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 × Top Countries, RepTrak (CNW Group/Reputation Institute) 
 
 Reputation Institute (CNW Group/Reputation Institute) 
 
 Argyle Public Relationships (CNW Group/Reputation Institute) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Happiness, peace, government integrity drive positive reputations in 2016 Country RepTrak® 
 
 BOSTON, June 23, 2016 /CNW/ - As if their on-ice rivalry were not intense enough, Sweden has supplanted Canada atop the latest list of the world's most reputable countries, the Reputation Institute announced today with the release of the 2016 Country RepTrak®, the world's largest annual survey of country reputations. 
 
 "The 2016 Country RepTrak® shows that traditional, objective measures, such as size and economic output have little bearing on the general public's emotional connection to a nation," said Nicolas Trad, executive partner at the Reputation Institute. "Being welcoming, safe and beautiful are the top three drivers of a country's reputation, and nations with a strong reputation are better positioned to welcome more tourists, increase exports, improve diplomacy and attract foreign investment, knowledge and talent." 
 
 The Top 10 countries in the 2016 Country RepTrak® are: 
 
 1. Sweden 
 
 6. Finland 2. Canada 
 
 7. New Zealand 3. Switzerland 
 
 8. Denmark 4. Australia 
 
 9. Ireland 5. Norway 
 
 10. Netherland 
 
 The 2016 Country RepTrak® scores and rankings are based on more than 58,000 ratings collected in the first quarter of 2016. They measure consumer perceptions of whether the country has an advanced economy, an appealing environment and an effective government. While few of the world's largest and most powerful countries earn strong reputations, scores closely align with rankings of other measurements, such as happiness, peace and government integrity. 
 
 Canada leads in appealing environment, lags in perception as business destination 
 
 "While Canada leads the world in external perceptions as a great place to study or visit, the research shows we can improve the perception of the nation as a business destination and desirable investment environment," said Daniel Tisch, President and CEO of Argyle Public Relationships, a leading Canadian expert in reputation management. "With a long-term program to build a better business brand, backed by tangible policy change and delivery of positive business experiences, Canada can regain its status as the world's most reputable nation. 
 
 Consumers who perceive a country as having a strong reputation report being more likely to visit it or to recommend living in, working in, investing in, studying in or buying products from, that country. 
 
 Other key findings of the 2016 Country RepTrak® include: 
 
 Sweden claimed the top spot after two consecutive years in third place. 
 
 claimed the top spot after two consecutive years in third place. Ireland moved into the top 10, while Belgium dropped out. 
 
 moved into the top 10, while dropped out. No countries rated as "excellent" (identified by a Pulse score of 80 or higher). 
 
 Since 2015, France has seen the biggest improvement in reputation, up 4.9 points. 
 
 has seen the biggest improvement in reputation, up 4.9 points. Russia also saw a significant reputation boost of 4.7 points, but it still rates as "poor" with a Pulse score of 39.82, good enough for 65 th place on the list, ahead of only Nigeria , Saudi Arabia , Pakistan , Iran and Iraq . 
 
 also saw a significant reputation boost of 4.7 points, but it still rates as "poor" with a Pulse score of 39.82, good enough for 65 place on the list, ahead of only , , , and . Turkey saw the largest drop in reputation, down 7.0 points to 42.73 and 58th place overall. 
 
 The full list of the most reputable countries in the world can be found online at https://www.reputationinstitute.com/research/Country-RepTrak. 
 
 About Reputation Institute 
 
 Reputation Institute (RI) is the world's leading consulting and advisory firm for reputation. RI enables many of the world's leading companies to make more confident business decisions that build and protect reputation capital, analyze risk and sustainability topics, and drive competitive advantage. RI's most prominent management tool is the RepTrak® model for analyzing the reputations of companies and institutions — best known via the Global RepTrak® 100, the world's largest and most comprehensive study of corporate reputations, as well as Country RepTrak® and City RepTrak® studies that look at reputation across organizations within a given geography. 
 
 
 
 Learn more at: http://www.reputationinstitute.com/ 
 
 About Argyle Public Relationships™ 
 
 Argyle helps major brands and respected organizations build and strengthen their relationships with the stakeholders who drive their reputations, brands and business success – across Canada and beyond. For more than 35 years, Argyle has been chosen by some of the world's biggest brands, has put big ideas onto the public agenda, and has become one of Canada's largest independent communications firms. Argyle is a Canadian leader in awards for consumer marketing, corporate communications, health communications, public affairs, digital communications, branding and design. In 2015, Argyle was named by PROFIT 500 as one of Canada's fastest growing companies. Argyle has offices in Toronto and Ottawa with affiliates across the country and around the world. 
 
