South Africa Shines In Latest Global Soft Power Index

South Africa has climbed two places in the Brand Finance Global Soft Power Index 2025 , which ranks countries based on their perceptions and appeal around the world.

Brand Finance released the latest Index on Thursday 20 February, It is based on a survey of over 170,000 respondents from more than 100 countries who share their perceptions of all 193 member states of the United Nations.

Soft Power is defined as a nation's ability to influence the preferences and behaviours of various actors in the international arena states, corporations, communities, the public, etc. through attraction and persuasion rather than coercion, Brand Finance said in a press release .

Each country is scored across 55 different metrics to arrive at an overall score out of 100 and ranked in order from 1st to 193rd.

South Africa is ranked top in Sub-Saharan Africa in the latest ranking and has climbed two places globally from 43rd in 2023 to 41st in 2024. Its overall score also improved from 43.7 to 44.9.

It has also risen four ranks for 'Familiarity,' and two ranks for 'Influence,' underscoring its growing recognition and appeal on the global stage, Brand Finance said.

In Business Trade, it has climbed 11 ranks for its 'products and brands the world loves,' while the country ranked 9th for its 'Future Growth Potential."

The Springboks ' 2023 Rugby World Cup triumph over New Zealand in France boosted South Africas Leader in Sports ranking to 21st in the world.

South Africa has also risen 30 ranks for being 'advanced in science' and 10 ranks for its 'strong educational system,' further reflecting the country's ongoing efforts to enhance innovation, economic resilience and global competitiveness, the ranking entity said.

Other Sub-Saharan African countries in the top 100 soft power nations are Nigeria 77th, Ghana 90th, Kenya 92nd, the Ivory Coast 94th and Tanzania 95th.