The Anholt Nation Brands Index®: 2024 report for Scotland

Executive summary

Since 2008, the Scottish Government has used the Nation Brands Index^® (NBI) to assess and monitor how Scotland is perceived internationally. The NBI^® examines the image of 50 nations^[1] by looking at a country’s reputation along six dimensions of national competence: Exports, Governance, Culture, People, Tourism, Immigration and Investment. Together these provide an overall indication of a nation’s reputation. In 2024, 42,107 interviews were conducted with adults aged 18 and over in 20 panel countries.^[2] Of these, 10,162 interviews were specifically about perceptions of Scotland. The fieldwork took place over July and August 2024^[3].

Data from the NBI is used to update one of the Scottish Government’s National Performance Framework (NPF) Indicators on ‘Scotland’s reputation’^[4]. National Indicators enable Scotland to track progress towards the achievement of its National Outcomes outlined in the NPF. The ‘Scotland reputation’ indicator is used to inform the ‘International’ National Outcome^[5].

The rank and scores together provide an overall indication of a country’s reputation. The rank is informative of a country’s reputation relative to other countries, and may change in relation to other countries’ performance. The score provides a more absolute understanding of how a country is viewed overall and by each of the individual panel countries. The score therefore may be regarded as a more reliable indicator of a country’s reputation over time. Looking at the scores and ranks together is useful, as individually they may deliver different messages about a countries reputation and performance over time. For example, whilst a countries’ score may decrease between two years, its rank may increase over this period and vice versa.

Key findings from the 2024 data include:^[6]

Scotland’s overall position

• Scotland received an overall score of 65.1 (out of 100 points) and ranked 15^th (out of 50 nations).
• Scotland’s absolute score has decreased slightly, going from 65.3 in 2022 to 65.1 in 2024. However, Scotland’s relative rank has remained stable since 2022 (15^th in 2022 and 2024).

How other countries score and rank Scotland

• Generally, respondents in Commonwealth, English-speaking, and European countries ranked Scotland highest, with those in the United Kingdom^[7] and Australia ranking Scotland 2^nd and 7^th respectively. This is an improved rank from Australia, who ranked Scotland 12^th in 2022.
• Respondents in both Sweden and Germany ranked Scotland 10^th.
• Respondents in the USA scored Scotland 13^th, down from 9^th in 2022.
• Scotland received the highest overall scores from respondents in India (71.9), United Kingdom (69.2) and Mexico (69).
• Scotland was ranked lowest by respondents in Saudi Arabia, Argentina, India and Poland, and received the lowest overall scores from respondents in Japan, South Korea and Russia.

Dimensions and attributes

• Scotland is rated as a Top 20 country on five of the six dimensions of reputation. Scotland’s strongest dimension in 2024 was People, on which Scotland ranked 11^th out of 50, with a score of 68 (down from 68.2 in 2022).
• Scotland’s scores maintained across all six dimensions. Scotland’s ranks decreased across three of the six dimensions (Exports, Governance, Culture), improved across two dimensions (People, Immigration and Investment) and maintained on one dimension (Tourism).
• Scotland’s weakest dimension was Exports. This is Scotland’s only dimension to rank outside of the Top 20 (22^nd). Exports also received the lowest overall score (59.1) across Scotland’s six dimensions.
• Within the dimensions, Scotland fares relatively well in the rating of individual attributes. ‘Valuable employees’ is Scotland’s highest ranking attribute in 2024, ranking 3^rd out of the 50 nations. ‘Natural Beauty’ continues to be Scotland’s highest scoring attribute at 5.5, and second-highest rank at 8^th.

Familiarity and favourability

• Familiarity with Scotland has maintained since 2022, with 68% of respondents having some knowledge of Scotland. The most noticeable increase in levels of familiarity was seen from respondents in the United States, Germany and Brazil. Overall, Scotland ranked 25^th for familiarity, down from 24^th in 2022.
• Favourability towards Scotland maintained between 2022 and 2024. Of the 20 core panel countries, only Japan gave Scotland a favourability score of less than 4.5 (on a 1.0 to 7.0 point scale) in 2024, suggesting that Scotland is viewed comparatively positively by all panel countries. Scotland’s overall score for favourability was 5.0 (compared to 5.0 in 2022), and it was ranked 13^th out of 50 (consistent with 2022).

Demographic trends

• The more exposure respondents had had to Scotland (through visits or contact with websites) the more likely they were to be favourable towards Scotland, and to score Scotland higher across all dimensions and on familiarity.
• Women scored Scotland higher than men across the People and Tourism dimensions, while men scored Scotland higher than women across the Exports, Governance, and Immigration and Investment dimensions.
• Overall, respondents in the younger age groups (under 30 years) were least likely to have a positive image of Scotland. Those aged 30 to 44 years scored Scotland higher than the other age groups across five out of the six dimensions, except for Tourism, where the older age group (45 years and over) were more positive.
• People working in business/executives scored Scotland higher than those in other occupations.