From place ten to eight.
Sweden continues to be among the strongest nation brands in the world.
– The image of Sweden continues to be positive and stable over time, says Madeleine Sjöstedt, director general of the Swedish Institute, in a press release.
In this year’s National Brands Index, which assesses the strengths of 50 national brands, Sweden climbs two places – from place ten to eight.
The image of Sweden thus seems to have recovered after the last year’s turbulence.
– The great attention surrounding Koran burnings and Sweden’s NATO process affected the image, but we now see that deteriorations can be short-term if the image of the country was already strong, says Madeleine Sjöstedt at the Swedish Institute.
The country that tops the list
The perception of Sweden is most positive in Germany and Canada. It is worst, seen over a ten-year period, in Saudi Arabia, India and China.
The study shows, among other things, that Sweden has a clear profile, among other things when it comes to environmental and climate issues. In addition, Sweden is perceived as a country with a high quality of life and equality. It is also seen as an attractive country for trade, investment and tourism.
“Sweden’s image is something that the royal family and the court work on daily. It is important for our relations in other countries. It is positive that the investigation shows that it has improved and is stable,” writes the Swedish court in a comment to TV4 Nyheterna.
For the second year in a row, Japan tops the list of the world’s strongest national brands. Close behind come Germany, Italy and Switzerland.
Facts
Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index (NBI) is an annual survey that measures the strength of countries’ nation brands within the six categories of population, exports, talent and investment, culture, social governance and tourism. In addition, respondents answer how well they know and how they perceive the countries under investigation. This year’s survey also includes new questions about the environment and climate, but also about how safe a country is.
The survey is carried out by asking people in 20 countries about their opinion of 60 other countries. The respondents are individuals who have access to the internet and are digitally connected, i.e. not the general public. The panel countries make up a large proportion of the world’s population and GDP, and are countries that have an economic and cultural influence.