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Top 10 most popular global political leaders in 2025: PM Modi leads with the highest approval rating; Trump falls in December rankings

World's top 10 most popular political leaders in 2025: The latest Morning Consult approval ratings provide insight into how leaders around the world are perceived heading into 2026.

3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Dec 29, 2025 07:20 AM IST

The world's top 10 most popular political leaders in 2025 based on their approval ratings in December.

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.

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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 of India Narendra Modi (DPR PMO/ANI Photo)

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?

US President Donald Trump

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.

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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

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Cherry Gupta

Cherry Gupta is an Assistant Manager – Content at The Indian Express. She leads the Top 10 section, curating list-based features on key national and international developments, and manages daily news content. She also produces SEO-driven articles and collaborates with the Lifestyle team to conduct interviews with notable artists and write workplace culture features. ... Read More