 Learn more at: http://www.argylepr.com/ 
 
 SOURCE Reputation Institute 
 
 Image with caption: "Top Countries, RepTrak (CNW Group/Reputation Institute)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160623_C3963_PHOTO_EN_720728.jpg 
 
 Image with caption: "Reputation Institute (CNW Group/Reputation Institute)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160623_C3963_PHOTO_EN_720727.jpg 
 
 Image with caption: "Argyle Public Relationships (CNW Group/Reputation Institute)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160623_C3963_PHOTO_EN_720726.jpg 
 
 For further information: Mary Zajac, Argyle Public Relationships, 416-968-7311 ext. 260, mzajac@argylepr.com ||||| The flag of the world's most reputable country – at least according to one report. Photo: Fredrik Sanberg/TT 
 
 The Local · 23 Jun 2016, 16:12 
 
 Published: 23 Jun 2016 16:12 GMT+02:00 
 
 Sweden has beaten the likes of Canada, Denmark and Norway in a ranking of the most reputable countries in the world. 
 
 The Scandinavian nation topped the 2016 Country RepTrak rankings ahead of Canada, which placed second, and Switzerland, which came third. Fellow Nordic nation Norway placed fifth meanwhile, with Denmark eighth. 
 
 Sweden took top spot after two consecutive years in third place. 
 
 The report was compiled by the Reputation Institute, which claims to be the world’s "leading consulting and advisory firm for reputation". The institute promotes the Country RepTrak ranking as the world’s largest survey of country reputation. 
 
 “Sweden does really well on all the different parameters we use to understand what people think of a country,” Reputation Institute executive partner Nicolas Trad told The Local. 
 
 “On financial parameters it does really well. On environmental issues it does well. And on governmental issues, and the way people perceive those, it does well.” 
 
 The rankings are based on more than 58,000 ratings collected in the first quarter of 2016, which measure consumer perceptions of whether a country has an advanced economy, an appealing environment and an effective government. 
 
 And according to Copenhagen resident Trad, Sweden’s unrivalled reputation is no surprise. 
 
 “I know Sweden very well and I travel a lot, so I know what people think about the Nordics,” he said. 
 
 “The things that keep coming up in conversation are that Sweden invests a lot in families, they invest a lot in green living, are are favourable when it comes to economic growth. It’s also seen as a very safe country to be in.” 
 
 Many of those perceptions could also be applied to Norway and Denmark, but according to the Reputation Institute executive, Sweden has the edge over its Nordic neighbours because of its stronger brands, and stronger ability to mould public perception. 
 
 “Sweden has very strong commercial, consumer-oriented brands, as opposed to Norway, which has more of a B2B structure. Denmark has a few, but not as many,” 
 
 “There have been quite a few bad stories about Denmark which drag it down a little too. The story about taking jewellery away from refugees for example, which spun out of control. Denmark isn’t very good at handling those situations, there are too many different voices. Sweden is very collective in its approach”. 
 
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 And that collective mentality could be the key to Sweden’s strong image, Trad suggested. 
 
 “If a country wants to build a strong brand and reputation a synchronized effort across different teams is what’s needed," 
 
 “One of the things Sweden does well is it has a strong conversation between government and commercial entities, which isn’t seen in other countries. They go into dialogue with H&M;, with Ikea, they talk with them, and they discuss what should be done, and how it should be done." 
 
 This is the second time in recent weeks that Sweden has topped an index for positive reasons. At the start of June it was named the 'goodest' country in the world in a list ranking the nations that make the greatest contribution to humanity as a whole.
– Congrats, Sweden. The country is considered the most reputable, according to the Reputation Institute, which has produced a top 10 ranking based on how "welcoming, safe, and beautiful" a country is, according to a press release. More specifically, the rankings come from 58,000 ratings on economy, environment, and government, per the Local. Last year, Canada ranked top, while Sweden has held the third spot for the past two years. The full list: Sweden Canada Switzerland Australia Norway Finland New Zealand Denmark Ireland Netherlands See the most peaceful countries here.