In the results of the 2025 Global Soft Power Index, Estonia fell by 8 places compared with last year, ranking 65th. The drop in Estonia’s position was influenced by the addition of Russia to the list of panel countries included in the survey.
Estonia’s reputation improved in the field of international relations, where it ranks a high 45th in the world among the 193 countries analysed.
Estonia’s biggest challenge continues to be low international awareness, where it ranks 128th. In terms of overall reputation, however, Estonia ranks 63rd in the world.
As in the previous year, the strongest areas for Estonia’s reputation are sustainability and education. Estonia is strongly associated with contributing to solving the global climate crisis, ranking 28th, and with high-quality education, ranking 29th. Out of 35 questions, the strongest driver of Estonia’s reputation is the trustworthiness of its media, which places Estonia in a strong 22nd position among 193 countries.
Compared with the previous year, the biggest changes for Estonia’s reputation took place in topics related to foreign relations and diplomacy. This year, Estonia saw a notable rise in reputation in questions measuring diplomatic influence and internationally admired leaders, where Estonia’s ranking improved by 12 and 16 places respectively compared with the previous year. A particularly sharp rise took place in how Europeans view Estonia, where Estonia climbed as much as 35 places in topics measuring governance, including the visibility and recognition of national leaders.
According to Kata Varblane, Head of State Marketing at Enterprise Estonia, the latest reputation study results continue to confirm the direct impact of Estonia’s strengths – such as education, ease of doing business, and a clear, values-based foreign policy – on its international reputation.
“The meaningful actions and decisions of the Estonian state that attract international attention are also reflected in the results of the reputation study. Decisions to invest in Estonia, come here to work, or travel here are shaped by what people know and think about us. Although Estonia’s biggest challenge is international awareness, we have a very good reputation among those who do know us. This year’s results clearly reflect the direct impact and importance of Estonia’s values-based foreign policy on our reputation, as well as our continued strengths in education, sustainability, and a simple business environment,” Varblane said.
According to Konrad Jagodzinski, Head of Place Branding at Brand Finance and lead of the study, Russia was added back into the sample as a panel country in order to provide a more comprehensive picture of country reputations. “This gives countries valuable insight into how Russian views of the rest of the world have changed since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.” As a result, for example, Belarus has risen by 8 places in the Soft Power ranking to 80th in the world, and Armenia by 13 places to 93rd.
Compared with the previous year, Latvia fell by 5 places to 76th position and Lithuania by 9 places to 70th.
More information about the Global Soft Power Index is available here.
The Global Soft Power Index measures the reputation of 193 countries across more than 100 markets. Data is collected on countries’ awareness and influence across eight areas: business, education and science, international relations, sustainability, governance, media, culture, and values.
More about Estonia’s international reputation can be found in the Brand Estonia 2024 summary.