Countries and world leaders

Australia's best friend in Asia

Australians are once again most likely to name Japan (44%) as ‘Australia’s best friend in Asia’ from a list of six countries. There is an almost 30-point margin between Japan and the countries ranked next on this measure, India (16%) and Singapore (15%). The number of Australians who selected India has more than doubled since 2022.

By contrast, China ranked second-lowest on the list, with only 7% seeing it as Australia’s best friend in Asia, again highlighting how attitudes towards China have changed. Less than a decade ago, Japan and China shared the title of Australia’s best friend in Asia, and in 2016 China topped the list.

South Korea remains a consistent underperformer on this metric, with only 4% identifying it as Australia’s best friend in Asia — despite a strong bilateral relationship, developing strategic ties and growing cultural links.

Countries and world leaders
Australia's best friend in Asia

Question

Thinking about Australia's relations in Asia. In your personal opinion, which one of the following countries is Australia’s best friend in Asia?

2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023

In 2014, this question was asked on behalf of the Lowy Institute by Newspoll in its omnibus survey on 2–4 May 2014.
Dotted line indicates change in mode: see Methodology.