The reputation of a country or ‘country brand' has a significant economic value. The perception of a country can be created by the public actions, brands, people, tourist experiences, among others, and the way these are communicated to the world.

Market research is usually accompanied by news in governmental issues like social policies and international relations, economical like workforce skills, quality in products and services and in environmental aspects such as lifestyle and environmental friendly policies.

One of the most reliable measures is the Country RepTrak report published annually by the Reputation Institute, which measures the reputation of the 55 countries with the highest gross domestic product (GDP).  It is conducted by evaluating of 17 variables from three dimensions: effective government, advanced economy and appealing environment, measured both internal and externally.

In 2017, Canada is at the top of the ranking, as esteem, admiration and good image of the country are in their maximum point. The image of the country has stayed in a high position thanks to its prime minister’s charisma, policies in education, inclusion and climate change. Switzerland and Sweden follow Canada very closely. The last six reports have had the North American country leading the ranking four years, Sweden once (last year) and Switzerland once (in 2014).

The most dramatic fall in the list was the reputation of the United States. The country had a loss of 11 positions, clearly from the area ‘effective government´, as many countries and citizens do not back up social and economic policies and the management of foreign affairs.

The United Kingdom’s reputation was also affected. The political instability triggered by Brexit was reflected in the 5 places the UK lost in the ranking, going from number 13 to 18. The support is the area that suffered the most as people’s propensity to invest and buy from the UK decreased. Surprisingly, the internal reputation of the country improved.

In regard to the report, James Bickford, managing director of the Reputation Institute, says, “A country’s reputation has a direct impact on tourism, exports and foreign investment. A one point increase in the overall Reputation Index (RepTrak® Pulse) of a country in a particular market has an average impact of a 3.1% increase in tourist arrivals from that market and 1.7% increase in exports to that market.”