Australia scrapes into the list of ‘the 10 best countries in the world’ with Germany taking out the top gong and the UK falling three places
- Nation Brands Index measures how nations are perceived in six different areas
- Australia scraped into top ten list as it fell one position to tenth in 2021 rankings
- Nation managed to improve on 2020 score achieving 68.55 per cent this year
- Germany achieved top spot for fifth year while the UK fell from second to fifth
- Germany, Canada, Japan, Italy and the UK completed the top five rankings
Australia has scraped over the line to remain in the top ten best countries in the world as Germany took out the top spot for the fifth year running and the UK fell three places.
Australia dropped one spot to tenth in the 2021 ‘Nation Brands Index’ rankings, conducted by British political scientist Simon Anholt and pollster Ipsos.
The Anholt Ipsos Nation Brands Index is a global nation brand survey that measures how 60 nations are perceived on six different scales each year.
Australia has scraped into the top ten list of ‘the best countries in the world’, falling one place to tenth in the 2021 ‘Nation Brands Index’ rankings (Pictured: Bondi Icebergs in Sydney)
The survey examines the areas of the country’s exports, governance, culture, people, tourism, immigration and investment, which gives an overall indication of a nation’s reputation.
Despite the lower ranking, Australia managed to improve on its 2020 score by just under three points, achieving 68.55 per cent.
The UK also fell from second to fifth in the rankings due to a decline in its global reputation on people and governance – notably on the perceptions of the welcoming nature of its people and protecting the environment.
Germany took out the top spot in 2021 for the fifth year in a row in the survey conducted by pollster Ipsos (Pictured: Munich, Germany)
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.
Scroll down to read full rankings
Pictured: The comparison of 2020 and 2021 rankings of the top ten nations
Germany’s reputation has benefited massively by people feeling positive about German products and the government’s work to fight poverty (Pictured: Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel)
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 in this year’s results, 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.
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.