Datasets:
FOR RELEASE NOVEMBER 24, 2025
German Views of the U.S. -Germany Relationship Turn Sharply Negative
Most Americans describe the relationship countries as good , although fewer do compared with
between the two
last year
BY Jacob Poushter, Jordan Lippert and Sofia Hernandez Ramones
FOR MEDIA OR OTHER INQUIRIES:
Jacob Poushter, Associate Director, Global Attitudes Research Gar Meng Leong, Communications Manager
202.419.4372
RECOMMENDED CITATION
Pew Research Center, November 2025, “German Views of the U.S.-Germany Relationship Turn Sharply Negative”
1
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
About Pew Research Center
Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan, nonadvocacy fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It does not take policy positions. The Center conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, computational social science research and other data-driven research. It studies politics and policy; news habits and media; the internet and technology; religion; race and ethnicity; international affairs; social, demographic and economic trends; science; research methodology and data science; and immigration and migration. Pew Research Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder.
© Pew Research Center 2025
2
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
How we did this
In 2017, Pew Research Center and Körber-Stiftung began collaborating on joint public opinion surveys to gauge relations between the United States and Germany. Topics surveyed include relations with other countries; partnerships on foreign policy issues; views of China, Russia and the conflicts in the Middle East; democracy and the state of international relations.
The questions were developed together, and each organization fielded a survey in its own country starting in 2017. Some questions have been repeated annually to track attitudes over time.
The results have been published in both countries. Here are the Center reports and analyses for November 2024, November 2023, October 2022, November 2021, November 2020, May 2020, March 2020, March 2019 and February 2018. The Körber-Stiftung findings are contained within its larger “The Berlin Pulse” report and can be found here for 2025 and prior years.
For the U.S. findings, Pew Research Center surveyed 1,015 adults from Sept. 19 to 26, 2025. The survey was conducted by Ipsos for the Center on the Ipsos KnowledgePanel Government & Academic Omnibus. Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel is an online survey panel recruited using address- based sampling. The survey is weighted by gender, age, race, ethnicity, education, income and other categories.
The German findings are from a Körber-Stiftung survey of 1,503 adults from Sept. 15 to 26, 2025. The survey was conducted by Forsa Institute via telephone.
Here are the questions used for this report, along with responses, and the U.S. survey methodology.
3
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
German Views of the U.S. Relationship Turn Sharply Negative Most Americans describe the relationship as good, although fewer do compared with last year
-Germany
between the two countries
By Jacob Poushter, Jordan Lippert and Sofia Hernandez Ramones
In the ninth annual joint Pew Research Center and Körber-Stiftung surveys of the United States and German publics, we find profound changes in perceptions of the bilateral relationship. These are the first surveys in this series conducted since Donald Trump began his second term as U.S. president and Friedrich Merz became chancellor of Germany.
Key findings:
▪ Americans continue to have
a positive view of relations between the two countries, even with a significant decline in perceptions since last year. Germans have completely flipped their assessments of the relationship over that same period.
▪ A declining share of
Americans and Germans say the other country is a partner on key international issues, and around a third or fewer of Germans see the U.S. as a partner on each of the five issues we tested.
Americans continue to say relations with Germany are good, as German views flip since last year
% of adults in the U.S./Germany who say relations today between the U.S. and Germany are …
Note: Those who did not answer are not shown. Prior to 2022, U.S. surveys were conducted over the phone. German results are all from telephone surveys. Source: Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 19-26, 2025. Körber- Stiftung survey of German adults conducted Sept. 15-26, 2025. “German Views of the U.S.-Germany Relationship Turn Sharply Negative”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
▪ France has once again become the most important foreign policy partner for the German
public: 46% name France as this, while 26% say the same for the U.S. Only 1% of Americans
4
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
name Germany as its most important partner, with the United Kingdom topping the list at 19%.
▪ Americans see China and Russia as major military threats to their country. Germans only see
Russia, not China, as a major security threat.
▪ Both publics continue to perceive China as an economic threat and are concerned about its
growing influence, even as this sentiment softens.
U.S.-Germany relations
In our 2025 survey, 71% of U.S. adults say that relations with Germany are very or somewhat good. This represents a 13 percentage point decline since last year. Around a quarter of Americans (24%) say relations with Germany are bad, the highest share saying this since 2018.
In Germany, there is a dramatic decline in those viewing relations with the U.S. as positive. Last year, before Trump was elected U.S. president again, 74% had positive views of the U.S.-German relationship. In 2025, 27% of Germans say relations with the U.S. are good, while 73% say they are bad.
There has also been a shift in partisan attitudes among Americans toward U.S.-Germany relations. In the current survey, 81% of Republicans and those that lean toward the Republican Party say relations with Germany are good, while 65% of Democrats and those that lean toward the Democratic party say the same. In 2024, 91% of Democrats and Democratic leaners and 84% of Republicans and GOP leaners said relations between the two countries were good.
In another sign of strained relations between the NATO allies, 38% of Germans see the U.S. as a major threat to their economy, 48% see the U.S. as a minor economic threat, and 14% say the U.S. is no threat economically.
5
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
U.S. and Germany as partners on key issues
Looking at five key issues in the U.S.-Germany partnership, two findings standout:
▪ Americans are more likely to say that Germany is a partner on all five key issues than Germans
are to say the same about the U.S.
