Nation Brands Index: 2023 report for Northern Ireland

Date published: 13 December 2023

This report provides a measure of Northern Ireland’s international reputation.

Main Points

• Northern Ireland maintained its mid-level ranking at 25th out of 60 nations on the Nation Brands IndexSM (NBISM) 2023. Ranks are based on scores from 20 panel nations, and Northern Ireland achieved an all-time high score of 61.62 out of 100 in 2023.
• Northern Ireland ranked in the top half of nations despite having the second-smallest population of the 60 nations included in the index.
• For the second year running, Northern Ireland’s highest rank (22nd) came from the United States (20th in 2022). France and Italy followed, both ranking NI 23rd this year. The lowest rankings came from China (53rd) and India (39th).
• In terms of the Six Dimensions, Northern Ireland was ranked 22nd out of 60 nations for perceptions of its Governance, the consistently highest-ranked Dimension for Northern Ireland. The only Dimension to improve its ranking was ‘Culture’, up two places this year to 32nd from 34th in 2022.
• Familiarity with Northern Ireland reached a new high: 61% of people reported they were at least ‘just a little familiar’ with Northern Ireland, up from 51% in 2016.
• Northern Ireland scored 4.73 out of 7 for overall ‘favourability’, achieving its highest score since joining the index in 2016. Northern Ireland ranked of 25th out of 60 participating nations for ‘favourability’.
• Having personal experience of Northern Ireland is associated with significantly improved ratings on every aspect of reputation. People who reported buying a product from NI, visiting a website about NI, or having visited NI for work or holiday gave higher ratings on average for all 23 ‘Attributes’ of reputation.

About the Anholt Ipsos Nation Brands IndexSM 2023

The NBI is an annual global survey which evaluates the international image and reputation of 60 nations across six dimensions of national competence: Exports; Governance; Culture; People; Tourism; and Immigration & Investment.

The 2023 NBISM produced a sample size of 10,020 respondents for Northern Ireland, equating to approximately 500 people from 20 panel countries.

The report, associated data tables, and interactive data dashboard are available on the Statistics and Research section of the Executive Office website: www.executiveoffice-ni.gov.uk/topics/statistics-and-research/nation-brands-index

Further information relating to the collection and production of the statistics can be obtained by contacting:

Analytical Unit
The Executive Office
Castle Buildings
Stormont Estate
Belfast
BT4 3SR

Telephone: 028 9052 0021
E-mail: analyticalunit@executiveoffice-ni.gov.uk