Anholt Ipsos Nation Brands Index

May: As King Charles III is crowned as Britain’s monarch, we ask ourselves, “what makes nations ‘attractive’?”

For the first time in Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index history, Japan finishes in first place, completing its steady climb from fifth place in 2019. Germany drops down to second after a six-year reign, while Canada remains in third place overall. The United Kingdom and the United States climb the ranks and place fourth and sixth, respectively. Italy drops one rank and places fifth, while France sees the largest rank change within the top ten and falls from fifth to eighth place.

The 2023 Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index (NBI) will be released later this year, and the pending results show exciting shifts in perceptions since 2022.

Germany finishes in first place again, while Japan overtakes Canada for second place — its best performance since 2018, when it also ranked second. Japan sees strong reputational rankings on the Exports, Tourism, and Culture indices. The United Kingdom’s ranking drops again in 2022, moving from fifth to sixth. Russia’s ranking falls to the bottom three nations.

London preserves its spot as the world’s most admired city in the 2022 edition of the Anholt-Ipsos City Brands Index. Paris, Sydney, New York, and Rome round out the top-5, but there has been some movement in the bottom half of the top-10 cities:

2021 Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index: Canada and Japan overtake the U.K. to round out the top three; U.S. sees reputational gains from 2020.

Nations’ reputations are largely related to that of their neighbors’; however, nations should never write off the effect that other countries around the globe can have on their image.

The United Kingdom moves to second place, its best performance ever recorded, with reputational gains on the Governance, Culture, People, and Tourism Indices. Canada ranks in third place for a second consecutive year. There are major ranking slips in the top-10 with France’s ranking declining by three positions from second place in 2019 to fifth place in 2020, and the United States’ ranking dropping from sixth place last year to 10th this year.

Germany, Canada, and New Zealand are most favorably impacted, while the United States, Brazil, and India are seen unfavorably. Based on nations’ handling of health crises, most travelers are more comfortable traveling domestically as opposed to internationally over the next five years.