By Natalia Arenzana Arias, PhD., Leonard J. Ponzi, PhD & Fernando Prado Abuín
Partners, Reputation Lab

A nation’s reputation is one of its most valuable assets, shaping whether people choose to visit, invest, trade, or trust it. These reputations reflect the levels of admiration, respect, and trust they inspire among international audiences. Country reputations are continuously shaped by multiple forces: direct experiences with the country, its own communications, the opinions of third parties such as media and influencers, and, when no new information is available, the stereotypes and long-held narratives embedded in the global imagination.

Figure 1: The Reputation Economy applied to countries

In the same way that corporate reputation can be measured and tracked through KPIs, the reputation of nations can also be systematically evaluated. To this end, Reputation Lab developed RepCore^® Nations, an adaptation of the original RepCore^® model used for corporate reputation assessment. The framework measures the admiration, respect, and trust a country inspires, as expressed through 22 rational attributes encompassing economic, political, social, and cultural aspects. These are organised into five dimensions: Quality of Life, Level of Development, Institutional Quality, Ethics & Responsibility, and Human Factor.

Among these dimensions of country reputation, Ethics & Responsibility has become the most decisive in shaping global public opinion. Increasingly, people judge countries by their commitment to fighting climate change, protecting the environment, upholding ethics and transparency (absence of corruption), and respecting human rights.

By examining reputation in this structured way (See Figure 1), RepCore^® Nations makes it possible to link perceptions of a country directly to the supportive behaviors, such as willingness to visit, invest, work, or study there, and ultimately, to the creation of tangible economic and social value.

RepCore^® Nations 2025

 The 2025 edition of the analysis was conducted across 38 countries, assessing the reputation of 74 nations through online surveys with 61,798 respondents. The published ranking highlights the 60 largest economies by GDP, as evaluated by the general public in the world’s most industrialised nations (the G7).

In this year’s results, Switzerland and Canada lead the ranking, followed closely by the Nordic countries (i.e., Norway, Sweden, and Finland), which continue to enjoy a strong international reputation. At the opposite end, Iraq, Iran, and Russia remain the lowest ranked. The most notable finding of 2025 is the sharp decline of the United States, which dropped 18 positions due to the negative reception of the Trump administration's controversial decisions among G7 publics.

Figure 2: RepCore^® Nations 2025 – The reputation of the 60 countries with the largest GDP among the general population of G7 countries

From reputation to economic value

A key insight from the research is that national reputations can be shown to have a direct, measurable impact on key economic outcomes such as tourism, exports, and foreign direct investment (FDI). This is the central reason why a country’s reputation matters.

In the RepCore^® Nations framework, a country’s reputation is measured by the RepScore. RepScore is a global indicator (reported on a 0–100 scale) reflecting the level of admiration, respect, and trust it inspires internationally.

To quantify its economic impact, RepCore^® Nations data were cross-referenced with four years of historical data from international organisations, namely:

• Tourism arrivals (measured in economic value, millions of USD) from UN Tourism.
• Foreign direct investment (FDI) from UN Trade and Development.

The results are striking:

• A one-point increase in the RepScore corresponds, on average, to a 7.2% increase in the economic value of tourist arrivals.
• The same increase in RepScore translates into an average 1.0% increase in FDI. Notably, because the RepScore reflects general public opinion, the effect on FDI would likely be even stronger if measured among more specialised stakeholders such as investors.

Beyond economics, admired nations also wield soft power, which is described as an outsized influence on global affairs that extends well beyond their economic or military weight.

Managing reputation through expectations 

The proven economic impact of reputation naturally raises a critical question: How can a country actively manage its reputation? In practice, this means understanding and influencing the factors that shape international perceptions.

The first step is managing audience expectations. Nations that perform well on the issues most relevant to a particular audience will be perceived more positively overall. Today, for the publics in the G7, attributes linked to Ethics & Responsibility carry the most significant weight. This means that strengthening performance and communications in areas such as climate action, environmental protection, and human rights can move the reputation needle most effectively.

