India retains 34th rank in Nation Brand Index, China registers significant fall 
New Delhi: India retained its 34th position among 50 nations in the Nation Brand Index (NBI) 2020 in market research conducted by Ipsos in collaboration with Simon Anholt, an authority on the national image.
“The US which held NBI’s top spot on seven occasions, dropped four positions from sixth place in 2019 to the 10th this year and China, which had remained stable at 23rd over the past four years, fell 12 spots to the 35th this year, below India,” the statement said.
The United Kingdom’s ranking jumps from fourth to second place, and Australia advances from 10th to eighth place – a record high for both nations.
France, which was ranked in second place last year, drops to the fifth spot; and the United States, whose image-stabilized in 2019 after plunging to sixth place in 2017 – sees further reputational declines in 2020 falling to 10th place – a record low for both nations.
Milorad Ajder, Ipsos Global Service Line Leader, Reputation, said, “The Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index 2020 results clearly shows that individual country brands are as distinctive as ever, and that performance on key drivers of image have ebbed and flowed from one country to another.”
Germany Holds Top Spot in Overall NBI Ranking
Germany again ranks 1 out of 50 nations, marking the sixth time Germany tops the NBI list. Germany was the highest-ranked NBI nation in 2008, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020.
Parijat Chakraborty, Country Service Line Leader, Ipsos Public Affairs and Corporate Reputation, said, “The Anholt-Ipsos Nations Brand India 2020 shows, the upside of India’s image is determined by the reputation strengths of its cultural heritage, exports, contribution to science and technology.”
“The brand weakness is perceived to be around governance and people; friendliness of Indians and the way we feel about the environment. Perceptions are not reality. At the same time perception is the only reality,” Chakraborty added.
China’s Reputation Battered
“China – whose reputation remained stable at 23rd place over the past four years – sees an overall rank decline of 12 positions from 23rdplace last year to 35th place this year. China’s ranking declines across multiple categories this year – particularly Governance, People, Tourism, and Immigration-Investment,” the report stated.
