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The share of U.S. adults who are “extremely proud” to be an American has fallen to 38%, a record low. This percentage is down nearly 20 percentage points from a decade ago. (Gallup) |
NH: Since 2001, Gallup has asked Americans to rate their pride in being an American. And according to the 2022 survey, only 38% of US adults are "extremely proud" to be a US citizen.
That's down -19 percentage points since 2012 and marks a record low.
Unsurprisingly, a greater share of Republicans than Democrats are "extremely proud" (58% vs. 26%).
Nonetheless, this is the lowest reading ever for Republicans. It's only the third lowest reading for Democrats. Already during the Trump years, patriotism among liberals had plummeted.
Looking long-term, national pride has been falling since 2004. The first big decline, in the mid-2000s, came after the 9/11 spike in patriotism wore off and the nation soured on the "war on terror" invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
Measures held steady after that--until 2016, when Democratic patriotism plummeted (even while Republican patriotism rose to a lesser extent). Since 2020, it has been the mirror image: Republican patriotism fell, offset only partially by a rise in Democratic patriotism.
Across all parties, overall patriotism seems to be sinking due to growing pessimism about America's long-term future and growing discontent over polarization and policy gridlock.
Yet despite these record low readings, Americans are still very patriotic by any absolute reckoning. When you combine the share who are "extremely proud" and "very proud" the total is 65%.
Even today, among major nations, America remain the most patriotic country on earth. A YouGov-Cambridge poll in 2019 asked people around the world if they believed their country is the best in the world.
Only 10% of UK respondents said yes. Only 6% of the French. And only 5% of Germans. By far the biggest positive response was from Americans, at 37%.
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ABOUT NEIL HOWE
Neil Howe is a renowned authority on generations and social change in America. An acclaimed bestselling author and speaker, he is the nation's leading thinker on today's generations—who they are, what motivates them, and how they will shape America's future.
A historian, economist, and demographer, Howe is also a recognized authority on global aging, long-term fiscal policy, and migration. He is a senior associate to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C., where he helps direct the CSIS Global Aging Initiative.
Howe has written over a dozen books on generations, demographic change, and fiscal policy, many of them with William Strauss. Howe and Strauss' first book, Generations is a history of America told as a sequence of generational biographies. Vice President Al Gore called it "the most stimulating book on American history that I have ever read" and sent a copy to every member of Congress. Newt Gingrich called it "an intellectual tour de force." Of their book, The Fourth Turning, The Boston Globe wrote, "If Howe and Strauss are right, they will take their place among the great American prophets."
Howe and Strauss originally coined the term "Millennial Generation" in 1991, and wrote the pioneering book on this generation, Millennials Rising. His work has been featured frequently in the media, including USA Today, CNN, the New York Times, and CBS' 60 Minutes.
Previously, with Peter G. Peterson, Howe co-authored On Borrowed Time, a pioneering call for budgetary reform and The Graying of the Great Powers with Richard Jackson.
Howe received his B.A. at U.C. Berkeley and later earned graduate degrees in economics and history from Yale University.