At the same time, expectations differ by market, requiring tailored strategies. Among the 22 attributes in the RepCore^® Nations model, the most important varies by region, and more specifically:

• G7 publics: Fight against climate change
• China: Well-known brands and companies
• Latin America: Effective government and institutions
• Russia: Safety

By aligning domestic initiatives and international communications with these differing expectations, nations can better meet stakeholder demands and strengthen their reputational capital.

Channel strategy: The touchpoints that matter

 The second answer to how perceptions can be improved lies in the channels through which reputation is formed. For countries, these are essentially four:

1. Direct experience
2. Official communications from the nation, its institutions, and companies
3. Third-party opinions and narratives, especially in the media and on social networks
4. Stereotypes embedded in the collective imagination

While stereotypes are difficult to change in the short term, other touchpoints can be actively managed to shape perceptions. RepCore^® Nations incorporates a series of such touchpoints, categorised as experience, direct communication, or third-party perspectives. Specifically, the analysis considers the following touchpoints:

1. Have visited the country
2. Have purchased products or services from the country
3. Have friends or colleagues or other acquaintances from the country
4. Have seen tourism advertising from the country
5. Have seen advertising for products or brands from the country
6. Have consumed news about the country
7. Have read about the country’s culture or history
8. Have done business with companies or people from the country

Touchpoints insights that stand out:

• All touchpoints matter (see Figure 3). In almost every case, exposure leads to a measurable improvement in reputation compared with no exposure.
• The strength of impact varies. Direct experiences are the most powerful drivers. The strongest lift comes from visiting the country, followed by purchasing products or services, doing business, exposure to product/brand advertising, knowing someone from the country, tourism campaigns, cultural or historical content, and finally, news consumption. 

Figure 3: Average reputation lift by touchpoint

• The impact of touchpoints differs by country. For example, people who have visited Saudi Arabia rate its reputation +14.2 points higher than those who have not, while for the United States the effect of visiting is actually negative (–1.8 points). Similarly, doing business raises Colombia’s reputation score by +14.6 points, but lowers Turkey’s by –3.0 points.
• News matters: But not always positively. For some countries, negative international coverage has accelerated sharp declines (e.g., Iran –18.9, Russia –15.7, Israel –14.2). By contrast, Sweden demonstrates the upside, gaining +4.0 points among those exposed to news.

Four strategic lessons

• Tourism delivers a double dividend. Visiting a country is one of the most powerful touchpoints for boosting a reputation. Tourists generate immediate economic value through their spending, while also improving perceptions of the country and strengthening supportive behaviors, such as purchasing products, investing, studying, or recommending it to others. Managed well, this creates a virtuous cycle of reputation and economic growth.
• Messages and channels must be chosen strategically. Effective nation branding depends on aligning messages with international audience expectations and delivering them through the most impactful channels. Knowing the relative strength—and risks—of each touchpoint allows managers to maximise positive influence and minimise harm. The right message delivered through the right channel produces the strongest reputational lift.
• Reputation is a shared responsibility. Building a country’s reputation does not rest solely with governments. Every interaction counts: travel, personal exchanges, product purchases, business ties, and media exposure all shape perceptions. This means that businesses, citizens, civil society, and the government all play a direct role in safeguarding and enhancing their reputation. Negative experiences or damaging news can quickly undo the progress that has been made.
• Internal alignment is critical to success. Nation branding efforts are most effective when all key stakeholders, including the government, companies, civil society, and cultural or sports leaders, are aligned around a coherent positioning and shared values. Their co-ordinated actions across touchpoints are essential for projecting a consistent and credible image to international audiences.

About Reputation Lab

Reputation Lab is a firm specialising in managing corporate reputation and other intangible assets of companies, organizations, and countries. Its professionals are pioneers in reputation analysis and management. Reputation Lab supports businesses and institutions in building sustainable competitive advantages through the integrated management of two of their most valuable assets: brand and reputation.

For more information: www.corporatereputationlab.com