By Graham Smith UPDATED: 08:09 EST, 17 February 2012 A friendly rivalry has long existed between the U.S. and Canada and many Americans enjoy nothing more than poking fun at their neighboring nation. But, with the exception of the War of 1812 two centuries ago, the two countries have stood side-by-side and are today the world's largest trading partners. In a further boost to this mutual love-in, a poll has - rather surprisingly -  revealed that Americans rate Canada as their favourite country. A landslide 96 per cent of U.S. citizens surveyed rate Canada favourably, a four per cent rise on this time last year.
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English-language nations popular with Americans as Australia and Britain are second and third respectively
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Gallup poll finds most disliked countries to be Iran, North Korea, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria
Sydney Harbour: Australia came a surprising second in the survey of @placeholder opinions of other nations