Davos- Switzerland: Held in the UAE Pavilion at the World Economic Forum in Davos – Switzerland, Brand Finance unveiled key insights from the latest analysis of five-year trends in perceptions of nation brands captured by the Global Soft Power Index at a presentation, followed by a panel discussion on Soft Power in Africa.

The session was attended by HE Chipoka Mulenga MP, Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry of the Republic of Zambia, David Haigh, Chairman and CEO of Brand Finance, Thebe Ikalafeng, Chairman, Brand Africa, and Sithembile Ntombela, Acting CEO, Brand South Africa.

The UAE adopts soft power as an effective tool to highlight the achievements and successes achieved during its development journey. During 2023, the UAE topped the countries of the region and the Arab world in the Global Soft Power Index, a step that reflects the positive influence and reputation the UAE enjoys.

Brand Finance’s Global Soft Power Index is the industry’s largest research study into perceptions of nation brands, surveying opinions of 150,000+ respondents across 100+ markets on all 193 member states of the United Nations.

The analysis of 5 years’ worth of data highlights the rapidly growing importance of building positive Business & Trade perceptions amidst ongoing economic challenges. The ‘strong and stable economy’ attribute has emerged as the primary driver of a nation’s Reputation and Influence – key building blocks of Soft Power, while 'products and brands the world loves' and 'easy to do business in’ also secure top positions. The importance of Business & Trade attributes has contributed to faster growth in Soft Power for large nations like the US and China (+3.0 average year on year score change in the top 50) compared to smaller nations (-1.3 for nation brands ranked 51-193).

Over the past 5 years, Middle Eastern nations which have made significant efforts in nation brand building, have seen the strongest improvement in their Soft Power, including Qatar (up 10 ranks), UAE (up 8 ranks), and Saudia Arabia (up 8 ranks) which all show notable improvements in International Relations and Business & Trade perceptions. Turkey (up 5 ranks) has experienced growth in Familiarity and Culture & Heritage as its nation brand promotion has a strong tourism focus.

Brand Finance’s research also explores the profound effect of COVID-19 on Soft Power dynamics. Nations which all saw significant declines after the knock-on effect of the first wave of the pandemic in 2021, have since rebounded strongly, including Spain (up 11 ranks), Italy (up 10 ranks), India (up 7 ranks), China (up 5 ranks), USA (up 5 ranks), and Brazil (up 4 ranks).

In 2024, for the first time, Brand Finance has researched all 193 member states of the United Nations, with 72 new entrants to this year’s ranking. The 5th edition of the Global Soft Power Index will be published at the Global Soft Power Summit 2024 in London on 28-29th February.