"Strongest anti-American sentiment in Serbia, Pakistan"

BELGRADE -- Serbia and Pakistan share first place in a survey on which countries have the most negative opinion of the U.S., according to a recent Medium Gallup poll.

According to the same poll, Serbia had the fifth highest opinion of Russia.

Some 53 percent of those polled had a positive opinion of Russia, while 61 percent thought negatively of the U.S.

While most of the countries surveyed had an improved opinion of America, Serbia and Pakistan’s stances were more negative now than three years ago. The negative attitude opinion of the U.S. increased by 18 percent in Serbia, and 13 percent in Pakistan.

Among countries in the region, Serbia had by far the poorest opinion of the U.S., significantly in front of Bosnia-Herzegovina, where 30 percent of those polled had a negative view of America.

The majority of people in Albania, Macedonia and Romania had a positive opinion of the U.S.

The study was conducted in 42 countries around the world between March and May of this year, with more than 43,000 people interviewed. The national sample group was made up of 1,008 individuals.

The survey shows that the general image of the U.S. has improved since the last surveys carried out in 2004 and 2006.

After 100 days of new President Barrack Obama’s administration, almost half of the world’s population has a positive opinion of how he is acting as president, while the number of people with a negative opinion has fallen too.

When analyzing the figures by religion, Jews have the most positive opinion of the U.S. (91 percent), followed by Protestants (67 percent), while Muslims have the most negative stance (54 percent) followed by Orthodox Christians (33 percent).