In this article, we will take a look at the 25 countries that welcome Americans with open arms. If you want to skip our discussion on the global perception of Americans, you can go directly to the 5 Countries...
In this article, we will take a look at the 25 countries that welcome Americans with open arms. If you want to skip our discussion on the global perception of Americans, you can go directly to the 5 Countries That Welcome Americans With Open Arms.
With a considerable number of Americans eager to travel abroad, whether for extended stays or short vacations, it is important to consider the reception they might receive from the locals in these countries. The friendliness of the people in these destinations can play an important role in shaping the overall experience of Americans during their vacations. This year has seen a surge in American international travel, with Americans arriving in record numbers in Europe and the Pacific. There has also been an increased demand for passports since the pandemic and lockdowns ended, with 22 million passports issued in 2022. Meanwhile, 2023 saw an even larger number of passport applications, with the US State Department receiving 500,000 applications weekly.
The global population’s attitude towards Americans has differed over time and is influenced by numerous factors, such as political events, economic conditions, and cultural exchanges. According to the Pew Research Center, the percentage of the global public that has a favorable view of the United States is on the decline. Globally, a median of 59% holds a favorable view of the United States. This is slightly lower than the 61% during 2022. It should be noted that favorability for Americans went up in Biden’s first year of presidency. However, with the onset of the second year, the global public started losing confidence in the 81-year-old US president. This is signified by the 2% drop in global favorable views between 2022 and 2023.
European countries represent a major chunk of American-friendly countries. Poland and Sweden are among the top 25 countries that welcome Americans with open arms in Europe. You can also check out the 30 Friendliest Countries in the World here. This coalition between the US and Europe is further strengthened by the exposure of American multinational companies in Europe, where they generate a substantial portion of their sales. Notable examples include Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG), a leading American online travel agency that derives 78% of its sales from Europe. Additionally, Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL), a prominent American cosmetics company, reports that 43% of its revenue comes from Europe. Cooper Companies (NASDAQ:COO), a global medical device company based in the US, also obtains 41% of its sales from Europe. These collaborations highlight the cooperative relations between Europeans and Americans.
Here’s what L1 Capital said about Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in its Q3 2023 investor letter:
“Following significant under-performance, some high-quality businesses in these sectors are now becoming more attractive from a valuation perspective – in our language they are now getting warmer on our Bench of potential investments.
Our ‘all-weather’ portfolio centred around our unique definition of ‘quality’ delivered strong performance in the September quarter. Three companies positively contributed over 0.5% (in Australian dollars) to the Fund’s returns for the quarter (Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG), Intuit and Natural Resource Partners, in alphabetical order), and another three companies almost reached this level of positive contribution. No companies detracted from the Portfolio’s returns by 0.5% or more.
As part of our travels during the quarter (see page 6) we had the opportunity to meet with management of both Booking Holdings and Intuit. We continue to view both companies as exceptionally well managed.
Booking Holdings, the world’s leading online travel agency, continues to benefit from a strong global travel environment with particular strength in Europe, Booking Holdings’ core market. Fears of peak ‘revenge travel’ following COVID-19 lockdowns have been misplaced in our view. We assess current travel volumes to be only slightly elevated compared to pre-COVID-19 trends, with some regions, particularly outbound travel from China, still relatively depressed. Anyone who has travelled anywhere recently will be nodding when we say hotel rates have increased meaningfully in recent times. Accommodation providers are generally doing quite well, but the increased hotel rates have been necessary to offset inflation in costs such as employee salaries and additional cleaning services. As Booking Holdings ‘clips the ticket’ of accommodation spend, the company has benefitted from increased average daily hotel rates. Importantly, Booking Holdings continues to invest in its business, improving the reach, quality and range of services it provides, resulting in gains in market share and an extension of its industry leadership position. Booking Holdings is now more fairly valued by the market, but still provides attractive base case risk-adjusted returns and remains one of the larger investments in the Fund.”
20 Countries With the Most American Expats
Our Methodology
To shortlist the 25 countries that welcome Americans with open arms, consulted various credible sources such as the Pew Research Centre, Forbes, and Global Citizen Solutions. We also scoured Reddit threads such as r/AskAnAmerican and r/travel to gain information regarding American’s real experiences in different countries. We gained data from the Pew Research Center regarding the overall percentage of favorable views of the US and American entertainment across the world. These sources were used to assign a score out of 100 to the shortlisted countries. The 25 countries that welcome Americans with open arms have been ranked in ascending order of their total scores, with a higher score representing a higher level of friendliness towards the Americas.
By the way, Insider Monkey is an investing website that tracks the movements of corporate insiders and hedge funds. By using a consensus approach, we identify the best stock picks of more than 900 hedge funds investing in US stocks. The top 10 consensus stock picks of hedge funds outperformed the S&P 500 Index by more than 140 percentage points over the last 10 years (see the details here). Whether you are a beginner investor or a professional looking for the best stocks to buy, you can benefit from the wisdom of hedge funds and corporate insiders.
25 Countries That Welcome Americans With Open Arms
25. Hungary
Insider Monkey Score = 52.91
Favorable View = 44%
Positive View on American Entertainment = 71%
In the current year, 44% of Hungarians expressed a positive opinion of the US. However, this marks the lowest favorability rating from Hungary and reflects an 11% decline since 2022. Meanwhile, around 71% of Hungarians believe that American entertainment stands out as the best among other options.
24. Argentina
Insider Monkey Score = 54.63
Favorable View = 51%
Positive View on American Entertainment = 62%
Argentina has seen an increase in the favorable views for Americans throughout the years. In its last survey in 2019, Argentina only had 41% favorable views, which increased by 10% in 2023. This is a record-high favorability rate for Americans in the country.
