Germany named 'best country in world' for fifth year running in survey
Germany is named ‘best country in the world’ for fifth year running in survey: UK falls from second to fifth while US rises following end of Trump presidency
- The UK fell from second to fifth in rankings, in part due to a decline in its global reputation for welcoming foreign people and protecting the environment
- Germany was followed by Canada, Japan, Italy and the UK in the ‘nation brands’ rankings by British political scientist Simon Anholt and pollster Ipsos
- Germany was commended for people’s trust in German products and the government’s work to fight poverty
Germany has been named the best country in the world for the fifth year in a row in an international soft-power survey.
The UK fell from second to fifth in the rankings, in part due to a decline in its global reputation for welcoming foreign people and protecting the environment.
Meanwhile, the US rose to eighth after being tenth last year following the end of Donald Trump’s presidency.
Germany was followed by Canada, Japan, Italy and the UK in the ‘nation brands’ rankings by British political scientist Simon Anholt and pollster Ipsos.
Each year, the Nation Brands Index measures how 60 countries are perceived on six different scales including the country’s governance, friendliness, culture and quality of life.
Scroll down to read full rankings
Germany has been named the best country in the world for the fifth year in a row in an international soft-power survey
Germany’s reputation has benefited massively by people feeling positive about German products and the government’s work to fight poverty
In this year’s rankings, Germany retained its first place position for the fifth time in a row and seventh time overall. Their score improved to 71.1 per cent this year, compared to 69.1 per cent in 2020.
Germany’s reputation has benefited massively by people feeling positive about German products and the government’s work to fight poverty.
The country also earned points for its stellar reputation in sports, despite the country ranking ninth in the medal table at this year’s Tokyo Olympics.
Canada also moved up to second place this year, after coming third place in 2020.
The country received high points for its policies on immigration and governance, while people also commended Canada for its culture and friendliness.
Meanwhile, the UK’s score rose from its 2020 score of 68.1 per cent to 70 per cent this year, meaning it was just 1.1 per cent away from Germany in the top spot.
Despite this, the UK fell from second to fifth this year. The country’s reputational strengths were focused on the country’s contributions to science and technology, its sports and contemporary culture, and strong educational qualifications
But the UK dropped points for the public’s perceptions surrounding how welcoming Brits are and its protection of the environment.
The U.S. was able to claw back two spots this year and was ranked eighth.
In 2020, the country had one of ‘the most notable declines’ after it dropped to 10th from sixth in 2019.
Ipsos also found that people’s desire to visit countries around the world – if money was no object – has grown over time
Ipsos said the fall was triggered by sharp decreases on the indices on Governance, tourism, immigration and investment.
But now, in 2021, Ipsos said ‘despite the Covid-19 still being prevalent in the US, a wide political divide in society, and persistent vaccine hesitancy,’ the country’s reputation has begun to improve.
For other countries not ranked in the top ten, China rose four spots to 31st while India fell by six to 40th.
Ipsos also found that people’s desire to visit countries around the world – if money was no object – has grown over time.
While the levels declined in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, levels of desire to visit foreign countries increased to its highest point in 2021.
How did your country rank?
1 Germany
2 Canada
3 Japan
4 Italy
5 United Kingdom
6 France
7 Switzerland
8 United States
9 Sweden
10 Australia
11 Spain
12 Norway
13 Netherlands
14 New Zealand
15 Finland
16 Austria
17 Scotland
18 Belgium
19 Ireland
20 Iceland
21 Greece
22 Wales
23 South Korea
24 Northern Ireland
25 Singapore
26 Poland
27 Russia
28 Brazil
29 Argentina
30 Czech Republic
31 China
32 Hungary
33 Taiwan
34 Thailand
35 Mexico
36 Egypt
37 Slovakia
38 Turkey
39 Chile
40 India
40 Peru
42 Morocco
43 Indonesia
44 South Africa
45 United Arab Emirates
45 Latvia
47 Israel
48 Ukraine
49 Dominican Republic
50 Qatar
51 Panama
52 Colombia
53 Ecuador
54 Mongolia
55 Saudi Arabia
56 Kenya
57 Tanzania
58 Botswana
59 Nigeria
60 Palestine
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