{"id":26966,"date":"2024-02-29T09:20:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-29T09:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brandfinance.com\/?post_type=press-release&#038;p=26966"},"modified":"2024-03-06T11:36:15","modified_gmt":"2024-03-06T11:36:15","slug":"brand-finances-global-soft-power-index-2024-the-usa-is-crowned-the-worlds-soft-power-superpower-for-the-3rd-consecutive-year","status":"publish","type":"press-release","link":"https:\/\/brandfinance.com\/press-releases\/brand-finances-global-soft-power-index-2024-the-usa-is-crowned-the-worlds-soft-power-superpower-for-the-3rd-consecutive-year","title":{"rendered":"Brand Finance\u2019s Global Soft Power Index 2024: \u00a0The USA is Crowned the World\u2019s Soft Power Superpower for the 3rd Consecutive Year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The USA is once again the world leader in soft power, topping the latest iteration of the Global Soft Power Index for the 3<\/strong><strong><sup>rd<\/sup><\/strong><strong> consecutive year.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The 5<\/strong><strong><sup>th<\/sup><\/strong><strong> annual global survey from Brand Finance ranks all 193 member states of the United Nations for the first time.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Military conflict harms soft power, with Russia, Ukraine, and Israel falling down the ranking.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>China is the fastest-growing nation brand this year, rising in the ranking from 5<\/strong><strong><sup>th<\/sup><\/strong><strong> to 3<\/strong><strong><sup>rd<\/sup><\/strong><strong>.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and T\u00fcrkiye see the greatest improvement since the <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/brandfinance.com\/softpower\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Global Soft Power Index<\/strong><\/a><strong>\u2019s inception in 2020.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>29 February 2024, LONDON<\/strong> \u2013 The <strong>United States<\/strong> is once again the world\u2019s soft power superpower, topping the latest <a href=\"https:\/\/brandfinance.com\/softpower\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Global Soft Power Index<\/a> for the 3<sup>rd<\/sup> consecutive year, according to a study by Brand Finance, the world's leading brand evaluation consultancy. The UK sits in 2<sup>nd<\/sup> and China is ranked 3<sup>rd<\/sup>, surpassing Japan and Germany.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The United States leads the rankings with an all-time highest Global Soft Power Index Score of 78.8, an increase from 74.8 in 2023. It earned the top spot for <strong>Familiarity<\/strong> and <strong>Influence<\/strong>, four out of the eight Soft Power pillars, and nine out of the 35 nation brand attributes, including \u2018<strong>leader in science<\/strong>,\u2019 \u2018<strong>influential in arts and entertainment<\/strong>,\u2019 \u2018<strong>internationally admired leaders<\/strong>,\u2019 \u2018<strong>helpful to countries in need<\/strong>,\u2019 and \u2018<strong>supports global efforts to counter climate change<\/strong>.\u2019 However, internal security challenges around gun violence and police brutality, as well as involvement in international conflicts, seem to be undermining some of its nation brand perceptions, as evidenced by continued rank declines on \u2018great place to visit,\u2019 \u2018good relations with other countries,\u2019 \u2018safe and secure,\u2019 and \u2018friendly\u2019 where the USA has dropped a further 9 places to 112<sup>th<\/sup>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Laurence Newell, Managing Director, Brand Finance Americas, commented:<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\"The United States' significant soft power influence stems from its multifaceted cultural, economic, and diplomatic reach on the global stage. Renowned for its innovation and technological prowess, the country leads in science, technology, and entertainment, captivating audiences worldwide. Additionally, its economic strength and aid contributions enhance its image as a benevolent global leader.&nbsp;<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>However, as we approach the 2024 elections, there's growing concern about the integrity of democratic values. This uncertainty reflects ongoing polarization and the lingering impact of past events, such as the January 6<\/em><em><sup>th<\/sup><\/em><em> Capitol attack. Despite these challenges, the US has historically been resilient, and it is hoped that its commitment to democratic principles, cultural diversity, and historic leadership will see it through.\"<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>David Haigh, Chairman &amp; CEO of Brand Finance,<\/strong> commented:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cDonald Trump\u2019s confrontational politics \u2013 both domestically and internationally \u2013 caused a serious erosion of the nation\u2019s soft power in his final year in office, reflected in the United States temporarily losing its 1<\/em><em><sup>st<\/sup><\/em><em> rank in the 2021 Index since recovered under the Biden administration. The upcoming presidential election in November 2024 will be momentous in terms of future direction for the USA and how the nation is perceived globally.