23. France
Insider Monkey Score = 56.29
Favorable View = 52%
Positive View on American Entertainment = 65%
France has experienced a decrease in favorable views towards the US from 2022 to 2023 by 5 points. In 2022, favorable views spanned across 57% of the population, and in 2023, around 52% had similar opinions. Despite the decrease in overall favorability, it’s worth mentioning that the US remains a major trading partner for France, which could influence economic relations and diplomatic ties.
22. Singapore
Insider Monkey Score = 57.27
Favorable View = 51%
Positive View on American Entertainment = 70%
In both 2021 and 2022, the people of Singapore maintained a 51% favorable view of Americans. This indicates that the population’s opinion on this matter is almost evenly divided.
21. Indonesia
Insider Monkey Score = 57.98
Favorable View = 56%
Positive View on American Entertainment = 62%
Indonesia has experienced a 14-point increase in favorability toward Americans over the last four years. Previously, 42% of people held favorable views of Americans. Indonesia holds better opinions on American entertainment, with 62% of people believing that it is superior to others.
20. Germany
Insider Monkey Score = 58.32
Favorable View = 57%
Positive View on American Entertainment = 61%
In Germany, 57% of people hold favorable views of Americans. This represents a 6-point decline from the previous year when favorable views were at 63%. This difference can be attributed to the deteriorating public opinion of the Biden government.
19. India
Insider Monkey Score = 59.39
Favorable View = 65%
Positive View on American Entertainment = 48%
While 65% of Indians hold favorable views of Americans, they don’t feel the same about the American entertainment industry. Only 48% of the population believes that American entertainment is above average or good.
18. Australia
Insider Monkey Score = 59.59
Favorable View = 52%
Positive View on American Entertainment = 75%
While favorability for Americans in Australia had been on an upward trajectory since 2019, the numbers dipped this year, resulting in a 2% drop in the rates. In 2022, Australia had a favorability rate of 54%, which was reduced to 52% in 2023.
17. Mexico
Insider Monkey Score = 59.70
Favorable View = 63%
Positive View on American Entertainment = 53%
Two-thirds of Mexicans hold a favorable opinion of their neighbors. Almost half of Mexicans believe that American entertainment is among the best. This favorable opinion of Americans has seen an increase of 27 points since 2019, when it was at 36% during the Trump presidency.
16. Greece
Insider Monkey Score = 60.62
Favorable View = 56%
Positive View on American Entertainment = 70%
Around 56% of people in Greece have an overall favorable view of the US, and around 70% believe that American entertainment is the best.
15. Sweden
Insider Monkey Score = 61.27
Favorable View = 55%
Positive View on American Entertainment = 74%
Sweden holds a 55% favorable view of Americans, while 41% of the population holds unfavorable views. A major chunk of the population believes that American entertainment is top-tier.
14. Spain
Insider Monkey Score = 61.27
Favorable View = 55%
Positive View on American Entertainment = 74%
Spain holds views on Americans and their entertainment industry similar to Sweden’s. However, fewer people in Spain hold unfavorable views of Americans, at 39%. Spain secured the fourteenth position on our list of 25 countries that welcome Americans with open arms.
13. Belgium
Insider Monkey Score = 61.61
Favorable View = 56%
Positive View on American Entertainment = 73%
In 2022, 56% of the population in Belgium held a favorable view of Americans. American entertainment is also lauded in Belgium, with 73% of the people believing it to be the best.
12. United Kingdom
Insider Monkey Score = 62.96
Favorable View = 59%
Positive View on American Entertainment = 71%
Relations between the UK and the US have mostly been cordial, helping the UK rank among the top countries that welcome Americans with open arms. Overall, 59% of the population holds a favorable opinion of Americans.
11. Canada
Insider Monkey Score = 63.27
Favorable View = 57%
Positive View on American Entertainment = 76%
Overall, 57% of Canadians have a positive opinion of Americans, while 38% hold negative views. However, a significant majority, 76%, believe that the American entertainment and film industry is among the best globally.
10. Netherlands
Insider Monkey Score = 63.28
Favorable View = 58%
Positive View on American Entertainment = 74%
A majority of the Netherlands population, 58%, holds a favorable view of Americans. Additionally, 74% agree that American entertainment remains superior in the Western world, positioning the Netherlands as the 10th most favorable country for American tourists.
9. Brazil
Insider Monkey Score = 63.99
Favorable View = 63%
Positive View on American Entertainment = 66%
In 2023, 483,000 American tourists made their way to Brazil in a tourism surge in the country. Around 63% of Brazil’s population holds a favorable opinion of Americans. Brazil has seen an increase of 7 points in Americans’ popularity from 2019.
8. Italy
Insider Monkey Score = 64.62
Favorable View = 60%
Positive View on American Entertainment = 74%
Italy is among the top 10 American-friendly European countries, with a total of 60% of the population holding a favorable view of Americans. Italy has seen a drop of 1 point in favorable views since last year and a 14-point drop since 2021.
7. South Africa
Insider Monkey Score = 65.27
Favorable View = 59%
Positive View on American Entertainment = 78%
South Africa has mostly been friendly towards Western countries, mainly the US. Around 59% of South Africans hold favorable views of Americans, while 30% hold unfavorable opinions of them. This rate of favorability has seen a 9-point increase in the last recorded number in 2019.
6. Kenya
Insider Monkey Score = 68.69
Favorable View = 71%
Positive View on American Entertainment = 64%
Kenya’s population majorly holds a favorable opinion of the US, at 71%. Only 22% hold unfavorable views of American citizens, which is among the lowest on this list. Around 64% of Kenyans are a fan of the American entertainment and film industry.
Many American companies like Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG), Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL), and Cooper Companies (NASDAQ:COO) have also contributed towards creating a positive perception of Americans across the world.
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