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Ranked: The Top 10 Strongest Nation Brands

Published

2 years ago

November 19, 2020

Carmen Ang

Ranked: The Top 10 Strongest Nation Brands

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The Briefing

A nation’s brand strength is calculated using a number of societal and economic factors
This year, three new nation’s made the top 10 that weren’t included in 2019— the U.K., Canada, and France
The new additions bumped Luxembourg, U.A.E, and Finland off the list

The Top 10 Strongest Nation Brands

Even the strongest nations have been put through the wringer this year. As countries struggle to cope with the impacts of COVID-19, the value of a stable and strong nation brand has become increasingly more apparent.

This might be why Brand Finance’s annual Nation Brands report—which ranks the strongest nation brands across the globe—looks a little bit different this year.

Each year, Brand Finance measures the value and strength of nation brands. Using a number of metrics and data, nations are given a score out of 100. Here’s a look at the top 10 strongest nations, and how they scored:

Rank	Country	Score
1	🇩🇪 Germany	84.9
2	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	83
3	🇨🇭 Switzerland	82.9
4	🇺🇸 United States	82.8
5	🇨🇦 Canada	81.7
6	🇸🇬 Singapore	81.1
7	🇯🇵 Japan	79.5
8	🇩🇰 Denmark	79.3
9	🇫🇷 France	79.1
10	🇳🇱 Netherlands	78.6

Since 2015, Singapore has held first place as the strongest nation brand because of its world-class education, low crime, and prosperous economy.

However, Germany stole the top spot this year, which makes sense given Chancellor Merkel’s well-received response to COVID.

The Soft Power Index

This year, Brand Finance also added a new metric to the index, which measured a nation’s “soft power,” or its international reputation and influence.

Rank	Country	Score
1	🇺🇸 United States	67.1
2	🇩🇪 Germany	61.9
3	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	61.8
4	🇯🇵 Japan	60.2
5	🇨🇳 China	58.7
6	🇫🇷 France	58.5
7	🇨🇦 Canada	54.5
8	🇨🇭 Switzerland	54.5
9	🇸🇪 Sweden	51.9
10	🇷🇺 Russia	51.0

Germany ranked second on the soft power index, while Singapore didn’t even make the top 10 list. This could be another reason why Germany was able to surmount Singapore as the strongest nation brand in this year’s edition of the report.

Where does this data come from?

Source: Brand Finance Nation Brands 2020
Note: Nation Brand Strength is determined by reference to dozens of data points across 3 “pillars” – Goods & Services, Investment, and Society. See report for full methodology

Related Topics:germany brand value best countries covid-19

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Datastream

Visualizing the Five Drivers of Forest Loss

Approximately 15 billion trees are cut down annually across the world. Here’s a look at the five major drivers of forest loss. (Sponsored)

Published

7 days ago

November 21, 2022

Govind Bhutada

The Briefing

On average, the world loses more than 20 million hectares of forests annually.
Agriculture and commodity-driven deforestation each account for approximately a quarter of annual forest loss.

Visualizing the Five Drivers of Forest Loss

The world has lost one-third of its forests since the ice age, and today, approximately 15 billion trees are cut down annually.

Forests are wellsprings of biodiversity and an essential buffer against climate change, absorbing billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year. Yet, forest loss continues to grow.

The above infographic sponsored by Carbon Streaming Corporation highlights the five primary drivers behind forest loss.

Deforestation vs. Degradation

‘Forest loss’ is a broad term that captures the impacts of both permanent deforestation and forest degradation. There is an important distinction between the two:

Permanent deforestation: Refers to the complete removal of trees or conversion of forests to another land use (like buildings), where forests cannot regrow.
Forest degradation: Refers to a reduction in the density of trees in the area without a change in land use. Forests are expected to regrow.

Forest degradation accounts for over 70% or 15 million hectares of annual forest loss. The other 30% of lost forests are permanently deforested.

Driving factor	Category	Average annual forest loss (2001-2015, million hectares)
Commodity-driven deforestation	Permanent deforestation	5.7
Urbanization	Permanent deforestation	0.1
Forestry products	Forest degradation	5.4
Shifting agriculture	Forest degradation	5
Wildfires	Forest degradation	4.8
Total	N/A	21

Commodity-driven deforestation, which includes removal of forests for farming and mining, is the largest driver of forest loss. Agriculture alone accounts for three-fourths of all commodity-driven deforestation, where forests are often converted into land for cattle ranches and plantations.

The harvesting of forestry products like timber, paper, pulp, and rubber accounts for the largest share of forest loss from degradation. This process is often managed and planned so that forests can regrow after the harvest.

