Barack Obama leaves office more popular than at any time since 2009

Democrat is more popular at end of his term than most other recent presidents

Barack Obama is thought to have performed particularly well on issues including the economy, foreign affairs and climate change (Getty Images)

Barack Obama will hand over the US presidency on Friday more popular than at any time since his first year in office.

The Democrat now has an approval rating of 60 per cent, according to a new CNN/ORC poll – the highest since June 2009. Only two other recent presidents - Bill Clinton in 2001 and Ronald Reagan in 1989 - have been more popular at the end of their terms in office.

Sixty-five per cent of Americans said they believed the Obama presidency had been a success, and half said this was a direct result of his personal qualities rather than other factors. Even close to one in five Republicans approved of Mr Obama’s time in office, although this was significantly less than the 39 per cent of Republicans who approved of Mr Clinton at the end of his term.

As his presidency draws to a close, some commentators have called the former Chicago senator one of the greatest ever US presidents, and a quarter of Americans agree - significantly more than the number of people saying the same about other recent presidents at the end of their terms.

Mr Obama is considered to have done well on issues such as the economy, foreign affairs, race relations, education, climate change and LGBT rights.

However, a majority of Americans disapprove of his record on gun policy and dealing with Isis. Public opinion is divided over his performance on immigration and healthcare.

US First Lady Michelle Obama is even more popular than her husband. Sixty-nine per cent of Americans scored her performance highly – her highest rating since 2012.

Mr Obama will vacate the Oval Office on Friday and hand power to Donald Trump.

The Democrat has used his last days in office to promote a number of his flagship issues, including securing funding for climate change research and abortion clinics and making a last-ditch effort to close down the controversial US prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

He also pardoned and commuted the sentences of record numbers of prisoners, including whistleblower Chelsea Manning and Puerto Rica independence activist Oscar Lopez Rivera.