RepCore Nations 2026 delivers an uncomfortable headline: the international reputation of the world’s largest economies is declining almost everywhere. But beneath that decline sits a sharper finding for place branding professionals. Stable governance continues to underpin the world’s strongest national reputations, prominence without trust is actively punishing some of the world’s most visible economies, and reputation now converts into a measurable price premium on exports.
Editorial Briefing
A Global Reputation Recession
Reputation Lab’s fifth RepCore Nations edition surveyed public opinion on 74 nations, with the published ranking reflecting perceptions across the G7. The average reputation score fell 0.86 points against the previous year. Forty-three economies declined, 14 improved, and only three held stable.
The United States sits inside that decline. It shows no recovery from a sharp setback recorded in 2025 and continues to register a weak reputation among G7 citizens, despite remaining one of the world’s most prominent economies. Across several of the world’s largest economies, high profile is failing to convert into admiration, respect, or trust, and in some cases appears to be working against it.
For place brand teams, that is the year’s central lesson. Communications reach and reputation are not the same asset.
Stability Still Wins at the Top
Japan climbed seven positions to first place globally, overtaking both Canada and Switzerland. The top of the ranking remains dominated by stable democracies: Japan, Canada, Switzerland, Australia, and Denmark, each built on functioning institutions and consistent governance.
China and Russia recorded the largest year-on-year improvements after Japan, yet both remain at weak or poor reputation levels overall. Improvement from a low base is a different story from sustaining a strong reputation.
Israel recorded the sharpest decline in the analysis, losing 15.8 points and falling 20 positions since 2022. Iran has moved into last place, overtaking Russia, which had held the bottom position for the previous four editions.
| Country | Reputation Signal | Shift |
| Japan | New global leader | Climbed 7 positions to 1st, overtaking Canada and Switzerland |
| Israel | Sharpest decline | Down 20 positions and 15.8 points since 2022 |
| Iran | New last place | Moves behind Russia, which held the bottom spot for the previous four editions |
| Morocco | Regional leader | Ranks 27th globally, up 3 places; leads Africa and the Arab world |
| Switzerland | Made-In leader | Holds 3rd for overall reputation and ranks among the top five Made-In economies |
The Price Tag on Reputation
RepCore Nations 2026 attaches a number to what place brand teams have long argued in principle. A one-point improvement in a country’s RepScore predicts, on average, a 7.2% increase in tourism revenue value and a 1% increase in foreign direct investment inflows.
The 2026 edition also introduces the Made-In Score, measuring the commercial value tied to a product’s country of origin. Japan, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and Sweden top this ranking. The analysis finds that 95% of consumers’ willingness to pay a premium is explained by the country-of-origin effect alone.
That gives export-oriented economies a direct commercial argument for reputation investment, separate from tourism or investment promotion. A country’s name on a product is doing measurable economic work before a marketing message is written.
Two Models of Deliberate Reputation Management
Morocco has consolidated its position as the reputational leader across Africa and the Arab world, ranking 27th globally and rising three places. The gains are concentrated in specific, controllable areas: technological perception, public resource management, and international sporting achievements.
Ukraine‘s case is different and arguably more instructive. Its overall reputation held stable through 2026, a notable outcome for a country at war. Beneath that stability, it improved on attributes tied to security, technological development, and the business environment, reflecting continued international admiration and solidarity since the invasion began.
Why This Matters for Place Brand Teams
The broad decline recorded in 2026 is a signal for place brand teams to get more precise about what reputation work is for. Visibility campaigns that increase international attention without addressing trust or institutional credibility are working against the data, not with it.
The Made-In Score gives export economies a number that finance and trade ministries can act on directly. The tourism and FDI figures do the same for destination and investment promotion budgets. Both shift reputation from a communications discussion into an economic one, making the case in terms finance and trade ministries recognise.
Morocco and Ukraine both show that reputation gains are achievable through specific, attributable improvements rather than broad narrative campaigns, even from very different starting positions. For place brand teams facing reputational headwinds, that is the more useful model than chasing international prominence that, this year, is failing to protect several of the world’s largest economies.
Methodology
RepCore Nations adapts Reputation Lab’s corporate reputation model to the context of countries, measuring the degree of admiration, respect, and trust a nation inspires across 22 rational attributes spanning economic, political, social, cultural, and environmental dimensions.
The 2026 edition surveyed public opinion in 36 countries on the reputation of 74 nations, collecting 124,014 evaluations through online surveys. The published ranking covers the 60 largest economies by GDP, as assessed through perceptions across the G7.
RepCore Nations is one of several indices featured in TPBO’s Rankings Overview and Country Observatory, where we track and interpret the measures shaping international place reputation and competitiveness.
To complement these external benchmarks, TPBO’s free The State of Place Positioning Intelligence Brief draws on our own editorial record — particularly the 2026 Place Brand Leaders Yearbook — to identify the broader positioning patterns emerging across the world’s leading places.
