According to the survey, 55 percent of respondents have an excellent or good overall impression of "germany" – significantly more than in the previous survey in 2009, when 48 percent of respondents expressed such enthusiasm. Overall, the embassy says it’s the best result since 2002. At that time, the first survey of this kind was conducted on behalf of the germany center in washington.
The survey shows that shared values are seen as the cornerstone of german-american relations. When asked which country shares the most values with the U.S., germany ranked first among non-english speaking countries. Overall, germany ranks fourth, after canada, great britain and australia.
Americans also give germany’s international role a much higher priority than years ago, according to the survey. According to the survey, 58 percent believe that germany plays an important role in international politics, compared to only 43 percent in 2009. 56 percent also saw a rough german weight in the united nations, a significant increase compared to 2009 with 42 percent. When asked about the most important european partners, only great britain managed to outrank germany.
58 percent consider germany to be a major economic power. Germany is also the european country that americans believe is most likely to be able to lead europe out of the debt crisis, according to the poll.
The survey was reportedly conducted last december by the agency frank N. Magid associates conducted on behalf of the germany center, which is part of the embassy. 1517 U.S. Citizens aged 18 and over were surveyed – and almost a quarter of them said they had visited germany at least once.