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Brand Finance publishes the Global Soft Power Index based on a survey of more than 170,000 respondents from over 100 countries to gather data on global perceptions of all 193 member states of the United Nations. Thanks to the scope of the survey, the Index is the world\u2019s most comprehensive study on perceptions of nation brands, providing an in-depth analysis of the evolving status of soft power as nations navigate significant global changes and challenges.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Soft power is defined as a nation\u2019s ability to influence the preferences and behaviors of various actors in the international arena (states, corporations, communities, publics, etc.) through attraction and persuasion rather than coercion. Each nation is scored across 55 different metrics to arrive at an overall score out of 100 and ranked in order from 1<sup>st<\/sup> to 193<sup>rd<\/sup>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The report has found that \u2013 at a time of global uncertainty and instability \u2013 <strong>economic credentials are increasingly important<\/strong> contributors to a nation\u2019s soft power. Nation brand attributes such as 'strong and stable economy' and 'products and brands the world loves' emerge as key drivers of influence and reputation on the global stage. This trend explains the continued dominance of the world\u2019s largest economies like the USA and China as well as smaller developed economies like Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates at the top of the ranking. Dominant nation brands are recording faster soft power growth (average +3.1 points in the top 50) than the rest of the ranking (average -1.3 for those ranked 51-193).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>David Haigh, Chairman &amp; CEO of Brand Finance<\/strong> commented:&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cThe Global Soft Power Index 2024 underscores the complex interplay between global events and economic shifts in shaping soft power. As nations navigate these dynamics, the importance of a strategic approach to nation branding, supported by perceptions research and financial analysis, becomes increasingly evident.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Key Findings of the Global Soft Power Index 2024:<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>United Kingdom<\/strong> has overcome a soft power risk from temporary instability in late 2022 resulting from tumultuous government changes and the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. This year, the UK ranks 7<sup>th<\/sup> in \u2018strong and stable economy\u2019 compared to last year\u2019s 12<sup>th<\/sup> and improves on \u2018politically stable and well governed\u2019 up to 12<sup>th<\/sup> from last year\u2019s 16<sup>th<\/sup>. The nation\u2019s Global Soft Power Index Score of 71.8 continues an upward trend from 67.3 in the previous year. Like the USA, as the UK is set for a general election this year, it will be interesting to see how the results impact its soft power.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>China<\/strong> replaces Germany at the 3<sup>rd<\/sup> position in the soft power rankings, improving its overall score by +6.2, from 65.0 to 71.2 \u2013 faster than any other nation brand in the Global Soft Power Index this year. This rise is driven by a significant improvement in China\u2019s perceptions across key Business &amp; Trade and Education &amp; Science metrics.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Germany<\/strong> fell to 5<sup>th<\/sup> position, after earning top ranking in 2021, and 3<sup>rd<\/sup> place in both 2022 and 2023. Germany has experienced stagnation and in many cases erosion in perceptions across the board this year, with a substantial drop of 14 positions in 'good relations with other countries' compared to 2023, along with decreases in helpful to countries in need' and measures of trustworthiness. Nevertheless, Germany achieved the top rank in Governance and, despite some score declines, remains among the leaders in the pursuit of a Sustainable Future.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>India<\/strong>, <strong>Brazil<\/strong>, and <strong>South Africa<\/strong> struggle to fulfil their soft power potential, as all three nations have relatively high Familiarity and Influence, especially in their home regions, but rank lower for Reputation. India fell to 29<sup>th<\/sup> place, the highest ranked Latin American nation brand Brazil stagnated in 31<sup>st<\/sup>, and Sub-Saharan Africa ranking leader South Africa dropped to an all-time low in 43<sup>rd<\/sup> place.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the ranking extended to cover all 193 member states of the United Nations, <strong>Monaco<\/strong> is the highest-ranked new entrant at 42<sup>nd<\/sup>. The world\u2019s lowest-ranked nations are small Pacific Island nations <strong>Vanuatu<\/strong> (191<sup>st<\/sup>) <strong>Nauru<\/strong> (192<sup>nd<\/sup>) and <strong>Kiribati <\/strong>(193<sup>rd<\/sup>) - each limited in influence by population, geography, and economic factors.