Why is this National Indicator important?
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.
What will influence this National Indicator?
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.
What is the Government's role?
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
How is Scotland performing?
Scotland's overall score on the Anholt-GfK Roper Nation Brands Index© (NBI) was 60.1 in 2012, similar to 59.7 in 2010. The score has not changed significantly from the baseline score of 60.2 (2008), (see figure below).
The 2012 score (60.1 out of 100) positions Scotland 15th across 50 evaluated countries around the world. Scotland is much closer to the top rated country (scoring 69.1) than to the bottom rated country (scoring 39.7).
Scotland's score is very similar to and often higher than other Western high income nations of similar size, like New Zealand, Denmark, Finland and Ireland.
Respondents who tend to be most familiar with and favourable towards Scotland are from English-speaking and Commonwealth nations and close European neighbours.
The Anholt-GfK Roper Nation Brands Index© conceptualises a nation's reputation across six dimensions: Exports, Tourism, Governance, People, Investment and Immigration, and Culture.
* Please note that the overall score and each of the 6 brand dimensions are scored out of 100
The data for this chart is available at the bottom of the page
Source: The Scottish Government, Strategic Research, Strategy Unit
Criteria for recent change
The evaluation is based on any difference in the absolute score for Scotland of +/- 1 percentage points compared with the last year's figure, however, with the caveat that this is a newer data source and it will need to be reviewed as more data become available.
If change is within +/- 1 this suggests that the position is within measurement error and is more likely to be maintaining than showing any change. An increase of 1 percentage point or more in Scotland's absolute score suggests that the position is improving, whereas a decrease of 1 percentage point or more in Scotland's absolute score suggests that the position is worsening.
Further Information
For information on general methodological approach, please click here.
Scotland Performs Technical Note
Who are our partners?
VisitScotland
Creative Scotland
Scottish Development International
Scottish Enterprise
Highlands and Islands Enterprise
Local Authorities
British Council
Our educational institutions
Related Strategic Objectives
Wealthier and Fairer