Germany first, USA second

LONDON, PRNewswire/ After holding the number one place since 2009, the USA has this year been pushed down to second place by Germany, which now takes the lead in the Anholt-GfK Nation Brands Index (NBI).
Commenting on the outcome of their latest survey, Anholt-GfK said “People around the world now have more positive perceptions of Germany than of 49 other developed and developing countries, according to the annual NBI study. The study measures global perceptions of each country, based on twenty-three different attributes that make up the six overall dimensions on which national image is based: exports, governance, culture, people, tourism and immigration/investment. For the 2014 study, a total of 20,125 interviews were conducted across 20 countries.
The top ten out of 50 nations are Germany, the USA, the UK, France, Canada, Japan, Italy, Switzerland, Australia and Sweden.
Germany achieved the largest overall Nation Brands Index score increase this year partly due to its score gain on “sport excellence”, which is the largest gain seen this year for any single attribute across the 50 measured nations.

Simon Anholt, an independent policy advisor, explained, “Germany appears to have benefited not only from the sports prowess it displayed on the world stage at the FIFA World Cup championship, but also by solidifying its perceived leadership in Europe through a robust economy and steady political stewardship. Germany’s score gains in the areas of ‘honest and competent government’, ‘investment climate’, and ‘social equality’ are among the largest it achieved across all the aspects covered by the NBI 2014 survey.”
In contrast, the USA has shown the least impressive NBI gain among the developed nations. While it still is seen as number one in several areas, including creativity, contemporary culture, and educational institutions, its role in global peace and security only ranks 19th out of 50 nations.
Xiaoyan Zhao, Senior Vice President and Director of NBI at GfK said “In a year of various international confrontations, the United States has lost significant ground where tension has been felt the most acutely. Both Russia and Egypt have downgraded the U.S. in an unprecedented manner, particularly in their perception of American commitment to global peace and security, and in their assessment of the competence of the U.S. government. However, on a global level, it is Russia that has received the strongest criticism from public opinion.”