3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Mar 30, 2026 07:41 AM IST
Top 10 leaders in the world 2025: Amid ongoing geopolitical and economic uncertainties, public approval of political leaders highlights how citizens form opinions based on leaders’ ability to address issues and steer their nations through turbulent times.
As 2025 draws to a close, the latest Morning Consult approval ratings—data collected from December 8 to 14—provide insight into how leaders around the world are perceived heading into 2026.
The approval ratings in December reflected a shift in global leadership, with Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi rising to second place, followed by South Korea’s President Lee Jae-myung at third.
Together, they replaced Javier Milei, President of Argentina, and Karin Keller-Sutter, President of Switzerland, who now rank fourth and eighth, respectively.
On the contrary, European leaders face net-negative approval, with France’s Emmanuel Macron ranking last, with the lowest approval ratings and disapproval near 80 per cent.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and several Nordic leaders also have approval ratings in the 30 per cent range or lower.
PM Modi remains the world’s most popular global political leader:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, once again, ranked first as the world’s most popular leader. Modi retained his standing from last year, underscoring his dominance in global approval rankings.
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With a 71 per cent approval rating, Modi remains well ahead of his peers, though this marks a slight dip from the 75 per cent recorded in January.
Where does the US President Donald Trump stand?
Re-elected US President Donald Trump has slipped from the fifth position in January to the ninth position in December, with his approval and disapproval ratings nearly evenly split.
Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has notably fallen out of the top 10 to rank 11th with a 41 per cent approval rating.
The world’s top 10 leaders with the highest approval ratings in December 2025:
Here’s the list of the top 10 global political leaders as of December 2025, with their current approval ratings based on data collected from December 8-14:
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#1Prime Minister, India – Narendra Modi
71%
Approve
7%
Don’t Know
22%
Disapprove
#2Prime Minister, Japan – Sanae Takaichi
61%
Approve
13%
Don’t Know
26%
Disapprove
#3President, South Korea – Lee Jae-myung
56%
Approve
8%
Don’t Know
35%
Disapprove
#4President, Argentina – Javier Milei
55%
Approve
4%
Don’t Know
41%
Disapprove
#5Prime Minister, Canada – Mark Carney
48%
Approve
11%
Don’t Know
41%
Disapprove
#6Prime Minister, Australia – Anthony Albanese
47%
Approve
9%
Don’t Know
43%
Disapprove
#7President, Mexico – Claudia Sheinbaum
45%
Approve
6%
Don’t Know
49%
Disapprove
#8President, Switzerland – Karin Keller-Sutter
43%
Approve
27%
Don’t Know
30%
Disapprove
#9President, United States – Donald Trump
43%
Approve
6%
Don’t Know
51%
Disapprove
#10President, Brazil – Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
42%
Approve
4%
Don’t Know
54%
Disapprove
Indian Express InfoGenIE
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