Britain’s image overseas

The UK ranks 6th as a nation brand overall, 6th for Tourism and 3rd for Culture out of 60 nations in The Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index 2022. 

The Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index is an annual online study amongst 60,000 consumers in 20 panel countries around the world. Respondents score 60 nations on a raft of attributes including some relating to tourism, culture and people as well as those relating to exports, governance and immigration. Respondents are representative of the online population in each market. In 2022, VisitBritain commissioned research in two additional panel markets; Spain and the Netherlands, however these are excluded from the ‘Total’ ranks below which are based on the standard 20 NBI panel countries.

Read our full report on how the world views Britain (PDF 2.5MB, Published November 2022).

Rank Nation Rank Nation
1 Germany 6 United Kingdom
2 Japan 7 Switzerland
3 Canada 8 United States
4 Italy 9 Sweden
5 France 10 Australia

There were minor changes to the top 10 nation brands in 2022 with the UK ranking 6th overall.

The overall nation brand is made up of scores for six dimensions: Tourism, Culture, People, Immigration-Investment, Exports and Governance.

Looking at the dimensions relevant for tourism, the UK ranked 6th out of 60 nations for Tourism and 3rd for Culture. Within these dimensions the UK ranked in the top ten for historic buildings/monuments, vibrant city life, contemporary culture, sport, cultural heritage and visiting if money was no object. Within other dimensions, education qualifications, having a close friend from the UK and willingness to live and work in the UK were held in high regard as well.

The table below shows in more detail how well Britain performed across Tourism, Culture, People, Exports, Immigration and Investment, and Governance.

UK’s ranks for all dimensions and attributes

Hexagon dimensions / attribute UK rank in 2022 Hexagon dimensions / attribute UK rank in 2022
Tourism 6 People 8
Rich in historic buildings & monuments 5 If visited, people would make me feel very welcome 16
Vibrant city life & urban attractions 5 Would like a person from country as a close friend 4
Would like to visit if money was no object 7 Would employ well-qualified person from country 5
Rich in natural beauty 31    
Culture 3 Exports 4
Interesting & exciting for contemporary culture 4 Major contributor to innovation in science & technology 5
Excels at sport 5 Feel better about buying products if made there 6
Has a rich cultural heritage 8 Creative, cutting edge ideas & new ways of thinking 5
Immigration-investment 5 Governance 13
Willing to live & work there for a substantial period 4 Competently and honestly governed 17
A place with a high quality of life 8 Respect the rights of citizens & treats with fairness 10
A good place to study for educational qualifications 2 Behaves responsibly in int. peace & security 12
Has businesses I'd like to invest in 6 Behaves responsibly to protect the environment 16
Cares about equality in society 10 Behaves responsibly to help reduce world poverty 9