Germany Retains Top "Nation Brand" Ranking; U.S. Out of Top Five Again

Japan is in second place for the first time

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Oct 25, 2018, 12:23 ET

WASHINGTON, Oct. 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- One year after a ground-shaking shift of the top five countries in the Anholt Nation Brands Index (NBI) study powered by Ipsos, some nations find some stability, while others continue to break new ground. Germany retains the top ranking, while Japan elevates to second place. The United Kingdom continues to hold third place, while France declines by two positions to fourth place. The United States retains the sixth rank, now tied with Italy.

Rankings for the top 10 and the detailed methodology are available online here: https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/news-polls/Nation-Brands-Index-2018

Germany holds top spot in rankings

Germany again ranks #1 out of 50 nations, repeating its win as in 2008, 2014, and 2017. Germany's leading advantage lies in its consistent strengths across multiple dimensions: this nation is ranked among the top four in four reputational categories, with its key strengths lying consistently in Exports (the global public view "Made in Germany" products as the best to buy) and Immigration-Investment, but also importantly in Culture & Heritage sub-categories. Chinese were most convinced of Germany's Exports, Governance, People, and Immigration/Investments (all ranked 1st in China).

U.S. continues to lose ground

While the overall NBI rank of the United States in 2018 remained #6 (now tied with Italy), of the 50 countries measured in the study, the U.S. saw the greatest overall NBI score drop this year. The U.S. brand image has been further eroded in the Governance, Culture, and People categories, where the United States ranking dropped by three positions, driven by more negative perceptions in Canada and China. Mexicans continued to be critical of the U.S., although with a lesser degree of negativity than a year ago. Nevertheless, the U.S. still ranks among the top five nations for three of NBI's six categories: Culture (where the U.S. is ranked fifth), Exports (second), and Immigration/Investment (fifth).

SOURCE Ipsos