▪ There have been sharp declines among Germans saying the U.S. is a partner on these key
issues, and a milder, but still significant, decline among Americans over the last three years.
Americans and Germans now less likely to see each other as partners on key issues
% of adults in the U.S./Germany who say the other country is a partner on …
Note: For full U.S. trends, see topline. Source: Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 19-26, 2025. Körber-Stiftung survey of German adults conducted Sept. 15-26, 2025. “German Views of the U.S.-Germany Relationship Turn Sharply Negative”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
For example, 62% of Americans say Germany is a partner on promoting free trade, compared with only 21% of Germans who say the same of the U.S. There is currently a 15% tariff on most German exports to the U.S. Last year, 64% of Germans said the U.S. was a partner on promoting free trade. And U.S. sentiment has also softened on this issue, down 10 percentage points since 2023.
6
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Fewer Germans also say the U.S. is a partner on promoting democracy since 2023 (-36 percentage points). And since the change in U.S. administrations from 2024 to today, fewer Germans say the U.S. is a partner for dealing with the war in Ukraine (-32) and dealing with China (-18).
There has also been a 22-point drop on Germans seeing the U.S. as a partner on dealing with the Israel-Hamas war since last year. (The survey was conducted before the first phase of Trump’s peace deal to end the war was signed.) U.S. sentiment has also dropped on these key issues, ranging from an 8 to 10-point decline since 2023.
There are few significant demographic and political differences on these key issues. But Democrats are more willing to say Germany is a partner on promoting free trade (67%) compared with Republicans (59%), and similarly more likely to say the same about promoting democracy worldwide (63% vs. 56%, respectively).
In Germany, younger people are generally more willing to say that the U.S. is a partner on these issues and relations are good, but on no question do a majority of 18- to 29-year-old Germans say this.
7
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
U.S. and Germany’s top foreign policy partner
Americans most commonly name the UK when asked which country is the most important partner for American foreign policy – as has been the case since we first asked this question in 2017. However, many did not answer the question (36%).
Among both Republicans and Democrats, the UK is the most common response (21% and 19%, respectively). But when it comes to the second and third most frequently declared countries, views differ by party:
Roughly 1 in 5 Americans see UK as top foreign policy partner; nearly half of Germans say France
% of adults in the U.S./Germany who say __ is currently the most important partner for American/German foreign policy
U.S.
UK
19%
China
10
Canada
7
Israel
7
Europe
Mexico
3
3
Germany
France
46%
U.S.
26
China
Poland
Russia
UK
2
2
2
2
- Among Americans, 1% say “Germany.” Note: Open-ended question. Those who answered “Other,” “No country” or did not answer are not shown. In the U.S., responses given by fewer than 3% of respondents are not shown. In Germany, responses given by fewer than 2% of respondents are not shown. Source: Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 19-26, 2025. Körber- Stiftung survey of German adults conducted Sept. 15-26, 2025. “German Views of the U.S.-Germany Relationship Turn Sharply Negative”
▪ Among Republicans, Israel
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
(12%) and China (8%) are the next most common responses.
▪ For Democrats, it’s China (12%) and Canada (9%).
8
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Germans are most likely to say that France is their top partner in foreign policy, a change from recent years. Since 2021, corresponding with Joe Biden’s presidency, Germans have said that the U.S. was their greatest partner. Today, in the wake of Trump’s return to the White House, 26% say so.
A significant share in Germany also says they don’t know (15%).
Germans now see France as greater partner, tracking with U.S. presidential administration changes
% of German adults who say __ is currently the most important partner for German foreign policy
France
53%
50
51
54
U.S.
17%
16
19
10
44
27
36
32
47
46
43
26
27
26
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
France is most commonly named among supporters of many of Germany’s major political parties, including the governing Christian Democratic Union (CDU)/ Christian Social Union (CSU). Supporters of the opposition Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, however, are most likely to name the U.S.
Note: Open-ended question. Source: Korber-Stiftung survey of German adults conducted Sept. 15-26, 2025. “German Views of the U.S.-Germany Relationship Turn Sharply Negative”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
9
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
European Union’s influence
Views on the European Union’s influence over the recent years differ among the U.S. and Germany. The more common opinion in the U.S. is that the EU’s influence has stayed about the same over the recent years, while Germans are much more likely to say it is getting weaker.
Germans are also 20 percentage points more likely to say the EU is getting weaker in 2025 than they were last year. Among Americans, views on the EU’s influence have remained largely unchanged since 2024.
While Democrats are more likely than Republicans to think the EU’s influence is getting stronger (29% vs. 17%), Republicans are more likely to say its influence is staying about the same (52% vs. 42%).
Germans are more likely to say the European Union is losing influence
% of adults in the U.S./Germany who say the EU’s influence is __ in recent years
Getting weaker
Staying about the same
Getting stronger
U.S.
25%
46%
23%
Germany
64
26
9
Note: Those who did not answer are not shown. Source: Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 19-26, 2025. Körber-Stiftung survey of German adults conducted Sept. 15-26, 2025. “German Views of the U.S.-Germany Relationship Turn Sharply Negative”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
10
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
China, Russia and Iran as military threats
Americans are more likely than Germans to view China and Iran as a military threat to their country’s security. When it comes to Russia, however, about half or more of adults in both countries see it as a major threat.
