New report from Brand Finance reveals China retains first place in ‘easy to do business in and with’ and ‘future growth’ for four consecutive years
BEIJING, 21 February 2025 – China has overtaken the UK to secure 2nd place globally, advancing one position from the previous year, with a score of 72.8 out of 100 – its highest ranking to date – in the Global Soft Power Index 2025.
According to a new report from Brand Finance, the world's leading brand valuation consultancy, this remarkable progress underscores China’s growing soft power across key pillars, including Culture & Heritage, Media & Communication, Education & Science, and Sustainability, and a steady ranking for business-centric attributes, reflects the nation’s expanding global influence and its strategic positioning in shaping the future of these vital domains.
China has achieved an outstanding 8.8 points in the Business & Trade pillar, ranking 4th globally and excelling in several key attributes. The country ranked 1st globally for both the 'ease of doing business in and with' and 'future growth potential' attributes for four consecutive years. Additionally, China has risen to 5th place (up 1 position) for 'products and brands the world loves' and maintained its 8th place ranking for 'a strong and stable economy' since 2024. This remarkable performance highlights China's growing influence and its continued strength in key global sectors.
The nation is also highly regarded in the Culture and Heritage pillar, securing 7th place globally (up 1 place). It has maintained its position at 9th for ‘influential in arts and entertainment’ and 8th for ‘food the world loves’ for two consecutive years. Demonstrating its rich cultural influence, China ranks 3rd globally for ‘rich heritage’, reinforcing its prominent place in shaping global cultural narratives. This continued success highlights China’s enduring legacy and its strong presence in the cultural and heritage sectors worldwide.
China’s Media and Communication pillar has made steady progress, advancing one rank from 8th to 7th this year. This growth is driven by attributes such as ‘affairs I follow closely’, which rose to 3rd place (up 3 positions), and ‘influential media’, where the nation has maintained its 5th place ranking since 2024. This progress further cements China’s global standing in both cultural and media influence, reinforcing its prominent role in shaping global narratives across arts, entertainment, and communication.
Scott Chen, Managing Director China, Brand Finance, commented:
"China's strong performance in the Global Soft Power Index 2025 offers valuable insights into its strategic growth across various sectors, amplifying its role as a global leader. By achieving remarkable scores in business and trade, alongside its consistent strength in culture and heritage, China demonstrates its ability to influence global narratives. The country’s continued progress in media and communication, combined with its focus on sustainability and technological innovation, highlights the breadth of its influence. These achievements showcase how China is shaping the future of the global economy, culture, and sustainable development, offering lessons on the power of strategic growth and global engagement."
For four consecutive years, China has held its position at 3rd in the Education & Science pillar, demonstrating its commitment to advancing in these crucial fields. The nation excels in global soft power rankings, securing 3rd place for 'advanced in science', 2nd place for 'advanced in technology and innovation', and 2nd place for 'invests in space exploration'. These achievements highlight China’s long-standing emphasis on fostering educational excellence, scientific progress, and technological innovation, reinforcing its role as a global leader in shaping the future of education, science, and innovation worldwide.
China's commitment to Sustainability is equally noteworthy, as it rises to 14th in the global rankings, climbing 4 places. The country excels in ‘sustainable cities and transport’, securing 5th place (up 7 positions), driven by strategic initiatives such as the Belt and Road projects, a heightened focus on sustainability, stronger domestic brands, and the post-pandemic economic reopening. Additionally, China ranks 9th (up 4 places) for ‘investing in green energy and technologies’, underscoring its dedication to building a more sustainable future. This progress reflects China’s growing role as a global leader in sustainability, where its focus on green innovation and eco-friendly development continues to shape its future.
Brand Finance publishes the Global Soft Power Index based on responses from over 170,000 global participants across more than 100 countries. This comprehensive research assesses perceptions of all 193 United Nations member states across 55 metrics, delivering a detailed view of how nations influence preferences and behaviours on the global stage through attraction and persuasion rather than coercion.
The Global Soft Power Index offers invaluable insights into the evolving dynamics of soft power as nations navigate complex global challenges, providing a comprehensive benchmark for assessing a nation’s influence and appeal on the world stage.
Global Insights: U.S. Leads Global Soft Power, China Rises to Second Spot
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.
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.
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.
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.
Brand Finance has produced this study with an independent and unbiased analysis. The values derived and opinions presented in this study are based on publicly available information and certain assumptions that Brand Finance used where such data was deficient or unclear. Brand Finance accepts no responsibility and will not be liable in the event that the publicly available information relied upon is subsequently found to be inaccurate. The opinions and financial analysis expressed in the study are not to be construed as providing investment or business advice. Brand Finance does not intend the study to be relied upon for any reason and excludes all liability to any body, government, or organisation.
The data presented in this study form part of Brand Finance's proprietary database, are provided for the benefit of the media, and are not to be used in part or in full for any commercial or technical purpose without written permission from Brand Finance.
