Japan, New Zealand, Australia and Singapore are Asia-Pacific's top country brands: Futurebrand

Globally, Switzerland has overtaken Canada for the top spot, followed by Japan, which rose a spot to third, and Sweden, which rose three spots to fourth. 

Futurebrand's 2012-2013 country brand index ranks the world's countries based on perceptions of their cultures, industries, economic vitality an public policy initiatives. The study is based on a survey of 3,600 opinion-formers and frequent international travellers from 18 countries.

Switzerland has become a symbol of economic, cultural and social stability, observed the report. "Brand Switzerland shows that the cultivation of freedom, tolerance, transparency and environmentalism can put a country’s brand ahead—even in difficult economic times," it said.

Conversely, the US has dropped eight spots since 2009 when it was the world's top country brand. As the world economy goes through successive fiscal crises, the influence and normative values of the West—which traditionally enjoyed a reputation of freedom, democracy, ambition and individualism—are beginning to lose clout with a global audience, said the report. 

While both Australia and New Zealand declined a spot or two, Singapore has risen two spots on the strength of its branding as the gateway to Asia for the international business community. The World Bank has once again ranked Singapore first for ease of doing business and the World Economic Forum's Global Competitive Index has placed the city-state at No. 2. Once known for its authoritarian policies, the tiny nation of 5 million is now celebrated as one of the largest financial centers in the world, said Futurebrand.

Brand UK also rose two spots to No. 11 thanks to the investment it has made in promoting the Royal Wedding, the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics. However, cautioned Futurebrand, once the fanfare dies down, focus will turn to the UK's uncertain future. "As the possibility of Scottish independence looms on the horizon, latent tensions between England and Scotland continue to rise. The world will be watching, and evaluating, how well brand UK manoeuvres this critical political impasse," said the report. 

Future Forward Country Brands

In a new addition to the study, Futurebrand has also ranked 15 countries that it believes are on course to "transform the global landscape economically, politically and culturally in years to come". 

In contrast to existing global marketplace estimates founded wholly on GDP or population, Futurebrand’s 2012-13 CBI examines a cross-section of data-driven, behavioral and aspirational forces to forecast the potential of evolving country brands.

To develop the Future Fifteen, Futurebrand collaborated with a global panel of experts across public policy-, business- and media–related disciplines to identify the driving forces behind consumers’ country-based decisions and perceptions. A forward-focused evolution of the CBI’s existing dimensions, these Future Drivers of brand strength emphasise six core determinants of a country’s prospective leadership, including governance, human capital, investment, growth and stability.

The UAE tops this list thanks to its aptitude in capitalising on its abundance of natural resources and government foresight around policy and investments, said the report. The study however also notes the UAE's impending obstacles, including the tremendous challenge of fair wealth distribution.

In Asia-Pacific, Malaysia ranks the highest on this list of potentials at No. 3 thanks to its emerging, multi-sector economy driven by exports and a well-developed regulatory system, said Futurebrand. That said, industrialisation, deforestation and rural agriculture threaten this strength.

China, which ranked No. 6 is held back by a rigid political system, said the report. "By not including citizen participation at higher levels of government or more broadly in decisions that affect quality of life, China may feel the destabilising effect of unmet expectations among a growing middle class."

As the world's second strongest economy however and blessed with seemingly limitless human capital and foreign exchange reserves of up to US$2.4 trillion, China’s vision for the future will continue to foster growth and sustainability, it concluded. 

The full report can be downloaded here. 

Editorial note: This article was later corrected to include Japan as one of Asia-Pacific's top country brands.