Indonesia: how does the fourth most populous country in the world, with over seventeen thousand islands (including the well-known Java, Borneo, and Sumatra), fare in terms of economic performance, attractiveness for investors, talent, and visitors? Join us as we explore what global rankings and indices have to say about Indonesia, its brand strength, soft power, and reputation.
Let’s take a closer look at:
- Indonesia’s soft power and brand strength
- Its appeal to skilled labour, investors, and visitors
- The country’s global contribution to peace and well-being
- How well it fares in terms of happiness and sustainability
Indonesia’s Soft Power and Brand Strength
In the Global Soft Power Index 2023 by Brand Finance, Indonesia secures the 45th spot, an improvement from its 47th position in 2022. Impressively, its score has shown growth, rising from 34.8 in 2022 to 40.9 this year, bumping the country up two positions.
In the U.S. News Best Countries 2023 ranking, Indonesia secures the 41st position, behind Argentina (39th) and Morocco (40th). Notably, it ranks best in three key areas: open for business (19th); movers (22nd), assessing differentiating factors, distinctiveness, dynamism, and uniqueness; and heritage (22nd), which examines cultural accessibility, rich history, great food, and cultural and geographic attractions. Indonesia maintains its position from the 2022 ranking.
The Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brand Index (NBI) calculates its ranking based on averaging the scores of six different factors: exports, governance, tourism, culture, people, and immigration. According to the NBI 2023 ranking, Indonesia secures the 44th position, showcasing a jump of one position from the 2022 ranking.
Appeal to Talent, Investors, Trade, and Travel
The Expat Insider 2023 ranks Indonesia 13th, with impressive rankings (top 10) in metrics such as Ease of Settling In, Local Friendliness, Finding Friends, and Culture and Welcome. However, it does not score as high in other metrics such as Leisure Options (30th), Safety and Security (40th), Environment and Climate (49th), Quality of Life (50th), Travel and Transit (51st), and Healthcare (51st).
The World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Index 2019 edition placed Indonesia at the 50th position among 141 countries. However, it’s important to note that an updated version of this report hasn’t been released in the past five years, and rankings may have shifted since then.
Indonesia, classified as a lower-middle-income country within the Eastern/South-Eastern Asia & Oceania regional group, currently holds the 80th position in the Global Talent Competitiveness Index 2023. Notably, Indonesia ranks best in the Enable pillar (58th) while the Attract pillar presents its biggest challenge, where it ranked 106th.
As per the UNCTAD World Investment Report 2023, Indonesia secures the 17th position for FDI inflows in 2022, trailing behind Israel (15th) and the UAE (16th). This marks a jump of three positions compared to its 2021 ranking. Its success was attributed to inflows increasing by 4%. Indonesia ranked 5th in the Renewable Energy: Top Five Host Economies by Region, 2015–2022 (Asia and Oceania).
The Bloom Consulting biannual Country Brand Ranking Trade Edition 2022-2023 assesses investment-related variables, emphasising perceptions of a country’s trade-specific brand and evaluating branding performance. Regionally, Indonesia currently sits in 6th position, a drop of one position from the previous ranking. This drop is likely due to Japan jumping four positions. Similarly, globally Indonesia secures the 19th position, a drop of one position.
In addition, the Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking Tourism Edition 2022-2023 places Indonesia at the 30th global position. Regionally, Indonesia now holds the 9th position, climbing one position above Macao (10th) and falling behind Malaysia (7th) and China (8th).
In the IMD 2023 World Competitiveness Ranking, Indonesia secured the 34th position, showing a jump of ten positions from its 2022 ranking. Currently, it sits just behind Lithuania (32nd) and France (33rd), while surpassing Japan (35th) and Spain (36th).
In terms of specific characteristics, Indonesia’s economic performance experienced a leap from 42nd in 2022 to 29th in 2023. Government efficiency increased from 35th to 31st. Indonesia’s business efficiency ranking went from 31st to 20th; and lastly, in terms of infrastructure, its least performing factor, Indonesia ranked 51st.
How “Good” is Indonesia?
In the CAF World Giving Index 2023, Indonesia has the highest World Giving Index score for the sixth year in a row. Over the past six years, Indonesia has seen increased levels of participation and giving. Since religion has traditionally been a key driver for giving, a possible explanation for these findings could be its large religious population. This result could also be driven by the community-focused cultural tradition of gotong-royong in the country. Its most impressive score is in the donating money factor, where 82% of its adult population donated money this past year.
In the Good Country Index, Indonesia currently holds the 83rd position overall, with notable subfactors as follows: Science & Technology (161st), Culture (83rd), International Peace & Security (45th), World Order (69th), Planet & Climate (112th), Prosperity & Equality (86th), and Health & Well-being (86th). It’s worth mentioning that in 2022, Indonesia was ranked 90th, and in 2021, it held the 87th position, showcasing an overarching improvement.
According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Democracy Index 2023, Indonesia ranked in the light blue zone (6-7 range) with a score of 6.71 out of 10. This is higher than Thailand, which scored 6.67, but lower than Malaysia, which scored 7.3.
The 2022 Corruption Perception Index ranks Indonesia 110th with a score of 34/100. It is tied with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Gambia, and Malawi. Indonesia’s score has dropped by one position since 2021.
The Sustainable Development Report 2023 ranks Indonesia 75th. It highlights that Indonesia continues to face significant and major challenges in quite a few of the 17 SDGs. However, some factors are on track; this includes No Poverty, Quality Education, and Clean Water and Sanitation. However, many of the other goals are currently stagnating.
Peace and Happiness
The Global Peace Index 2023 ranks Indonesia 53rd, seeing a drop of twelve positions compared to last year’s index. Indonesia now sits ahead of Argentina (54th) and Madagascar (55th), all of which fall in the high sector of the ‘State of Peace’ spectrum as defined by the Institute for Economics & Peace. it is positioned 12th regionally amongst its fellow Asia-Pacific countries, led by New Zealand and Singapore.
The Institute for Economics & Peace similarly ranks Indonesia within the high impact zone (orange) in terms of ‘Impact of Terrorism’ in the 2022 Global Terrorism Index. Indonesia ranks 24th, sitting between Turkey (23rd) and Israel (25th).
Meanwhile, the World Happiness Report 2023, which displays the Ranking of Happiness based on a three-year average (2020–2022), ranks Indonesia 84th.
Environmental Performance
The 2022 edition of the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) ranks Indonesia 164th. The EPI analyses the performance of 180 countries, scoring and ranking these countries on their environmental performance using the most recent year of data available as well as providing calculable changes in scores over the previous decade. Indonesia has experienced a change in score of positive 4.1.
Last updated in October 2023. More country profiles here.
Enjoyed our summary of global rankings and indices on Indonesia’s economic and environmental performance, its “good country” credentials as well as the nation’s attractiveness for investors and talent, its brand strength, and reputation? Thanks for sharing!
Disclaimer: The information in this article is intended to provide a general overview of Indonesia’s economic and cultural landscape and facilitate comparison over time. While we strive for accuracy and completeness, we are not responsible for any typographical errors or inaccuracies. The data is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind. Users should verify any information before relying on it for decision-making purposes.
