This article lists international opinion polls taken in various countries around the world during 2008 relating to the 2008 United States presidential election. Most polls measured foreign preference for Democratic candidate Barack Obama and Republican candidate John McCain. For international reaction to the election, see International reaction to the United States presidential election, 2008.

Most polls during the 2008 election year showed greater global support for Senator Barack Obama over Senator John McCain. A poll for the BBC World Service conducted in 22 countries found Obama favored in each one by varying margins, with an overall average of 49% preference for Obama, 12% for McCain, and 40% with no preference.^[3] Similarly, a 73 country Gallup poll found that 24% of those polled favored Obama compared with 7% who favored McCain; 69% of those surveyed had no opinion.^[4] An international Reader's Digest survey also reported more support for Obama than McCain in all 16 foreign countries polled, though not in the U.S. itself.^[5] However, certain countries did prefer McCain to Obama in some polls, including Israel, Georgia, Laos by a small margin, and the Philippines (which is in contrast to the capital Manila).^[6]

A poll done by the Pew Global Attitudes Project investigated whether other countries believed American foreign policy "will change for the better" with a new president. Although majorities held this belief in several major European and African countries, 67% of Japanese respondents said it would not change very much and more Jordanians and Egyptians believed American foreign policy would get worse than better. In terms of confidence in the candidates, the Pew poll found most but not all countries had more confidence in Obama to do the right thing in global affairs. In several countries a majority of those polled said they were following the campaign closely, including Australia, Germany, Jordan, and the United Kingdom.^[7]

A global non-scientific Internet vote conducted by The Economist, with 52,000 respondents, indicated that Obama was favored over McCain by a vast majority of poll respondents, with over 44,000 votes for Obama, or roughly 85% (there were no third party or abstain options).^[8]

• International opinion polling for the United States presidential election, 2016