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Hard power harms soft power.<\/strong> Russia, Ukraine, and Israel have all ranked lower this year as respondents appear to downgrade countries engaged in military action. Russia continues to fall in soft power rankings, down three places to an all-time low of 16<sup>th<\/sup>. While Ukraine is down seven places to 44<sup>th<\/sup>, the nation continues to be ranked higher than at any time before Russia invaded. Israel has fallen five ranks to an all-time low ranking of 32<sup>nd<\/sup>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>David Haigh, Chairman &amp; CEO of Brand Finance<\/strong> commented:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cOur research shows that world opinion on individual countries and their actions differs widely, as demonstrated by the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Palestine. This fractured perception can be traced to a lack of free and fair media and communication, resulting in opinions that are formed based on biased or partial knowledge. The World Economic Forum identifies misinformation, disinformation, fake news, and propaganda as the biggest threat to world peace. While global hard power expenditure was a record <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2024\/2\/13\/global-defence-spending-jumped-to-record-2-2-trillion-last-year-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>$2.2 trillion in 2023 and expected to rise in 2024<\/em><\/a><em>, we estimate that the combined spending by nation brands on communications is less than $1 billion. Given the dramatic difference in investment, it is unsurprising that hard power has been dominating soft power.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>An intentional approach strengthens soft power.<\/strong> The greatest improvements in the ranking over the past five iterations of the Global Soft Power Index have been recorded by the United Arab Emirates (+13.8 points and 8 ranks to 10<sup>th<\/sup>), Saudi Arabia (+14.1 and 8 ranks to 18<sup>th<\/sup>), Qatar (+16.0 and 10 ranks to 21<sup>st<\/sup>), and T\u00fcrkiye (+14.3 and 5 ranks to 25<sup>th<\/sup>). All are characterized by conscious efforts to grow their soft power through nation branding projects, diplomatic initiatives, and by hosting major events. The Gulf nations especially, are seeing enhanced Influence and Reputation as well as strengthening International Relations and Business &amp; Trade credentials, with the United Arab Emirates receiving 10\/10 marks and top position globally on the key \u2018strong and stable economy\u2019 attribute this year.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The<strong> United Arab Emirates<\/strong> has successfully staged the high-profile EXPO 2020 and COP28. <strong>Qatar<\/strong>\u2019s improvement follows the 2022 football world cup, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fifa.com\/about-fifa\/president\/news\/fifa-president-reflects-on-unique-and-perfect-fifa-world-cup-2022-tm-in-qatar\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">FIFA president Gianni Infantino called the best in history<\/a>. Similarly, <strong>Saudi Arabia<\/strong> is seeing stronger perceptions following significant investments in tourism and football which have earned global media attention. <strong>T\u00fcrkiye<\/strong> has during the same time officially changed its name and took on the role of a mediator leveraging soft power to facilitate diplomatic dialogue from Eastern Europe to the Middle East.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>29 February 2024, LONDON \u2013 The United States is once again the world\u2019s soft power superpower, topping the latest Global Soft Power Index for the 3rd consecutive year, according to a study by Brand Finance, the world's leading brand evaluation consultancy. The UK sits in 2nd and China is ranked 3rd, surpassing Japan and Germany.&nbsp; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":4452,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[97,163,29],"class_list":["post-26966","press-release","type-press-release","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-global-soft-power-index","tag-soft-power","tag-usa"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brandfinance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press-release\/26966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brandfinance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press-release"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brandfinance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press-release"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brandfinance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26966"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/brandfinance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press-release\/26966\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26976,"href":"https:\/\/brandfinance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press-release\/26966\/revisions\/26976"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brandfinance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brandfinance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brandfinance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}