Democratic societies have thrived since the end of World War II, benefitting from relative peace, security, and economic prosperity. Though, as one of the world’s largest democracies, the U.S. faces a unique set of challenges.
The United States is home to over 335 million people, and weighing their individual values and priorities is a perennial problem for elected leaders. Of all 14 American presidents since April 1945, John F. Kennedy is the only one with an average approval rating above 66% – and most president since Harry Truman have had an average approval rating below 50%. (Here is a look at the states where Biden’s approval rating has fallen the most.)
While rulers of many authoritarian regimes cling to power through violence and suppression of dissent, democratic leaders of the world are held accountable by voters, and must maintain some level of public support to govern effectively. A January 2023 poll conducted by public opinion research company Morning Consult found that some democratic leaders are much better at this than others. (Here is a look at 34 of history’s most ruthless leaders.)
Using Morning Consult data for 22 democratic countries, 24/7 Wall St. identified the most disliked leaders in the world. Leaders are ranked by the share of their constituency who disapprove of the job they are doing and listed from the most popular to the least. It is important to note that the pole is updated weekly and these are the ratings as for the period of Jan. 11 through Jan. 17, 2023. Population figures came from the World Bank and are for 2021. Among the leaders on this list, disapproval ratings range from as low as 20% to nearly 70%.
According to Morning Consult’s polling, U.S. President Joe Biden has a 52% disapproval rating, the 13th highest on this list. With a disapproval rating of 56%, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is slightly less popular among voters in the U.K. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ranks in between the U.S. and Great Britain with a disapproval rating of 54%.
Of the five leaders on this list with the highest disapproval ratings, two are leaders of Asian countries and the remaining three head European countries.
Click here to see the most disliked world leaders in 2023.
Source: Rob Stothard / Getty Images
22. Prime Minister Narendra Modi (India)
> Disapproval rating: 20%
> Approval rating: 76%
> No opinion: 5%
> Assumed office: May 2014
> Country population: 1.4 billion
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21. President Alain Berset (Switzerland)
> Disapproval rating: 25%
> Approval rating: 59%
> No opinion: 16%
> Assumed office: January 2023
> Country population: 8.7 million
Source: Manuel Velasquez / Getty Images
20. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (Mexico)
> Disapproval rating: 28%
> Approval rating: 66%
> No opinion: 6%
> Assumed office: December 2018
> Country population: 126.7 million
Source: James D. Morgan / Getty Images News via Getty Images
19. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (Australia)
> Disapproval rating: 28%
> Approval rating: 59%
> No opinion: 13%
> Assumed office: May 2022
> Country population: 25.7 million
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18. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Brazil)
> Disapproval rating: 34%
> Approval rating: 52%
> No opinion: 13%
> Assumed office: January 2023
> Country population: 214.3 million
Source: Antonio Masiello / Getty Images News via Getty Images
17. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (Italy)
> Disapproval rating: 46%
> Approval rating: 48%
> No opinion: 6%
> Assumed office: October 2022
> Country population: 59.1 million
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Source: Dan Kitwood / Getty Images
16. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar (Ireland)
> Disapproval rating: 48%
> Approval rating: 39%
> No opinion: 13%
> Assumed office: December 2022
> Country population: 5.0 million
Source: Michael Campanella / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images
15. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (Sweden)
> Disapproval rating: 48%
> Approval rating: 35%
> No opinion: 16%
> Assumed office: October 2022
> Country population: 10.4 million
Source: Pool / Getty Images News via Getty Images
14. Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Belgium)
> Disapproval rating: 48%
> Approval rating: 34%
> No opinion: 17%
> Assumed office: October 2020
> Country population: 11.6 million
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13. President Joe Biden (United States)
> Disapproval rating: 52%
> Approval rating: 41%
> No opinion: 7%
> Assumed office: January 2021
> Country population: 331.9 million
Source: Drew Angerer / Getty Images
12. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Canada)
> Disapproval rating: 54%
> Approval rating: 39%
> No opinion: 7%
> Assumed office: November 2015
> Country population: 38.2 million
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Source: Peter Summers / Getty Images News via Getty Images
11. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (United Kingdom)
> Disapproval rating: 56%
> Approval rating: 31%
> No opinion: 13%
> Assumed office: October 2022
> Country population: 67.3 million
Source: Pablo Blazquez Dominguez / Getty Images News via Getty Images
10. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez (Spain)
> Disapproval rating: 58%
> Approval rating: 37%
> No opinion: 5%
> Assumed office: June 2018
> Country population: 47.4 million
Source: Michael Gruber / Getty Images News via Getty Images
9. Chancellor Karl Nehammer (Austria)
> Disapproval rating: 60%
> Approval rating: 31%
> No opinion: 10%
> Assumed office: December 2021
> Country population: 9.0 million
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Source: Maja Hitij / Getty Images News via Getty Images
8. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (Germany)
> Disapproval rating: 62%
> Approval rating: 32%
> No opinion: 6%
> Assumed office: December 2021
> Country population: 83.2 million
Source: Pool / Getty Images News via Getty Images
7. President Emmanuel Macron (France)
> Disapproval rating: 63%
> Approval rating: 31%
> No opinion: 6%
> Assumed office: May 2017
> Country population: 67.7 million
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Source: Omar Marques / Getty Images News via Getty Images
6. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki (Poland)
> Disapproval rating: 65%
> Approval rating: 28%
> No opinion: 7%
> Assumed office: December 2017
> Country population: 37.7 million
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Source: Pool / Getty Images News via Getty Images
5. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (Japan)
> Disapproval rating: 65%
> Approval rating: 22%
> No opinion: 13%
> Assumed office: October 2021
> Country population: 125.7 million
Source: Lisa Maree Williams / Getty Images News via Getty Images
4. Prime Minister Mark Rutte (Netherlands)
> Disapproval rating: 67%
> Approval rating: 28%
> No opinion: 5%
> Assumed office: October 2010
> Country population: 17.5 million
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Source: Pool / Getty Images News via Getty Images
3. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Norway)
> Disapproval rating: 67%
> Approval rating: 27%
> No opinion: 6%
> Assumed office: October 2021
> Country population: 5.4 million
Source: Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images News via Getty Images
2. President Yoon Seok-youl (South Korea)
> Disapproval rating: 67%
> Approval rating: 25%
> No opinion: 8%
> Assumed office: May 2022
> Country population: 51.7 million
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Source: Sean Gallup / Getty Images News via Getty Images
1. Prime Minister Petr Fiala (Czech Republic)
> Disapproval rating: 68%
> Approval rating: 24%
> No opinion: 7%
> Assumed office: November 2021
> Country population: 10.5 million
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