China overtakes UK for the first time; US remains top-ranked nation brand
20 February 2025, VANCOUVER - Canada ranks 7th in the latest iteration of the Global Soft Power Index by Brand Finance, reaffirming its position as a respected and influential nation.
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 United Nations member states. Thanks to the scope of the survey, the Index is the world’s 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.
Soft Power is defined as a nation's ability to influence the preferences and behaviours of various actors in the international arena (states, corporations, communities, publics, etc.) through attraction or persuasion rather than coercion. Each nation is scored across 55 metrics to arrive at an overall score out of 100 and ranked in order from 1st to 193rd.
Overall, Canada is perceived to have a very strong Reputation, ranking 3rd globally, behind Switzerland and Japan. The Peoples & Values pillar remains one of Canada’s greatest strengths, ranking 2nd globally, just behind Switzerland. Within this, Canada is recognised for being perceived as the most ‘generous’ and ‘tolerant & inclusive’ nation in the world.
Additionally, Canada is regarded as a top business destination (ranking 3rd for ‘easy to do business in and with’), driven by its stable economy, strong trade relationships, and initiatives like the updated Indo-Pacific trade strategy. However, with President Trump beginning his second term and signalling a more protectionist approach - including tariffs on Canadian goods - there are concerns that new trade barriers could challenge Canada’s strong business reputation in the years ahead.
Despite cultural exports like the global success of Canadian artists and the rising popularity of homegrown TV productions, Canada struggles to translate its rich heritage into Soft Power influence, with its lowest ranking in the Culture & Heritage pillar (21st globally).
Laurence Newell, Managing Director, Brand Finance Americas, commented:
“Canada’s strong global reputation has long been a pillar of its Soft Power, consistently ranking among the top nations in our Index. With a federal election on the horizon and leadership changes underway, the country faces a period of transition. Meanwhile, renewed trade tensions under President Trump’s second term could pose challenges. Yet, Canada’s deep-rooted values of inclusivity, stability, and global cooperation ensure it remains a trusted and influential player on the world stage.”
The United States maintains its position at the top of the ranking with an all-time highest Global Soft Power Index score of 79.5 out of 100. Once again, it leads in the Familiarity and Influence Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), three out of eight Soft Power pillars, and ranks highest in 12 out of the 35 nation brand attributes. At the same time, the US’s Reputation has taken a hit, falling four positions to rank 15th globally, and Governance, a key pillar that underpins a nation’s Reputation, has revealed a notable decline down four spots to 10th, likely due to internal political tensions and the polarising nature of the presidential campaign, which was underway during the time of polling.
David Haigh, Chairman, Brand Finance commented
“At the end of his first term, Donald Trump’s confrontational politics weakened US Soft Power, costing it the top spot in the 2021 Index. Now, he returns for a second term as the US sees a drop in perceptions of its political stability and good governance for the third consecutive year. As he dismantles traditional Soft Power mechanisms such as foreign aid and free trade, uncertainty and unpredictability loom over America’s Soft Power and global reputation, with potential implications for future rankings.”
For the first time, China has surpassed the UK to rank 2nd with a score of 72.8 out of 100 - its highest ever position. Since 2024, China has recorded statistically significant growth across six of the eight Soft Power pillars, and in two-thirds of measured attributes, stemming from strategic efforts including Belt and Road projects, an increased focus on sustainability, stronger domestic brands, and post-pandemic reopening to visitors.
At the same time, the United Kingdom’s drop to third place behind China reflects a period of stagnation in its nation brand perceptions. While scores remain relatively stable, a lack of progress across key pillars – especially Business & Trade, down to 6th, and Governance, down to 3rd, are an argument that the UK should bolster its Soft Power strategy.
David Haigh, Chairman, Brand Finance commented:
“China has invested heavily in enhancing its Soft Power, and now we’re seeing the result as it ranks higher than the United Kingdom for the first time in the six years Brand Finance has released the Global Soft Power Index. The 2025 rankings reflect China’s sustained efforts to enhance its economic attractiveness, showcase its culture, and boost its reputation as a safe and well-governed nation. The UK needs to keep up and the establishment of the UK Soft Power Council is a step in the right direction.”
