President Donald Trump and his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama have tied for the title of America's most admired man in 2019 - a result indicative of the country's increasing political polarity.

Eighteen percent of the US voters quizzed in Gallup's annual survey nominated Donald Trump as the man 'living today in any part of the world' that they admired most, while another 18 percent of voters also named former president Obama as a man of optimum acclaim.

No other name on the open-ended ballot – which included former President Jimmy Carter, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders – was mentioned by more than two percent of respondents.

The results of the poll, which was carried out in the first two weeks of December, were split sharply along partisan lines - with 45 percent of Republicans selecting Trump for the top honor, and 41 percent of Democrats giving Obama the nod.