▪ China: While 61% of Americans consider China a major military threat to their security, few Germans (9%) hold the same view.
▪ Russia: Roughly six-in-ten Americans see Russia as a major military threat, while about half of Germans agree.
▪
Iran: About a third of Americans see Iran as a major military threat, a much higher share than the 10% of Germans who say the same.
Just months after the U.S. conducted air strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, fewer Americans say Iran is a major military threat in 2025 than said the same last year (42%).
Differing views of military threats in the U.S. and Germany
% of U.S. adults who say that the following countries pose (a) __ to American security
Major military threat
Minor military threat
No military threat
China
Russia
61%
59
25%
9%
27
9
Iran
32
46
18
German % of German adults who say that the following y countries pose (a) __ to German security
China
9%
46%
44%
Russia
47
35
17
Iran
10
45
44
Note: Those who did not answer are not shown. Source: Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 19-26, 2025. Körber-Stiftung survey of German adults conducted Sept. 15-26, 2025. “German Views of the U.S.-Germany Relationship Turn Sharply Negative”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Meanwhile, Germans have grown more concerned with Russia as a major military threat: 47% say this now, compared with the 39% who said the same last year.
Among Germans, 57% of those who support CDU/CSU (Merz’s party) and 64% who support the Social Democratic Party (coalition partner) say Russia is a major threat to their security. But around three-in-ten who support AfD (the right-wing populist party with the second most seats in parliament) agree that Russia is a major military threat (28%).
Additionally, Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are 10 percentage points more likely than Republican and Republican-leaning independents to see Russia as a major military
11
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
threat to American security (65% vs. 55%), marking a shift from 2024 when 62% of both groups saw Russia as a major threat.
Views of these countries as major threats also vary among Americans by age. Those ages 60 and older are at least 20 points more likely than those ages 18 to 29 to consider China and Russia a major military threat.
China’s influence
Although few Germans consider China a major military threat to their country, they are much more likely to consider it a major economic threat (59% vs. 9%). Meanwhile, a similar share of Americans consider China a major economic and a military threat (66% vs. 61%).
Among Americans, those ages 60 and older are more likely than adults ages 18 to 29 to perceive China as a major economic threat (73% vs. 53%). In Germany, 53% of adults ages 60 and older say China is a major economic threat to their country, compared with 64% of 18- to 29- year-olds.
Majorities in both countries see China as a major threat to their economy
% of adults in the U.S./Germany who say that China poses (a) __ to their country
Major economic threat
Minor economic threat
No economic threat
U.S.
Germany
66%
59
21%
9%
31
9
Note: Those who did not answer are not shown. Source: Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 19-26, 2025. Körber-Stiftung survey of German adults conducted Sept. 15-26, 2025. “German Views of the U.S.-Germany Relationship Turn Sharply Negative”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
When it comes to China’s role in the world, half or more of Americans and Germans think that China’s growing influence is more of a bad thing. Few in both countries consider this a good thing (7%).
12
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
The share who says that China’s growing influence is more of a bad thing has declined since 2023 in both countries (-10 in the U.S. and -12 in Germany). This reflects an upswing in views toward China in many countries around the world over the past few years.
Half or more of Americans and Germans say China’s growing influence is bad
% of adults in the U.S./Germany who say China’s growing influence (is) …
More of a bad thing
More of a good thing
Does not make a difference
U.S.
61%
7%
27%
Germany
50
7
42
Note: Those who did not answer are not shown. Source: Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 19-26, 2025. Körber- Stiftung survey of German adults conducted Sept. 15-26, 2025. “German Views of the U.S.-Germany Relationship Turn Sharply Negative”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
13
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Military assistance to Ukraine, Taiwan and Israel
Americans have mixed opinions when asked whether the U.S. should or should not provide military assistance to Ukraine in its war with Russia, Taiwan in its conflict with China, and Israel in its war with Hamas. (Our survey was fielded prior to the ceasefire agreed to by Israel and Hamas in early October 2025.)
Many Americans are unsure on whether the U.S. should provide military assistance to certain countries. Roughly three-in-ten or more say they are not sure about each conflict we asked about.
In the case of Ukraine and its war with Russia, more say the U.S. should provide military aid than say it should not. Democrats (54%) are more likely than Republicans (28%) to support giving military assistance to Ukraine.
Americans have mixed opinions when it comes to providing military assistance in world conflicts
% of U.S. adults who say the U.S. __ provide military assistance to …
No, should not
Yes, should
Not sure
28%
41%
28%
28
32
36
Ukraine in its war Ukraine with Russia
Taiwan in its conflict Taiwan with China
Israel in its war with Israel Hamas
47
22
28
Note: Those who did not answer are not shown. Source: Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 19-26, 2025. “German Views of the U.S.-Germany Relationship Turn Sharply Negative”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
On Taiwan, opinion is about evenly split.
When it comes to Israel, more say that the U.S. should not provide aid than say it should (47% vs. 22%, respectively). Since last year, support for providing military help to Israel has declined.
We also asked a question about how committed Trump was to lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine. Here Americans are about evenly split: 40% think he is at least somewhat committed, while 42% think he is not.
