Singapore continues at top  
 
of perception index 

Once again, Singapore has scored at the top of an index that ranks the brand perceptio of 200 countries and major territories. The small city state came in first for the year and for every quarter of 2009, as it had for 2008.

The 2009 East West Global Index 200 shows that Singapore was joined by three other Asian countries in the Top 10: South Korea in third place, Hong Kong in fifth place and Malaysia in eighth.

New Zealand performed well in 2009 too, landing in second place. Ireland secured fourth place, the UK ninth and Canada tenth.

Two African countries stood out this year too: Ghana came in sixth and South Africa seventh. No Latin American country ranked among the top 10.

The ten countries with the worst scores were Pakistan (200 of 200), Iraq, Afghanistan, Mexico, Palestine, Somalia, Iran, Sudan, Israel and Yemen.

The swings in perception can be dramatic. Thailand improved by 163 places (out of 200) as political turmoil cooled, while Greece dropped 143 places as political unrest escalated and the country approached default on its national debt.

The Nation Brand Perception Indexes are organized on the East West Communications website according to score, volume and alphabetical order. They are also organized by regional groupings.

For the regions, Brazil was best among Latin American countries at 20th place, Jamaica did best among Caribbean nations at 34th place and Costa Rica was first in Central America at 45th place.

In the Middle East, Qatar did best with a 14th place finish, while in Central Asia Kazakhstan continued to take the top spot with 28th place.

To see how a country has fared over the course of the year, look up the alphabetical index: http://www.eastwestcoms.com/global_alpha.htm.