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The 10 Countries With the Most Soft Power in the World |
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Soft power is influence without force — a nation's pull through its culture, its brands, its reputation. Brand Finance polled nearly 160,000 people to rank all 193 countries on it. The United States still leads. But it fell further than any nation on Earth, and China is now 1.4 points behind. |
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Source: Brand Finance Global Soft Power Index 2026 (released January 2026). Overall soft power score, 0–100, across all 193 UN member states. Ranks 11–32 via Visual Capitalist. |
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| What's Surprising |
The United States is still the world's top soft power. It also fell the hardest. Its score dropped 4.6 points in a year, from 79.5 to 74.9 — the steepest decline of all 193 nations. No country lost more ground.
The damage is to reputation. On that measure America now ranks 26th, down 11 places, and China — at 18th — is seen as the more reputable of the two for the first time. People who once looked up to the US aren't sure what it stands for now.
China sits 1.4 points back at #2, the closest the two have ever been. It leads on little and is trusted on less. But it is familiar, and it is steady — and in a ranking built on perception, steady counts for a lot.
| What's Not Surprising |
The top of the list is the usual roll-call of size and wealth. The US, China, Japan and the big Europeans — Britain, Germany, France — own the culture, the companies and the history that soft power rewards. No surprise there.
Small can still punch. Switzerland and Canada tie for 7th at 63.2, earned through stability rather than scale. The UAE holds 10th, a country of 11 million and the only Middle Eastern nation in the top ten.
Size alone buys nothing. India, the most populous country and a top-five economy, ranks 32nd. Brazil is 29th, Russia 14th. Being big, or heavily armed, is not the same as being liked.
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4.6 points How far US soft power fell in a year, from 79.5 to 74.9 — the steepest drop of any of the 193 nations ranked. Still first, but only just. |
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1.4 The gap between the United States (74.9) and China (73.5), the closest the two have ever been at the top of this index. |
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26th The US rank for reputation, down 11 places. For the first time, China — at 18th — is seen as the more reputable of the two. |
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32nd India's rank: the world's most populous country and a top-five economy, yet only 32nd for soft power. Brazil is 29th, Russia 14th. |
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159,459 People across more than 100 countries surveyed to score all 193 UN states. Soft power is measured by what the world thinks, not what a country owns. |
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The next index lands in January 2027. The question is whether America's slide is a blip or a trend. Soft power moves with the headlines — trade fights, aid cuts, elections — so a year can change a lot. If the US keeps falling and China holds steady, 2027 could be the year China takes the top spot for the first time. We'll be watching. |