Republicans think he is more committed than Democrats (69% vs. 16%). In another Center survey conducted in March 2025, slightly more Americans said Trump was committed (47%) than not (41%).
14
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
And a similar question in Germany about whether Trump was interested in securing long-term peace between Russia and Ukraine showed 34% of Germans saying he is interested in peace and 65% saying he is not.
American and German attitudes toward free speech
Generally, Americans see the U.S. and Germany as places where people are free to express their opinions regardless of how popular those opinions might be.
Americans are more likely to say people are free to express their opinions in the U.S. than Germany
% of U.S. adults who say that people are __ free to express their opinions, even if that opinion is unpopular in the following countries
Extremely
Very
Somewhat Not too
Not at all
Not sure
22%
24%
15%
8%
6%
28
10
5
22
23
Note: Those who did not answer are not shown. Source: Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 19-26, 2025. “German Views of the U.S.-Germany Relationship Turn Sharply Negative”
U.S.
23%
10
Germany
Just under half of Americans say people are extremely or very free to express their opinions in the U.S., even if that opinion is unpopular. A third say the same about Germany. However, Americans are also more likely to say they are unsure when it comes to free speech in Germany (22%) than in the U.S. (6%).
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
For their part, Germans similarly see people in their country as freer to express their opinions, even if that opinion is unpopular, than people in the U.S.
Related: Free Expression Seen as Important Globally, but Not Everyone Thinks Their Country Has Press, Speech and Internet Freedoms
15
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Acknowledgments
This report is a collaborative effort based on the input and analysis of the following individuals.
Jacob Poushter, Associate Director, Global Attitudes Research Jordan Lippert, Research Analyst Sofia Hernandez Ramones, Research Assistant
Julia Armeli, Research Assistant Dorene Asare-Marfo, Senior Panel Manager Peter Bell, Associate Director, Design and Production Janakee Chavda, Associate Digital Producer Laura Clancy, Research Analyst Manolo Corichi, Research Analyst Jonathan Evans, Senior Researcher Moira Fagan, Research Associate Janell Fetterolf, Senior Researcher Shannon Greenwood, Digital Production Manager Sneha Gubbala, Research Analyst Mia Hennen, Editorial Assistant Carolyn Lau, International Research Methodologist Gar Meng Leong, Communications Manager Kirsten Lesage, Research Associate John Carlo Mandapat, Information Graphics Designer William Miner, Research Analyst Patrick Moynihan, Associate Director, International Research Methods Georgina Pizzolitto, Research Methodologist Andrew Prozorovsky, Research Assistant Dana Popky, Associate Panel Manager Jonathan Schulman, Research Associate Laura Silver, Associate Director, Global Attitudes Research Sofi Sinozich, International Research Methodologist Maria Smerkovich, Research Associate DeVonte Smith, Communications Associate David Tully, Senior Researcher Brianna Vetter, Senior Program Coordinator Richard Wike, Director, Global Attitudes Research
16
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Methodology
Ipsos KnowledgePanel and Omnibus m ethodology
Introduction
Ipsos delivers affordable, statistically valid online research through KnowledgePanel. KnowledgePanel is the first and largest online research panel that is representative of the entire U.S. population. Panel members are randomly recruited through probability-based sampling, and households are provided with access to the Internet and hardware if needed.
Ipsos recruits panel members using address-based sampling (ABS) methods to ensure full coverage of all households in the nation. Once household members are recruited for the panel and assigned to a study sample, they are notified by email for survey taking, or panelists can visit their online member page for survey taking (instead of being contacted by telephone or postal mail). This allows surveys to be fielded quickly and economically. In addition, this approach reduces the burden placed on respondents, since email notification is less intrusive than telephone calls and the self-administered mode minimizes social desirability bias and positivity effects that can be present with an interviewer. Many respondents find answering online questionnaires more interesting and engaging than being questioned by a telephone interviewer. Furthermore, respondents have the convenience to choose what day and time to complete their assigned survey.
KnowledgePanel methodology
KnowledgePanel provides probability-based samples with an “organic” representation of the study population for measurement of public opinions, attitudes and behaviors. The panel was first developed in 1999 by Knowledge Networks, an Ipsos company. Panel members are randomly selected so that survey results can properly represent the U.S. population with a measurable level of accuracy and a calculable response rate, features that are not obtainable from nonprobability or opt-in online panels.
KnowledgePanel’s recruitment process was originally based exclusively on a national random-digit dial (RDD) sampling methodology. In 2009, in light of the growing proportion of cellphone-only households, Ipsos migrated to an ABS recruitment methodology via the U.S. Postal Service’s Delivery Sequence File. ABS not only improves population coverage, but also provides a more effective means for recruiting hard-to-reach individuals, such as cellphone-only households, non- internet households, young adults and persons of color. Households without an internet connection are provided with a web-enabled device and free internet service.
17
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
After initially accepting the invitation to join the panel, participants are asked to complete a short demographic survey (the initial Core Profile Survey); answers to this survey allow efficient panel sampling and weighting for future surveys. Upon completing the Core Profile Survey, participants become active panel members. All panel members are provided privacy and confidentiality protections.