Shifting agriculture and wildfires each account for around 5 million hectares or one-fourth of annual forest loss. In both cases, forests can replenish if the land is left unused.

Urbanization—the conversion of forests into land for cities and infrastructure—is by far the smallest contributor, accounting for less than 1% of annual forest loss.

How Much Carbon Do Forests Absorb?

The world’s forests absorbed nearly twice as much carbon dioxide (CO₂) as they emitted between 2001 and 2019, according to research published in Nature.

On a net basis, forests sequester 7.6 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e) annually, which equates to around 15% of global CO₂e emissions. As the impacts of climate change intensify, protecting forests from deforestation and degradation is increasingly critical.

Carbon Streaming Corporation accelerates climate action through carbon credit streams on REDD+ projects that protect the Earth’s forests. Click here to learn more now.

Where does this data come from?

Source: Our World in Data

Datastream

Ranked: Top 10 Foreign Policy Concerns of Americans

As the world’s superpower, the U.S. has major influence in world events. Which foreign policy concerns stand out for Americans?

Published

3 weeks ago

November 7, 2022

Avery Koop

The Briefing

Political leanings aside, terrorism remains a top issue of concern for Americans
Previous top issues, such as disinformation and U.S.–China relations, now rank lower

In the United States, there is a distinct difference on top foreign policy concerns between Democrats and Republicans.

This chart uses data from Morning Consult to assess the top policy concerns of Americans.

The Top Concerns

Overall, the average American is most concerned about terrorism, immigration, and drug trafficking. Interestingly, this list corresponds with the concerns of the average Republican, though falling in a different order.

Meanwhile, Democrats are chiefly worried about climate change, another global pandemic, and terrorism.

Here’s a breakdown of the policy concerns at large and across political parties.

Overall Rank with Americans	Foreign Policy Concern	Share of Voters Listing it as a Top Concern	Share of Democrats Listing it as a Top Concern	Share of Republicans Listing it as a Top Concern
#1	Terrorism	49%	38%	62%
#2	Immigration	43%	22%	67%
#3	Drug trafficking	43%	30%	59%
#4	Cyberattacks	39%	35%	40%
#5	Climate change	38%	54%	17%
#6	Preventing a global economic crisis	32%	33%	31%
#7	Securing critical supply chains	30%	27%	34%
#8	Preventing another global pandemic	30%	38%	22%
#9	Russia's invasion of Ukraine	27%	33%	21%
#10	Protecting human rights globally	25%	31%	18%
#11	Preventing disinformation	24%	29%	21%
#12	U.S.-China relations	24%	19%	31%
#13	Iran nuclear deal	21%	19%	24%
#14	Upholding democracy globally	15%	22%	8%

Notably, the concern around U.S.-China relations ranks considerably low, as does preventing disinformation. Upholding democracy worldwide ranks extremely low with Republicans.

America’s Foreign Policy

Along party lines, the results are not surprising. Democrats skew towards multilateralism and want to engage with foreign bodies and other countries to tackle global issues. Republicans are generally more concerned with what’s happening at home.

Looking at the country as a whole and its relations with other nations, however, Americans lean more towards an America-first focus. According to Morning Consult, 39% of registered voters want to decrease U.S. involvement in other countries’ affairs, whereas 20% want to increase it; 30% want to keep the status quo.

Here’s a closer look at Americans’ desire to get involved in a variety of foreign policy initiatives:

Issue	Increase Efforts	Decrease Efforts	Neither
Overseas Troop Deployment	21%	37%	30%
Trade and Tariffs	41%	15%	29%
Involvement with International Organizations	35%	21%	32%
Resolution of Military Disputes	38%	16%	33%
Resolution of Economic Disputes	43%	13%	31%

As of October 2022

The U.S. Midterm Elections

With midterm elections underway, America’s foreign policy may not be the most important factor for voters. Pew Research Center found that in these congressional elections, foreign policy only ranked 12th among other key issues considered “very important” by registered voters.

The top five concerns of voters in these midterms are:

The economy
The future of democracy within the U.S.
Education
Healthcare
Energy policy

Regardless, the U.S. has a massive impact in foreign affairs and the results of the country’s midterm elections will likely cause a ripple effect globally. If Republicans win the House—which is looking extremely likely—and the Senate, President Biden’s foreign policy initiatives and priorities could be drastically restricted.

Where does this data come from?

Source: Morning Consult

Data notes: This ranking is made using the share of registered U.S. voters who identified the given issue as a top 5 concern for the country. For example, only 30% of registered voters said securing critical supply chains was a top 5 concern which is why it’s #7, whereas 43% said immigration was a top concern, ranking it at #2.