Germany ranked no. 1 for handling pandemic

Germany has ranked number one in the highly respected Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index (NBI), which annually examines the current reputation of 50 of the world’s leading and developing economies. It is the sixth time in a row that Germany has retained this spot. The UK and Canada are at the second and third place respectively.

Germany’s handling of the healthcare crisis scores particularly highly with more than half of the respondents across 20 countries taking a positive view of how Germany has managed the healthcare challenges during the crisis. Germany also tops the list of international travel destinations to which the respondents would feel most comfortable travelling to in the next five years.

Thomas Bareiß, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and Federal Government Commissioner for Tourism and SMEs, says, “Germany’s brand is highly respected around the world. This is the sixth time in a row that our country has retained the top spot in the overall ranking of the Nation Brands Index. This success is all the more gratifying given the difficulties presented by the coronavirus pandemic and gives us a real boost in our efforts to overcome the current challenges.”

Petra Hedorfer, Chief Executive Officer of the German National Tourist Board (GNTB), adds: “In a world that is increasingly volatile due to the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions, Germany is a beacon of stability, continuity, sustainability and responsibility, both as a travel destination and a place to do business. Germany has consistently ranked among the top three of the index since 2008, and this is the sixth year that it has come out top. This position also bears out the long-term success of our marketing for Destination Germany. Through our marketing activities, especially the digital campaigns, we are making every effort to maintain a dialogue with customers during the current crisis, and to keep our brand – and its internationally valued strengths – in the public eye. This is crucial if we want to retain our strong position in the global market going forward.”

The NBI gauges a country’s brand value on the basis of six indicators: exports, governance, culture, people, tourism and immigration/investment, which in turn are made up of 23 locational factors. In 2020, Germany is ranked among the top ten in all six categories. It remains in fourth place in the culture category, while it moves up one place in the tourism category and is now ranked ninth. In the tourism subcategories, Germany moves up one place to seventh for ‘historical buildings & monuments’, for example, while it retains seventh spot for ‘vibrant city life & urban attractions’.