Adults from sampled households are invited to join KnowledgePanel through a series of mailings, including an initial invitation letter, a reminder postcard and a subsequent follow-up letter. Moreover, telephone refusal-conversion calls are made to nonresponding households for which a telephone number could be matched to a physical address. Invited households can join the panel by:
▪ Completing and mailing back a paper form in a postage-paid envelope ▪ Calling a toll-free hotline phone number maintained by Ipsos ▪ Going to a designated Ipsos website and completing the recruitment form online
KnowledgePanel LatinoSM recruitment
In 2008, KnowledgePanel LatinoSM was developed to provide researchers with the capability to conduct representative online surveys with U.S. Hispanics, including both English- and Spanish- dominant Hispanics. With the advent of KnowledgePanel Latino, the first U.S. online panel representative of Hispanics was established to include those without internet access and those who only speak Spanish. Hispanic members recruited through KnowledgePanel’s traditional ABS sampling methodology described above are supplemented with recruitment using a custom dual- frame RDD sampling methodology targeting telephone exchanges associated with census blocks that have a 65% or greater Latino population density (this density level covers just over 50% of the U.S. Hispanic population). Moreover, cellular numbers from rates centers with high concentration of Hispanics are also used to improve the representation of samples. With this telephone recruitment, households are screened in the Spanish language to only recruit those homes where Spanish is spoken at least half the time.
Household member recruitment
During the initial recruitment survey, all household members are enumerated. Following enumeration, attempts are made to recruit every household member who is at least 13 years old to participate in KnowledgePanel surveys. For household members ages 13 to 17, consent is collected from the parents or the legal guardian during the initial recruitment interview. No direct communication with teenagers is attempted before obtaining parental consent.
18
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Survey sampling from KnowledgePanel
Once panel members are recruited and profiled by completing KnowledgePanel’s Core Profile Survey, they become eligible for selection for client surveys. Typically, specific survey samples are based on an equal probability selection method (EPSEM) for general population surveys. Customized stratified random sampling based on “profile” data can also be implemented as required by the study design. Profile data can also be used when a survey calls for pre-screening – that is, members are drawn from a subsample of the panel, such as females, Republicans, grocery shoppers, etc. (This can reduce screening costs, particularly for lower incidence subgroups.) In such cases, Ipsos ensures that all subsequent survey samples drawn that week are selected in such a way as to result in a sample that remains representative of the population distributions.
As detailed above, significant resources and infrastructure are devoted to the recruitment process for KnowledgePanel so that its active panel members can properly represent the adult population of the U.S. This representation is achieved not only with respect to a broad set of geodemographic indicators, but also for hard-to-reach adults (such as those without internet access or Spanish- language-dominant Hispanics) who are recruited in proper proportions. Consequently, the raw distribution of KnowledgePanel mirrors that of the U.S. adults fairly closely, barring occasional disparities that emerge for certain subgroups due to differential recruitment and attrition.
For selection of general population samples from KnowledgePanel, a patented methodology has been developed such that samples from the panel behave as EPSEM samples. Briefly, this methodology starts by weighting the pool of active members to the geodemographic benchmarks secured from a combination of the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) and the latest March supplement of the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS) along several dimensions. Typically, the geodemographic dimensions used for weighting the entire KnowledgePanel include the following dimensions, with additional nesting of dimensions as well:
▪ Gender (male/female) ▪ Age (18-29, 30-44, 45-59, and 60+) ▪ Race/Hispanic ethnicity (White/non-Hispanic, Black/non-Hispanic, Other/non-Hispanic, 2+
races/non-Hispanic, Hispanic)
▪ Education (less than High School, High School, Some College, Bachelor and beyond) ▪ Census region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West) ▪ Household income (under $10K, $10K to <$25K, $25K to <$50K, $50K to <$75K, $75K to
<$100K, $100K to <$150K, and $150K+) ▪ Home ownership status (own, rent/other) ▪ Household size (1, 2, 3, 4+) ▪ Metropolitan area (yes, no) ▪ Hispanic origin (Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, other, non-Hispanic)
19
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
▪ Language dominance (non-Hispanic and English dominant, bilingual, and Spanish dominant
Hispanic) when survey is administered in both English and Spanish
Using the resulting weights as measures of size, a probability-proportional-to-size (PPS) procedure is used to select study specific samples. It is the application of this PPS methodology with the imposed size measures that produces demographically balanced and representative samples that behave as EPSEM. Moreover, in instances where a study design requires any form of oversampling of certain subgroups, such departures from an EPSEM design are accounted for by adjusting the design weights in reference to the census benchmarks for the population of interest.
Survey administration
Once assigned to a survey, members receive a notification email letting them know there is a new survey available for them to complete. This email notification contains a link that sends them to the survey. No login name or password is required. The field period depends on the client’s needs and can range anywhere from a few hours to several weeks.
Typically, after three days, automatic email reminders are sent to all nonresponding panel members in the sample. Additional email reminders are sent, and custom reminder schedules are set up as needed. To assist panel members with their survey taking, each individual has a personalized member portal listing all assigned surveys that have yet to be completed.
Ipsos also operates an ongoing modest incentive program to encourage participation and create member loyalty. The incentive program includes special raffles and sweepstakes with both cash rewards and other prizes to be won. On average, panel members complete three to four surveys per month with durations of about 10 to 15 minutes per survey. An additional incentive is usually provided for longer surveys.
