South Africa improves its global soft power ranking

After dropping three places in 2024, South Africa has improved its soft power ranking in 2025, rising two places to be ranked in 41st position in Brand Finance’s 2025 Global Soft Power Index. The US retains its position as the most influential soft power nation, followed by China, for the first time in second place, as the UK drops to third place.

Brand Finance, a leading brand valuation consultancy, defines a country’s soft power as its ability to influence the preferences and behaviours of various actors in the international arena through attraction and persuasion rather than by coercion. Understanding soft power, it says, is crucial as it shapes global perceptions, influences diplomatic relations and drives economic prosperity.

South Africa improved in a number of metrics, including “business and trade”, “education and science” and “people in values”, according to the Brand Finance Global Soft Power Index 2025. It climbed 30 places for being “advanced in science”, 11 places relating to “products and brands the world loves”, 10 places for its “strong educational system” four places higher for “familiarity” and two places higher for “influence”. The country is ranked ninth for its “future growth potential” and 21st for being “leaders in sports”.

“South Africa has made notable progress across several key metrics of soft power, reflecting its efforts to enhance its global image and strengthen its nation brand,” says Jeremy Sampson, chair of Brand Finance Africa. “Governance, safety and people — historically challenging areas for the South Africa brand — are seeing improved perceptions. The country has risen 31 ranks for being perceived as ‘safe and secure,’ and 22 ranks for its ‘trustworthy people.’

“While there is still a great deal of work to be done, these advancements, combined with South Africa’s growing economic competitiveness, position the nation to further enhance its reputation and attractiveness in the years to come.”

Though the US maintains its position at the top of the ranking, its reputation has declined owing to a divisive presidential campaign and an uncertain future direction. Its reputation took a hit, falling four positions to rank 15th globally while governance fell four places to 10th place. Other metrics that have declined include “people and values”, perceptions of “political stability and good governance”, “high ethical standards and low corruption” levels  as well as its “generosity”. However, the US leads in the “familiarity and influence” key performance indicators as well as in “international relations”, “education and science” and “media and communications”.

This is the first time the UK has lost its second-place soft power global ranking to China. Since 2024, China has recorded statistically significant growth across six of the eight soft power pillars, and in two-thirds of measured attributes. The UK’s drop to third place signals a period of stagnation in its nation brand perceptions, and thus the need to bolster its soft power strategy with clearer and more consistent leadership on global issues, says the Brand Finance report. Japan is ranked fourth and Germany fifth globally.

Each country is scored across 55 different metrics to arrive at an overall score out of 100, and is ranked in order from first to 193rd. The index, the most comprehensive study of perceptions of national brands, is based on a survey of more than 170,000 respondents from over 100 countries.

Brand Finance says the latest Soft Power Index reveals a growing divergence in soft power potential between countries, with stronger nations advancing faster than weaker ones. The index reveals that the top 10 countries gained an average of 0.9 points in their soft power scores, while the bottom 10 saw a sharp decline of 3 points.

The full report can be accessed at brand-finance-soft-power-index-2025-digital.pdf

The big take-out: A country’s soft power shapes global perceptions, influences diplomatic relations and drives economic prosperity.

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