The Country RepTrakTM from Reputation Institute released in July 2015 ranked top 55 countries (by GDP as per IMF) by their Reputation score and value. The report ranked Canada as the most reputed country and placed India at 33rd Position. The ranking was based on survey conducted with 48000 people from G8 countries who gave their external perception of countries. Also the Country RepTrak also created a ranking for Internal Reputation for countries which was based on the Self-Image Analysis or Citizen Perception of the country. Under this segment the report ranked Australia as the most reputed and placed India at the 4th Position.
To execute the report, Reputation Institute identifies 17 key factors or areas that define the basic foundation of a country’s reputation. These 17 factors were classified into 3 Dimensions viz. Effective Government, Appealing Environment and Advanced Economy and the surveys conducted are based on these 17 factors. The following provides insights of the 3 dimensions and the factors under each dimension.
This dimension identifies what people think about the role of the government towards promoting the country to the world. The government plays a major role in attracting people (visitors and investors) into the country by means of easy and flexible policies and opportunities. The following are the 7 factors classified under this dimension
Safe Environment: The country is a safe place. It offers a secure environment for visitors and residents.
International Participation: The country is a responsible participant in the global community It supports good causes and its leaders are respected internationally.
Ethical Country: The country is an ethical country with high transparency and low corruption. The government conform to the accepted standards of social and professional behaviour.
Social & Economic Policies: The country has adopted progressive social and economic policies. It is concerned with improving the well-being of all of its citizens. The Government change for the betterment of the citizens.
Institutional Environment: The country is run by an effective government. It has a well-developed structure of political and legal institutions. They can take policy decisions effectively and in force.
Efficient use of Public Resources: The country operates efficiently. It does not impose unnecessary taxes or waste resources.
Business Environment: The country offers a favourable environment for doing business. It has a stable and low-risk economy and a well-developed infrastructure. Foreign investors can easily to invest into the country and operate a business without much effort.
Scores for Effective Government Dimension for 2015
Factor |
Top Score |
Avg. Score |
India Score |
India Gain (from 2014) |
Safe Environment |
79.7 (Switzerland) |
53.8 |
42.0 |
9.1% |
International Participation |
74.7 (Sweden) |
53.4 |
49.3 |
9.8% |
Ethical Country |
76.3 (Norway) |
50.3 |
41.5 |
11.6% |
Social & Economic Policies |
77.7 (Sweden) |
54.3 |
46.8 |
8.7% |
Institutional Environment |
75.8 (Switzerland) |
52.6 |
45.9 |
9.8% |
Efficient use of Public Resources |
75.5 (Switzerland) |
53.7 |
47.2 |
10.6% |
Business Environment |
78.1 (Switzerland) |
54.6 |
49.5 |
9.8% |
This dimension is related to the people i.e. citizens of the country. It identifies the role of the citizens of the country and their behaviour towards visitors. The following are 4 factors classified under this dimension
Friendly & Welcoming People: The people of country are friendly and welcoming.
Beautiful Country: The country is a beautiful country. It has an attractive natural environment. The country is rich in history, culture and environment that interests visitors
Appealing Lifestyle: The citizens lead a good lifestyle in the country. Their personal values and attitudes are respected. People enjoy living there
Enjoyable Country: The country is an enjoyable country – it offers a wide array of appealing experiences such as culture, food, sport, and entertainment. One can be happy to migrate to this country.
Scores for Appealing Environment Dimension for 2015
Factor |
Top Score |
Avg. Score |
India Score |
India Gain (from 2014) |
Friendly & Welcoming people |
79.3 (Canada) |
63.6 |
62.4 |
4.3% |
Beautiful Country |
85.6 (Canada) |
68.7 |
65.0 |
-1.5% |
Appealing Lifestyle |
79.6 (Switzerland) |
57.7 |
45.8 |
7.1% |
Enjoyable Country |
79.3 (Australia) |
62.9 |
58.7 |
2.7% |
This dimension identifies what the country offers to the world. It defines the type of companies spawned and the products produced that could be used by the other parts of the world. The following are 6 factors classified under this dimension.
Contributor to global Culture: The country is an important contributor to global culture –many well-known artists, scientists, inventors, writers, athletes (translation: sports people), and politicians were born there
Quality Products & Services: The country produces great products or provides reliable services. Their products are very well known to the other parts of the world.
Well-Educated & Reliable Workforce: The country offers skilled and knowledgeable work force to execute business activities. The citizens have necessary skills (communication and execution) and can be trained easily.
Well-known Brands: There are many brands from the country that are well known across the world. Innovations happen in the country either in form of innovative products or in form of the way business is executed.
Values Education: The country values education. It has high quality universities and has an excellent education system (provides minimum education to all its citizens)
Technology: The country is technologically advanced. It is among the first to create and to commercialize new technologies. The country well developed, industrialized and well-established
Scores for Advance Economy Dimension for 2015
Factor |
Top Score |
Avg. Score |
India Score |
India Gain (from 2014) |
Contributor to global culture |
75.0 (Italy) |
56.2 |
55.6 |
5.4% |
Quality Products & Services |
78.3 (Switzerland) |
56.2 |
50.6 |
5.3% |
Well-Educated & Reliable Workforce |
78.8 (Japan) |
57.8 |
53.5 |
3.1% |
Well-known brands |
80.5 (Japan) |
52.8 |
48.6 |
6.8% |
Values Education |
79.5 (Japan) |
57.3 |
53.1 |
2.9% |
Technology |
82.5 (Japan) |
53.5 |
50.5 |
9.1% |
The reputation of a country has direct impact on the performance of the country. It influences the stakeholder’s behaviours into taking decisions related to various activities. The various behaviours or declared intentions are Visit, Work, Invest, Buy, Live, Study & Attend/Organize. Countries with good reputation
“Country’s Reputation is important for the growth of the economy. It becomes necessary for FDI, Tourism, Exports, Diplomacy and Talent finding. It defines the intention to visit and then visit.” Says Fernando Prado of Reputation Institute
India has seen a positive trend and has an overall growth of 7.4% in its reputation compared to the negative trend it saw in the last 3 years. There has been a positive change in almost all factors especially with all the factors relative to the Effective Government dimension showing a big change compared to other 2 dimensions. One reason could be because of the new government as well as the new policies that has been unveiled in the near past (Make in India, Digital India, Skill Development, etc.). However the flip side of it is that India has marginally lost its reputation of being a beautiful country by about 1.5%.
The country’s reputation is directly dependent on the reputation of the companies operating in the country. If the reputation of these companies is improved, then the country’s reputation shall also improve. Companies need to get their reputation assessed and identify where they stand i.e. what does the world perceive about them. Once identified, they could perform necessary activities to improve their brand, image and their reputation. ReputationXL can help doing those assessments.
Note: Special thanks to Fernando Prado of Reputation Institute for having given good insights on each of the factors.