Response rates
As a member of the American Association of Public Opinion Research (AAPOR), Ipsos follows the AAPOR standards for response rate reporting. While the AAPOR standards were established for single survey administrations and not for multistage panel surveys, Ipsos uses the Callegaro- DiSogra (2008) algorithms for calculating KnowledgePanel survey response rates.
20
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Omnibus survey completion rates
The field period and completion and qualification rates for this survey are presented below:
Omnibus survey completion rates
Field start
Field end
N fielded
N completed
Completion rate
N qualified
Qualification rate
Sept. 19, 2025 Sept. 26, 2025
1,544
1,015
66%
1,015
100%
Limitations of the design and data collection
All forms of public opinion research are subject to unmeasured error that cannot be eliminated. When a probability-based panel like KnowledgePanel is used, Ipsos employs the total survey error approach to identify and minimize error due to coverage error, sampling error, nonresponse error, measurement error, and data processing and editing error. Coverage error is addressed in our KnowledgePanel recruitment strategies. Sampling error is addressed in recruitment and at the time of sample selection for each study. Nonresponse error is reduced in recruitment, study sampling, panel management strategies (including communication, incentive, and retention protocols), and weighting of the final data. These strategies support the computation of sampling error to estimate the extent to which the results from the sample might differ from population values. To reduce measurement error, our research staff evaluates questionnaires in terms of item flow, wording, and response formats to provide respondent-friendly surveys and elicit high-quality data. Additionally, we conduct a quality control review of data processing steps and any data cleaning to minimize errors.
Ipsos KnowledgePanel weighting
Study-specific post-stratification weights
Once all survey data have been collected and processed, design weights are adjusted to account for any differential nonresponse that may have occurred. Depending on the specific target population for a given study, geodemographic distributions for the corresponding population are obtained from the CPS, the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS), or in certain instances from the weighted KnowledgePanel profile data. For this purpose, an iterative proportional fitting (raking) procedure is used to produce the final weights. In the final step, calculated weights are examined to identify and, if necessary, trim outliers at the extreme upper and lower tails of the weight distribution. The resulting weights are then scaled to aggregate to the total sample size of all eligible respondents.
21
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
For this study, the following benchmark distributions of U.S. adults ages 18 and over from the 2025 March Supplement of the CPS were used for the raking adjustment of weights for 18+ Gen pop respondents:
▪ Gender (male/female) by Age (18-29, 30-44, 45-59, and 60+) ▪ Race/Hispanic ethnicity (White/non-Hispanic, Black/non-Hispanic, Other or 2+ races/non-
Hispanic, Hispanic)
▪ Education (Less than High School, High school, Some College, Bachelor or higher) ▪ Census region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West) ▪ Metropolitan status (metro, non-metro) ▪ Household income (less than $24,999, $25,000 to $49,999, $50,000 to $74,999, $75,000 to
$99,999, $100,000 to $149,999, $150,000 or higher)
▪ Language dominance (English Dominant Hispanic, Bilingual Hispanic, Spanish Dominant
Hispanic, Non-Hispanic)
The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of adults. The margin of sampling error takes into account the design effect, which was 1.04. The margin of sampling error is higher and varies for results based on sub-samples. In our reporting of the findings, percentage points are rounded off to the nearest whole number. As a result, percentages in a given table column may total slightly higher or lower than 100%. In questions that permit multiple responses, columns may total substantially more than 100%, depending on the number of different responses offered by each respondent.
22
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Topline questionnaire
Pew Research Center September 2025 Survey November 24, 2025 Release
Methodological notes:
▪
Survey results are based on national samples. For further details on sample designs, refer to the Methodology section.
▪ Due to rounding, percentages may not total 100%. The topline “total” columns show 100%
because they are based on unrounded numbers.
▪ Combined totals are based on unrounded topline figures. Prior to 2024, combined totals
were based on rounded topline figures, so these figures might be different than in previous years.
▪ The U.S. survey was conducted by Ipsos for Pew Research Center on the Ipsos
KnowledgePanel Government and Academic Omnibus. Many questions have been asked in previous surveys on Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel and on the phone. Web and phone trends for comparison are provided in separate tables throughout the topline. The extent of the mode differences varies across questions; while there are negligible differences on some questions, others have more pronounced differences. Caution should be taken when evaluating online and phone estimates.
▪ German results, based on a nationally representative telephone sample, can be found
through Körber-Stiftung.
IMP_COUNTRY. Which country currently is the most important partner for American foreign policy?
UK
U.S.
Canada
China
Europe
Russia
France
Germany
Israel
Japan
Mexico
Ukraine
India
Other
All
None
September, 2025
September, 2024
September, 2023
United States
United States
United States
19
1
7
10
3
2
1
1
7
2
3
1
0
3
0
3
20
3
3
7
2
1
1
4
10
2
3
1
0
4
0
2
25
4
6
11
2
1
1
6
4
3
3
1
2
3
0
1
DK/Refused
Total
N=
36
100 1015
37
100 1021
24
100 1014
Data is displayed vertically.
U.S. WEB TRENDS FOR COMPARISON
July-August, 2022
United States
Q1. Which country currently is the most important partner for American foreign policy?
