Given a changing global context, there is a need to better understand how Scotland is seen and thought about by other countries. People rely on what they know about a country's reputation to help them inform their decisions as consumers, tourists, students and scholars, economic migrants, investors, exporters and world citizens who care about security, development and environmentalism. People's willingness to live, learn, visit, do business in and invest in Scotland has a significant impact on our economy.
People's attitudes and perceptions about a country's reputation are influenced by a range of factors.
These include:
- How well they know us
- The historical links that they may or may not have with us
- What they know about our products and our produce, such as our food and drink
- What they think of our Government and what it does
- What they perceive our contribution to the world to be
- What they think about our people
Fundamentally shifting or changing a country's reputation will not happen in the short-term and is unlikely to be influenced by increasing the amount of communication or information available about it.
But, over time, what we do, how we behave, and how well we tell people about our achievements can start to influence the long-held assumptions and beliefs that the world may have about Scotland. And understanding what people think about us can help us to generate new and innovative ideas which, in turn, will help to ensure that people understand our strengths and what we can offer.
Influencing and managing a country's reputation cannot be thought of as the sole responsibility of government. However, through its ability to lead, act and communicate on an international level, its role is critical.
This role includes:
- Pursuing a clear and outward-looking set of interests
- Creating a shared understanding of the country's global responsibilities
- Ensuring that other partners share the same strategies
- Measuring attitudes to our reputation and capitalising on the opportunities that exist to strengthen the country's reputation further
Scotland’s overall score on the Anholt-GfK Roper Nation Brands IndexSM (NBI) was 62.2 in 2016, an increase of 0.4 points since the last measurement in 2014 (61.8) and an increase of 2.0 since the baseline year (2008).
The score positions Scotland 15th across 50 evaluated countries around the world. The score and rank place Scotland alongside and sometimes ahead of other comparator small, high income Western countries. Scotland’s relative rank has improved by two places since 2014.
The NBISM conceptualises a nation’s reputation across six dimensions: Exports; Tourism; Governance; People; Investment and Immigration; and Culture.
The data is available at the bottom of the page.
The evaluation is based on any difference in the absolute score for Scotland of +/- 1 percentage points compared with the last year’s figure. While Scotland’s score has increased between 2014 and 2016, the change of 0.4 is below the 1 point threshold, indicating that Scotland’s reputation is ‘maintaining’ internationally.
For information on general methodological approach, please click here.
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