Pakistan beats Rwanda, Ethiopia and others; clinches bottom spot in Country Brand Index 2011

The annual Country Brand Index (CBI) report by FutureBrand (part of McCann Erickson group) is now out.

The country brands are ranked in pretty much the same way as consumer brands are: by taking into consistency, relevance, future outlook, presence, and other pertinent factors. So in a way, the top winner in this index – Canada – is the country-equivalent of Coca-Cola, the top consumer brand.

According to FutureBrand:

Country brand strength is driven by perceptions of heritage and culture, tourism, what it’s like to do business, quality of life and national value systems. But above all, a strong country brand is more than the sum of its attributes: it makes peoples’ lives better.

The main highlight for us is Pakistan’s performance in this year’s index: Down from the 108th spot last year, we have now left behind the likes of Congo, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh to claim the absolute bottom spot, 113th.

Here’s the full list:

The richly detailed report is available for download here.