Asia
Africa
Canada
China
Europe
European Union
France
Germany
Israel
Japan
Mexico
NATO
Russia
Saudi Arabia
South America
South Korea
Ukraine
United Kingdom
United States
Other
All
None
0
0
5
11
2
1
1
3
6
2
2
0
1
0
0
0
1
24
2
2
0
1
DK/Refused
Total
N=
36
100 12147
Data is displayed vertically.
23 PEW RESEARCH CENTERwww.pewresearch.orgU.S. PHONE TRENDS FOR COMPARISON
September, 2021
September, 2020
April, 2020
September, 2019
September, 2018
October, 2017
United States
United States
United States
United States
United States
United States
2
13
9
4
7
31
9
0
1
6
0
0
3
1
0
3
2
0
7
14
2
10
27
10
0
1
5
1
0
4
1
0
5
2
0
10
18
1
6
26
3
1
1
4
1
0
4
0
0
2
3
1
9
16
1
4
22
9
0
2
6
1
0
2
0
0
4
2
0
12
18
1
3
21
8
1
1
4
0
0
5
0
0
3
2
0
3
15
3
5
20
9
0
3
2
1
0
4
1
0
1
4
N=
10 100 1008
11 100 1007
20 100 1008
22 100 1004
19 100 1006
29 100 1012
Q1. Which country currently is the most important partner for American foreign policy?
Australia
Canada
China
France
Germany
United Kingdom
Israel
Italy
Japan
Mexico
North Korea
Poland
Russia
South Korea
Turkey
The European Union (EU)
Other
DK/Refused
Total
Data is displayed vertically.
US_GERM_REL. In general, how would you describe relations today between the United States and Germany?
TOTAL Good
TOTAL Bad
Very good
Somewhat good
Somewhat bad
Very bad
DK/Refused
Total
United States
September, 2025
September, 2024
September, 2023
71
84
86
24
9
10
9
23
22
63
62
63
20
8
8
4
2
2
5
6
4
100
100
100
United States
July-August, 2022
US_GERM_REL. In general, how would you describe relations today between the United States and Germany?
TOTAL Good
80
TOTAL Bad
15
Very good
Somewhat good
Somewhat bad
Very bad
DK/Refused
16
65
13
2
5
Total
100
U.S. WEB TREND FOR COMPARISON
United States
September, 2021
September, 2020
September, 2019
September, 2018
October, 2017
U.S. PHONE TRENDS FOR COMPARISON
US_GERM_REL. In general, how would you describe relations today between the United States and Germany?
TOTAL Good
TOTAL Bad
Very good
Somewhat good
Somewhat bad
Very bad
DK/Refused
Total
85
74
74
69
68
12
21
17
25
22
23
19
13
12
9
62
55
62
58
59
10
17
14
21
18
2
4
3
4
4
3
5
9
6
10
100
100
100
100
100
United States
September, 2025
September, 2024
September, 2023
PARTNER_BATT_UKRAINE. For each of the following issues, do you see Germany as a partner or not? Dealing with the war in Ukraine
Yes, as a partner
No, not a partner
DK/Refused
Total
54
59
64
37
29
30
9
12
6
100
100
100
24 PEW RESEARCH CENTERwww.pewresearch.orgUnited States
September, 2025
September, 2024
September, 2023
PARTNER_BATT_TRADE. For each of the following issues, do you see Germany as a partner or not? Promoting free trade
Yes, as a partner
No, not a partner
DK/Refused
Total
62
67
72
29
22
21
9
11
6
100
100
100
U.S. PHONE TRENDS FOR COMPARISON
PARTNER_BATT_TRADE. For each of the following issues, do you see Germany as a partner or not? Promoting free trade
United States
September, 2021
September, 2020
78
76
19
21
3
3
Yes, as a partner
No, not a partner
DK/Refused
Total
100
100
United States
September, 2025
September, 2024
September, 2023
PARTNER_BATT_CHINA. For each of the following issues, do you see Germany as a partner or not? Dealing with China
Yes, as a partner
No, not a partner
DK/Refused
Total
52
55
60
39
33
34
9
12
6
100
100
100
U.S. WEB TREND FOR COMPARISON
United States
July-August, 2022
PARTNER_BATT_CHINA. For each of the following issues, do you see Germany as a partner or not? Dealing with China
Yes, as a partner
52
No, not a partner
40
DK/Refused
8
Total
100
U.S. PHONE TRENDS FOR COMPARISON
PARTNER_BATT_CHINA. For each of the following issues, do you see Germany as a partner or not? Dealing with China
United States
September, 2021
September, 2020
59
60
39
35
2
5
Yes, as a partner
No, not a partner
DK/Refused
Total
100
100
PARTNER_BATT_ISRAEL. For each of the following issues, do you see Germany as a partner or not? Dealing with the war between Israel and Hamas
United States
September, 2025
September, 2024
41
46
49
42
Yes, as a partner
No, not a partner
DK/Refused
Total
10
12
100
100
PARTNER_BATT_DEM. For each of the following issues, do you see Germany as a partner or not? Promoting democracy around the world
United States
September, 2025
September, 2023
59
67
32
27
9
6
Yes, as a partner
No, not a partner
DK/Refused
Total
100
100
FREEEXPRESS_US. In each of the following countries, how free do you think people feel to express their opinions, even if that opinion is unpopular? The U.S.
