Jun 27, 2013 – Which countries have the best reputations? What does that even mean? The Reputation Institute, a global private consulting firm based in New York and Copenhagen, has just released its fourth annual list of 50 countries, ranked according to what it says is people’s trust, admiration, respect and affinity for those countries.
Topping the list for the third year in a row: Canada. Sweden comes in second, one place up from last year and Switzerland is third, up from fourth last year. (Australia slipped from second to fourth place.)
What’s most notable is how far down the U.S. ranks: 22nd place, behind Brazil and just above Peru. Several European countries that continue to battle severe economic turmoil ranked above the U.S. again this year including Italy in 16th place, France in 17th, Spain in 18th and Portugal in 19th place.
One reason the U.S. doesn’t rank higher, says Fernando Prado, a managing partner at the Reputation Institute, is that when asked what was most important to them in gauging a country’s reputation, respondents said it was effective government and appealing environment a bit more than an advanced economy. But the U.S. has been steadily gaining in each of those three categories, says Prado, which explains why it moved up one place from 23rd last year. Prado adds that the U.S. is burdened by what he calls “a negative emotional halo” that has to do with being a world superpower. Outside the U.S., people have mixed feelings about its dominant role in the world.
To compile its data, the Reputation Institute conducted online interviews with 27,000 consumers in G8 countries from January through March of this year. The study asked about the 50 countries around the world that either have the largest economies and populations or are in the public eye as a result of economic, political or natural events. The Institute put four simple questions to the respondents. It asked about the countries’ overall reputation, whether the respondents had a “good feeling” about the countries, whether they admired and respected the countries and whether they trusted the countries.
The countries with the worst rankings are no surprise. Iraq ranked 50th, preceded by Iran, Pakistan and Nigeria. China came in 44th and Russia, 46th.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2013/06/27/the-worlds-most-reputable-countries-2013/