Switzerland maintains top 10 position in 2016

This year, all countries in the top ten ranking of the Anholt-GfK Nation Brands Index have suffered losses in global reputation. Eight of them even suffer a significant drop in the score. Switzerland is able to maintain its position and - as the smallest nation in the top 10 - continues to occupy 8th place in this global ranking. The strongest plus point for Switzerland, in second place, remains the government/state dimension.

The annual Anholt-GfK Nation Brands Index (NBI) study measures how a total of 50 countries are perceived worldwide. It shows not only what image a country currently has, but also in which direction it is developing. The index is made up of parameters from the 6 dimensions of exports, government, culture, population, tourism and immigration/investment.

All top 10 countries suffer image loss

While eight of the ten best-ranked countries gained NBI points in the previous year, all the countries in the top 10 ranking suffered losses in 2016. The UK and the USA suffered the greatest image losses. However, the scores of Germany, Japan and France also fell sharply.

Professor Simon Anholt, an independent policy consultant who launched the NBISM study in 2005, comments: "Usually, the global perception of a country is extremely stable. However, changes are possible and do occur. It is primarily a country's perceived impact on the world that determines its image as a nation, rather than national characteristics or achievements. This is exactly what we can observe this year. Countries perceived to have a strong influence on the world have lost prestige in a year marked by ongoing international conflicts and humanitarian crises."

Vadim Volos, the GfK expert responsible for the Nation Brands Index, adds: "How a nation is perceived is determined by the interplay of long-standing attributions or stereotypes and short-term influencing factors such as positive or negative reporting or drastic events such as disasters. However, every country can also influence its image to a certain extent itself, for example by emphasizing its positive characteristics in order to boost tourism and investment in the country. Changing the image, however, naturally takes some time."

USA leads the ranking, Switzerland in 8th place

Declines in NBI scores do not necessarily lead to a change in ranking - at least not immediately. The USA, Germany and the UK retain their respective 1st, 2nd and 3rd places. France's loss of points - triggered primarily by declines in the Government and Immigration & Investment dimensions - enabled Canada to move past and take fourth place. Switzerland continues to rank 8th, benefiting from high standing in the Government/State, Immigration/Investment and Population dimensions. The Culture dimension is rated weakest for Switzerland by survey participants.

About the Anholt-GfK Nation Brands Index

The Anholt-GfK Nation Brands Index, which is surveyed annually, measures the image of 50 countries, taking into account the categories of exports, government, culture, population, tourism and immigration/investment. In 2016, a total of 20,353 online interviews were conducted with people aged 18 and older in 20 countries. Current parameters of the online active population were used to weight the samples in each country to reflect demographic characteristics such as age, gender, and education of the online active population. Additionally, race/ethnicity was used for weighting in the U.S., U.K., South Africa, India, and Brazil. Fieldwork was conducted from July 07 to July 25, 2016 in the following countries:

North America: USA, Canada, Cuba

Western Europe: Belgium, Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Switzerland, Finland, Australia, Greece, Northern Ireland

Central/Eastern Europe: Russia, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Turkey, Kazakhstan

Asia and Pacific: Japan, South Korea, China, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand

Latin America: Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador

Middle East/Africa: United Arab Emirates, Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Qatar

For more information about GfK Place Branding Solutions, please visit here.