United States
September, 2025
23
22
24
15
8
6
2
Extremely free
Very free
Somewhat free Not too free
Not at all free
Not sure
DK/Refused
Total
100
25 PEW RESEARCH CENTERwww.pewresearch.orgFREEEXPRESS_GER. In each of the following countries, how free do you think people feel to express their opinions, even if that opinion is unpopular? Germany
United States
September, 2025
10
23
28
10
5
22
3
Extremely free
Very free
Somewhat free Not too free
Not at all free
Not sure
DK/Refused
Total
100
GROWINFLU_EU. Would you say the European Union’s influence in recent years has been getting stronger, getting weaker or staying about the same?
United States
September, 2025
September, 2024
23
20
25
23
46
49
6
8
100
100
Getting stronger
Getting weaker
Staying about the same
DK/Refused
Total
U.S. WEB TREND FOR COMPARISON
GROWINFLU_EU. Would you say the European Union’s influence in recent years has been getting stronger, getting weaker or staying about the same?
United States
April, 2024
May, 2022
17
22
28
32
50
43
5
3
Getting stronger
Getting weaker
Staying about the same
DK/Refused
Total
100
100
UKRCOMMIT_TRUMP. How committed do you think U.S. President Donald Trump is to lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine?
United States
September, 2025
40
42
21
19
15
27
17
1
TOTAL Committed
TOTAL Not committed
Very committed
Somewhat committed
Not too committed
Not at all committed
Not sure
DK/Refused
UKRCOMMIT_TRUMP. How committed do you think U.S. President Donald Trump is to lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine?
U.S. WEB TREND FOR COMPARISON
United States March, 2025
47
41
23
23
20
22
12
1
TOTAL Committed
TOTAL Not committed
Very committed
Somewhat committed
Not too committed
Not at all committed
Not sure
DK/Refused
Total
100
Total
100
MIL_ASSIST_UKRAINE. Do you think the United States should provide military assistance to the following places or should they not provide military assistance? Ukraine in its war with Russia
Yes, should provide military assistance
No, should not provide military assistance
Not sure
DK/Refused
Total
United States
September, 2025
September, 2024
41
41
28
29
28
27
3
3
100
100
MIL_ASSIST_TAIWAN. Do you think the United States should provide military assistance to the following places or should they not provide military assistance? Taiwan in its conflict with China
Yes, should provide military assistance
No, should not provide military assistance
Not sure
DK/Refused
Total
United States
September, 2025
September, 2024
32
36
28
26
36
34
4
4
100
100
MIL_ASSIST_ISRAEL. Do you think the United States should provide military assistance to the following places or should they not provide military assistance? Israel in its war with Hamas
Yes, should provide military assistance
No, should not provide military assistance
Not sure
DK/Refused
Total
United States
September, 2025
September, 2024
22
30
47
36
28
31
3
3
100
100
26 PEW RESEARCH CENTERwww.pewresearch.orgCHINA_INFLU. In recent years, China has gained a lot of influence globally. Do you see this as more of a good thing, more of a bad thing or does it not make a difference for our country?
More of a good thing for our country
More of a bad thing for our country
Does not make a difference
United States
September, 2025
September, 2024
September, 2023
7
5
6
61
67
71
27
24
21
DK/Refused
Total
5
4
3
100
100
100
MIL_THREAT_CHINA. Do the following countries represent a major military threat, minor military threat or no military threat to American security? China
Major military threat
Minor military threat
No military threat
DK/Refused
Total
United States
September, 2025
September, 2024
September, 2023
61
64
70
25
21
21
9
9
5
5
6
4
100
100
100
U.S. WEB TREND FOR COMPARISON
MIL_THREAT_CHINA. Do the following countries represent a major military threat, minor military threat or no military threat to American security? China
United States
July-August, 2022
64
26
7
3
Major military threat
Minor military threat
No military threat
DK/Refused
Total
100
MIL_THREAT_RUSSIA. Do the following countries represent a major military threat, minor military threat or no military threat to American security? Russia
Major military threat
Minor military threat
No military threat
DK/Refused
Total
United States
September, 2025
September, 2024
September, 2023
59
59
68
27
28
24
9
7
5
5
6
3
100
100
100
U.S. WEB TREND FOR COMPARISON
MIL_THREAT_RUSSIA. Do the following countries represent a major military threat, minor military threat or no military threat to American security? Russia
United States
July-August, 2022
66
26
5
3
Major military threat
Minor military threat
No military threat
DK/Refused
Total
100
MIL_THREAT_IRAN. Do the following countries represent a major military threat, minor military threat or no military threat to American security? Iran
United States
September, 2025
September, 2024
32
42
46
40
18
12
Major military threat
Minor military threat
No military threat
DK/Refused
Total
5
7
100
100
ECON_THREAT_CH. Does China represent a major economic threat, minor economic threat or no economic threat to the American economy?
Major economic threat
Minor economic threat
No economic threat
United States
September, 2025
September, 2024
September, 2023
66
67
70
21
20
21
9
8
5
DK/Refused
Total
4
5
4
100
100
100
27 PEW RESEARCH CENTERwww.pewresearch.org