https://arab.news/nb75e
Two 2025 reports, one on soft power and the other on Saudi Arabia’s reputation, indicate that the Kingdom’s overall ranking has slipped a little but it has gained in nation brand value and positive media coverage.
The annual Global Soft Power Index evaluates 193 nations based on 173,000 responses across 102 research markets. It measures familiarity, reputation and influence, covering 35 nation brand attributes across eight soft power pillars.
The US maintained its position at the top of the index but its overall score stagnated. It leads in familiarity and influence — ranking first in three of the eight soft power pillars: international relations, education and science, and media and communications — but it declined in reputation, particularly governance and people and values.
China, meanwhile, replaced the UK in second place for the first time. Its improvement is attributed to its strategic efforts to enhance its global image, including through Belt and Road infrastructure projects, a renewed focus on sustainable development, stronger product brands, and the country’s reopening to visitors after the COVID-19 pandemic. It addressed perceived weaknesses, particularly the country’s people and values, improving its scores on five of the lowest-ranked attributes from the previous year.
