Americans and Israelis are among the countries that disapprove most heavily of the United Nations performance, according to a new poll.
Israelis are the most negative in their view of the UN, with just 9 per cent of people approving its actions and a net rating of -61, according to the Gallup survey.
The figures come during a difficult period for the UN, as it attempts to address humanitarian disasters and wars during a time of deepening global division, and a US president in Donald Trump who has been hostile towards many UN initiatives.
The Israeli government, in particular, has repeatedly accused the body if bias against it as it waged its war in Gaza.
In May, Israeli foreign secretary described the UN as a “politicized and corrupt organization that has abandoned its founding principles and systematically targets Israel as its primary mission”.
This week the UN held its general assembly meeting in New York, with speeches from Trump, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian among others.
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres, speaking at the opening of the general debate, told delegates that “violence, displacement and settlement expansion by Israel in the Occupied West Bank are bulldozing the path to peace and raising the spectre of ethnic cleansing”.
Americans are similarly unimpressed by the agency, , with the majority saying the UN is doing a poor job in five of its central objectives: humanitarian assistance (53%), supporting development (63%), protecting human rights (70%), upholding international law (70%), maintaining peace and security (73%), Gallup found.
Trump has repeatedly stated the UN is ineffective as a global peacemaker compared to his administration.
“What is the purpose of the United Nations?” Trump asked during his 2025 speech at the UN General Assembly. “It’s not even coming close to living up to potential.”
For the past two decades, Americans have largely supported the institution’s existence but “don’t think it is doing an effective job of handling the problems it has faced”, Gallup said.
“The last time a majority of Americans approved of the job the UN was doing was in the period after 9/11,” it added. “The UN has many global roles beyond keeping the peace, but even in those areas, Americans are more critical than approving of its performance.”
But the picture for the UN is far more positive around the rest of the world, which is overall more positive then negative about the organisation’s performance, with the UN enjoying a median approval rating of 50 per cent, with a net approval score of +24.
Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa gave the strongest regional support to the UN, with approval exceeding disapproval by 51 and 43 points, Gallup said in an analysis of the results.
In 67 countries, the UN enjoys more than 50 per cent approval of its performance, compared to just nine countries where more than 50 per cent disapprove.
The next secretary general, who will replace incumbent Guterres when his final term ends in December 2026, will inherit “an organization with a considerable base of public goodwill but also sharp differences in how it is viewed around the world”, Gallup analyst Julie Ray said, adding that the divisions “extend into the security council itself”.
“In some places, the challenge may be less about overcoming negative views than about building familiarity and understanding,” she added. “Where opinions are less settled, showing what the UN does and what it delivers may be especially important.”
