Flying the flag - Australia named a top 10 nation:

Australia may have overturned a government that many considered to be ‘shambolic’ but it nonetheless continued to rise in ‘brand value’ as a nation over the past twelve months.

According to a leading brand valuation consultancy, Brand Finance, Australia is now the 10^th most valuable nation brand in the world, with a value of almost US$1.3 trillion – up two places from this time last year.

The most valuable national brand is the United States at almost $18 trillion followed by China ($6.1 trillion) and Germany ($4 trillion).

Brand Valuation Director, Richard Haigh, said Australia’s brand value increased by 32% in the past twelve months, well above the global average of 13%. In the process, Australia passed both Russia and Italy (in 11^th and 12^th positions) on brand value.

Australia’s strengths are counted as education, entrepreneurship and the skills of its people. Australia also has little difficulty in presenting itself as a destination of choice domestically and internationally. This year, there were 6.3 million visitors in Australia including a 5% growth in international visitors.

“Brand Australia is continuing to perform effectively in the aftermath of the global financial crisis,” said Mr Haigh.

“Fuelled by both investment in mining from China and by its position as an aspirational travel destination for tourists worldwide, the momentum generated in Australia’s brand value growth looks set to continue to propel it to greater success in the future.”

Mr Haigh said that with the mining boom entering the twilight phase, the strength of the Australian dollar has fallen which he describes as “welcome news for foreign investors”.

He said that a strong international and domestic reputation is a key driving force in Australia’s top 10 ranking.

“With the current positive trajectory, Australia may rank even higher in years to come,” he said.

The overall brand rating is based on a benchmarking study of the strength, risk and future potential of a brand relative to its competitor set as well as brand value.

The top 20 nations are:

1. USA
2. China
3. Germany
4. UK
5. Japan
6. France
7. Canada
8. Brazil
9. India
10. Australia
11. Russia
12. Italy
13. Netherlands
14. Switzerland
15. Mexico
16. South Korea
17. Sweden
18. Spain
19. Turkey
20. Poland