeaways
- Narendra Modi remains the world’s most popular major leader heading into 2026, despite softer approval than earlier in 2025.
- Most approval gains over 2025 stemmed from leadership changes rather than improving sentiment toward incumbents.
Public approval of political leaders reflects a mix of economic conditions, policy decisions, and broader voter sentiment. As 2025 comes to a close, approval ratings offer a snapshot of how leaders around the world are perceived heading into 2026.
This visualization ranks major global leaders by approval rating, based on surveys conducted between December 8 and 14, 2025, by Morning Consult,
High Approval at the Top, but Fewer Standouts
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi ranks first overall, with 71% approval heading into 2026. Although still well ahead of peers, his approval declined modestly from 75% in January 2025.
A similar pattern appears elsewhere: even leaders near the top of the rankings faced gradual erosion in support over the year, reflecting persistent inflation, cost-of-living pressures, and political fatigue among voters.
| Rank | Leader | Country | Approve | Don’t know / No opinion | Disapprove |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Narendra Modi |  India |
71% | 7% | 22% |
| 2 | Sanae Takaichi |  Japan |
61% | 13% | 26% |
| 3 | Lee Jae-myung |  South Korea |
56% | 8% | 35% |
| 4 | Javier Milei |  Argentina |
55% | 4% | 41% |
| 5 | Mark Carney |  Canada |
48% | 11% | 41% |
| 6 | Anthony Albanese |  Australia |
47% | 9% | 43% |
| 7 | Claudia Sheinbaum |  Mexico |
45% | 6% | 49% |
| 8 | Karin Keller-Sutter |  Switzerland |
43% | 27% | 30% |
| 9 | Donald Trump |  United States |
43% | 6% | 51% |
| 10 | Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva |  Brazil |
42% | 4% | 54% |
| 11 | Giorgia Meloni |  Italy |
41% | 6% | 52% |
| 12 | Bart de Wever |  Belgium |
41% | 10% | 49% |
| 13 | Christian Stocker |  Austria |
41% | 12% | 48% |
| 14 | Donald Tusk |  Poland |
38% | 11% | 51% |
| 15 | Jonas Gahr Støre |  Norway |
37% | 2% | 61% |
| 16 | Ulf Kristersson |  Sweden |
37% | 8% | 55% |
| 17 | Dick Schoof |  Netherlands |
36% | 24% | 40% |
| 18 | Friedrich Merz |  Germany |
36% | 5% | 60% |
| 19 | Recep Tayyip Erdoğan |  Turkey |
34% | 15% | 51% |
| 20 | Cyril Ramaphosa |  South Africa |
34% | 10% | 57% |
| 21 | Pedro Sánchez |  Spain |
33% | 6% | 61% |
| 22 | Keir Starmer |  United Kingdom |
23% | 9% | 67% |
| 23 | Emmanuel Macron |  France |
13% | 7% | 80% |
Approval Gains Reflect New Leadership, Not Turnarounds
Japan, South Korea, Canada, Austria, and Belgium all show higher approval ratings at the end of 2025, but these increases reflect new leaders replacing unpopular predecessors.
Much of Europe enters 2026 with leaders facing net-negative approval. France’s Emmanuel Macron ranks last, with approval in the low teens and disapproval near 80%. The UK’s Keir Starmer, Germany’s Friedrich Merz, and several Nordic leaders also post approval ratings in the 30% range or lower.
In the United States, Donald Trump sits in the middle of the ranking, with approval and disapproval nearly evenly split.
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- Source: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-approval-ratings-of-world-leaders-heading-into-2026/