El Salvador is 2025’s fastest-rising nation, climbing 35 spots to 82nd with a +3.2-point increase in its Soft Power score. El Salvador has significantly reduced gang violence and homicides, with improving views of El Salvador as ‘safe and secure’ and ‘politically stable and well governed’. El Salvador has also advanced in Business & Trade - its 2021 decision to accept Bitcoin as legal tender, though controversial, has attracted significant attention.
In contrast, nations engaged in military conflicts continue to decline in Soft Power. Israel dropped to all-time lowest 33rd in the overall ranking, following a sharp 42-place decline in the Reputation metric to 121st. Ukraine fell two positions to 46th as it struggles to maintain international attention and support. Russia remains at 16th, bolstered by strong support from Eastern allies despite widespread condemnation from the West. Ukraine’s Reputation also declined, falling 19 positions to 95th, below Russia’s 75th, highlighting global divisions over the ongoing conflict between the two nations.
Brand Finance is the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy. Bridging the gap between marketing and finance, Brand Finance evaluates the strength of brands and quantifies their financial value to help organisations make strategic decisions.
Headquartered in London, Brand Finance operates in over 25 countries. Every year, Brand Finance conducts more than 6,000 brand valuations, supported by original market research, and publishes over 100 reports which rank brands across all sectors and countries.
Brand Finance also operates the Global Brand Equity Monitor, conducting original market research annually on 6,000 brands, surveying more than 175,000 respondents across 41 countries and 31 industry sectors. By combining perceptual data from the Global Brand Equity Monitor with data from its valuation database — the largest brand value database in the world — Brand Finance equips ambitious brand leaders with the data, analytics, and the strategic guidance they need to enhance brand and business value.
In addition to calculating brand value, Brand Finance also determines the relative strength of brands through a balanced scorecard of metrics evaluating marketing investment, stakeholder equity, and business performance, compliant with ISO 20671.
Brand Finance is a regulated accountancy firm and a committed leader in the standardisation of the brand valuation industry. Brand Finance was the first to be certified by independent auditors as compliant with both ISO 10668 and ISO 20671 and has received the official endorsement of the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB) in the United States.
Brand is defined as a marketing-related intangible asset including, but not limited to, names, terms, signs, symbols, logos, and designs, intended to identify goods, services, or entities, creating distinctive images and associations in the minds of stakeholders, thereby generating economic benefits.
Brand strength is the efficacy of a brand’s performance on intangible measures relative to its competitors. Brand Finance evaluates brand strength in a process compliant with ISO 20671, looking at Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and the impact of those on Business Performance. The data used is derived from Brand Finance’s proprietary market research programme and from publicly available sources.
Each brand is assigned a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score out of 100, which feeds into the brand value calculation. Based on the score, each brand is assigned a corresponding Brand Rating up to AAA+ in a format similar to a credit rating.
Brand Finance calculates the values of brands in its rankings using the Royalty Relief approach – a brand valuation method compliant with the industry standards set in ISO 10668. It involves estimating the likely future revenues that are attributable to a brand by calculating a royalty rate that would be charged for its use, to arrive at a ‘brand value’ understood as a net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing the brand in the open market.
The steps in this process are as follows:
1 Calculate brand strength using a balanced scorecard of metrics assessing Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and Business Performance. Brand strength is expressed as a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score on a scale of 0 to 100.
2 Determine royalty range for each industry, reflecting the importance of brand to purchasing decisions. In luxury, the maximum percentage is high, while in extractive industry, where goods are often commoditised, it is lower. This is done by reviewing comparable licensing agreements sourced from Brand Finance’s extensive database.
3 Calculate royalty rate. The BSI score is applied to the royalty range to arrive at a royalty rate. For example, if the royalty range in a sector is 0-5% and a brand has a BSI score of 80 out of 100, then an appropriate royalty rate for the use of this brand in the given sector will be 4%.
4 Determine brand-specific revenues by estimating a proportion of parent company revenues attributable to a brand.
5 Determine forecast revenues using a function of historic revenues, equity analyst forecasts, and economic growth rates.
6 Apply the royalty rate to the forecast revenues to derive brand revenues.
7 Discount post-tax brand revenues to a net present value which equals the brand value.
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