The UAE has been named 11th strongest nation brand in the world in the latest report of Brand Finance’s Nation Brands 2021. The UAE has surpassed leading countries including the US, the UK, Japan, France to achieve this feat as a result of its successful handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and accomplishments in the fields of science and education. The renowned Emirates Mars Mission emerged one of the most important achievements of the UAE in gaining global recognition.

According to the report, the UAE has climbed up three spots since last year in view of a 2.5-point increase in its Brand Strength Index (BSI) score to 79.1 out of 100.

Hailing the UAE's achievements, Andrew Campbell, managing director, Brand Finance Middle East, underlined that the Emirates has achieved the feat with its brand strength. It has challenged the Western status quo in the ranking. With the UAE celebrating its Golden Jubilee year, it has emerged highly successful in reaching great heights and promoting the nation’s achievements across the world. Some of the ground-breaking initiatives launched by the UAE includes the Emirates Mars Mission and the Expo 2020 Dubai, Campbell added.

Currently, the UAE is seeing a significant decline in new COVID-19 cases. With its robust testing strategy and nationwide vaccination programme, the UAE has become one of the few nations in the world that have been effectively winning the battle against the pandemic. In line with these efforts, the UAE continues to be the strongest brand in the Middle East and North Africa region.

The Brand Finance study covers opinions of over 75,000 people across more than 100 countries. It evaluates and reviews the performance of 100 countries on the basis of relative strength of nation brands by using a balanced scorecard of metrics that analyses brand investment, brand equity, and brand performance.

According to Brand Finance report, overseas perceptions of the UAE’s prowess in education and science sectors are significantly high and the success of the Emirates Mars Mission is a prominent factor.

"The UAE also stands out for its Covid-19 response, and scores high for the Influence and business and trade pillars, both of which should see a further boost from Expo 2020 inaugurated in Dubai this month,” Brand Finance added.

Meanwhile, Switzerland was ranked the strongest brand in the world, followed by Canada, the Netherlands, Singapore, Germany, Australia, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and New Zealand.

Notably, the UK, US, Japan and France are no longer in the ranking of top 10 strongest nation brands due to their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the UK fell from 2nd place to the 14th, France went down from 9th to 16th, Japan from 7th to 15th and the United Nations saw a drop from 4th to 17th.

Importantly, the UAE witnessed crucial improvement in its position in the nation brand value ranking. Moving up one position, it has claimed the 17th position after an impressive 11 percent increase in nation brand value to $749 billion against $672 billion in the 2020.

In the report, Brand Finance hailed the UAE's continuous increase in brand strength and value as a testament to the robust strategy of the leadership in diversifying the country's economy for long-term growth. The UAE has been constantly working on solidifying its position as the foremost nation brand in the Middle East.

Overall, the top 100 most valuable nation brands in the world have recorded a seven percent increase in brand value since last year. This is a clear sign of much-needed recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic that is currently underway in many parts of the world. However, the total brand value of the top 100 nations was reported to be $90.8 trillion, which is still seven percent lower compared to 2019.