The Anholt - GfK Roper Nation Brands Index(SM): 2014 Report for Scotland

1 Executive Summary

1.1 To 'Improve Scotland's Reputation' is one of the indicators of the Scottish Government's National Performance Framework.^[1] Since 2008, the Scottish Government has used the Anholt-GfK Roper Nation Brands Index^SM (NBI^SM)^[2] to assess and monitor how Scotland's reputation is perceived around the world.

1.2 Conducted annually from 2008, the Anholt-GfK Roper Nation Brands Index^SM examines the image of 50 nations. Each year, approximately 20,000 adults aged 18 and over in 20 core panel nations are interviewed online. The Anholt - GfK Roper Nation Brands Index^SM looks at a country's image by examining six dimensions of national competence: Exports, Governance, Culture, People, Tourism, and Investment and Immigration. This gives an overall indication of a country's reputation.

1.3 Scotland's score (61.8)^[3] and rank (17^th) on the Index show that Scotland continues to have a strong reputation abroad. Scotland's reputation has improved in comparison to its 2012 performance (we do not have 2013 data) in terms of the overall NBI^SM score (60.1). Scotland's relative rank has, however, dropped two positions since 2012 (from 15^th), as a result of changes in the sample of countries rated and moderate relative changes in individual country scores.

1.4 This is the first time the available Scotland data have shown an improvement since the indicator's baseline year (2008). In terms of the National Performance Framework this shows that Scotland's performance is "improving".^[4]

1.5 Scotland continues to score highly, placed in the Top 20 nations, and is scored and ranked similarly and sometimes ahead of other comparator small, high income, Western European liberal democracies on the index.

1.6 In terms of absolute score, Scotland's reputation has improved on each of the six dimensions of the index compared to 2012. In terms of relative rankings, Scotland's reputation for Tourism has gained in position compared to 2012 and continues to be seen as Scotland's strongest point. Exports remain to be perceived as Scotland's weakest point. Across all dimensions, with the exception of Exports, Scotland is ranked within the Top 20.

1.7 Key findings from the 2014 NBI^SM are summarised in the infographic (Figure 1) on the following page.

Figure 1: Summary of 2014 NBI^SM key findings