Many metrics make up Monocle’s annual Soft Power Survey, from the number of international students a nation attracts to its gold-medal haul at the Rio Olympics. But this year one metric above all has had an outsized impact on our survey: political reputation.

Today what happens inside a nation’s borders is quickly watched, read about and shared outside. Justin Trudeau appearing at Toronto’s airport to welcome the first group of Syrian refugees made global headline news. Meanwhile, a politician in the US has been responsible for a slew of far more negative headlines. Whether it’s promising to ban Muslims or bragging about sexually assaulting women, Donald Trump’s words have damaged Brand America.

But the US is fortunate. The Republican nominee may not approve but his power is outmatched by that of Beyoncé. The fundamentals of American soft power, from music and film to education and innovation, remain strong enough for the US to regain its top spot. Those fundamentals also help a post-Brexit UK, which may have dropped a place but was kept in the top five thanks to its resilient cultural heft (even as its government undermines the BBC).

Our survey is also a reminder that soft power is not only used by democracies. China’s soft power continues to improve: its investment in sport (it’s hosting the Winter Olympics in 2022) and ever-growing number of embassies and cultural institutes abroad reflect its desire to be liked as well as feared.

This year we have added three new prizes, delving into the stats to work out the best nation for food and drink, culture, and design and architecture. Regular readers will not be surprised to learn that our inaugural food and drink winner is Japan; France and the UK share top spot for culture, while the US takes home the design and architecture prize.

As ever, with soft power becoming a larger part of every government’s arsenal, we expect these results to be the source of lively debate in foreign ministries around the world. Turn over the page to find out where your nation stands.

Back in 2008, when US literary giants such as Cormac McCarthy, Philip Roth and Don DeLillo had once again been passed over for the Nobel prize in literature, the then permanent secretary of the prize jury, Horace Engdahl, claimed that the US was “too isolated, too insular”. He said that Americans “don’t really participate in the big dialogue of literature” and that “that ignorance is restraining”.

His successor obviously thinks differently: this year the prize was awarded to Bob Dylan. Engdahl’s comments, however, reflect a certain kind of arrogance towards US culture that is not uncommon in Europe. It is seen to be too populist, too low-brow, too American.

Maybe they’re just jealous. While it may be true that many Americans don’t consume huge amounts of culture from the rest of the world, everyone else certainly enjoys theirs. When the new Jason Bourne film was released last summer, Matt Damon’s face adorned billboards everywhere from Paris to Phnom Penh. When Beyoncé launched her album Lemonade it was downloaded everywhere from Mogadishu to Manila. And when the new series of hbo’s sex, swords and sorcery drama Game of Thrones hit our screens it was snapped up by broadcasters from Sydney to Stockholm. Put simply, America entertains the rest of the world.

But its global influence is not limited to culture: its design and architecture is similarly dominant. The US has produced more Pritzker prize winners and has more design schools ranked in the top 100 than any other nation. The country is also at the forefront of technological innovation – the type of technology that we all use every day, from the phones in our pockets and laptops on our desks to search engines and social-media channels. Every nation wishes it had a Silicon Valley – indeed, there is hardly a government on Earth that isn’t desperately touting a Silicon Roundabout or Savannah.

The US government may not be the most popular but the nation is blessed with one of the world’s most innovative foreign ministries, at the forefront of digital diplomacy initiatives and programmes devoted to cities and urbanisation. The US has the world’s most expansive diplomatic network too, with more embassies abroad than any other nation.

Then there’s education. Higher education in the US may be ludicrously expensive but it is also – without doubt – the most popular in the world. Of the world’s top 100 universities, 41 can be found in the US, while more than 800,000 international students choose to be educated there – double the number who go to the number two destination, the UK.

The strength of American soft power has been tested this year. An election campaign based on anti-Mexican sentiment, scare stories about Syrian refugees and hatred towards Muslims has tarnished the US’s brand. For a nation whose cultural exports tell a story of diversity, the reality at home often feels very different.

But if you want to know the real strength of American soft power, count the millions of people from all around the world who each year apply for the Diversity Immigrant Visa, a lottery better known as the Green Card scheme that awards citizenship to 50,000 people every year. More people want to move to the US than any other nation in the world. Regardless of the nastiness of this year’s election and the cold anti-foreigner sentiment expressed by Donald Trump and his supporters, it’s clear that the rest of the world still wants to be American.

Refugees: Merkel’s decision to allow about a million refugees into Germany in 2015 showcased a level of compassion that few other nations were prepared to match.
Business: The German business brand remains unbeatable – no nation has as many well-known and respected companies.
Culture: The Goethe-Institut remains a soft-power benchmark. They may not have as many as the French, Brits and Chinese but Germany’s institutes are arguably more respected.

Refugees: As Merkel admitted, last year’s surge was poorly planned. Integration has been patchy and there has been a growing political backlash.
Leadership: A year ago German leadership in Europe was undisputed but after the UK’s exit and a flexing of muscles by central and east European nations, Merkel isn’t quite as influential.
Image: The return of the far right, in the form of the Alternative für Deutschland party, has damaged Germany’s international brand.

Food: Coming first in our food ranking, Japan’s cuisine is not only a hugely successful export but a foundation for some of the world’s finest restaurants.
Film: Home to a film industry that also exports well: Japan had more than 20 films at the world’s best film festivals this year.
Innovation: Second only to the US when it comes to winners of Nobel laureates, a sign of the country’s innovation, intelligence and investment in education.

Refugees: While Japan brings in about 20 million tourists every year, it remains a country that has misgivings about almost any form of immigration.
Sport: For a nation that is hosting (and has hosted) the Olympic Games, Japan has arguably failed to reach its potential in the sporting arena.
Image: The amount of international aid that Japan provides every year – 0.22 per cent of GDP – is pitiful for such a rich nation.

Culture: The UK’s best art galleries attract in excess of 40 million visitors a year – more than any other nation. They’re free too.
Broadcasting: Despite funding cuts and government interference, the BBC's World Service remains the gold standard.
Sport: Not just the playing but the hosting. The English Premier League is the world’s most popular football league, while London plays host to numerous international marquee events, such as American football and tennis.

Refugees: The referendum vote, fuelled by anti-immigrant rhetoric, has damaged the UK’s standing around the world. If foreigners don’t feel welcome the country’s soft power will be drastically diminished.
Innovation: Too few international patents are filed in the UK, particularly for the world’s sixth-largest economy.
Image: The UK is a multicultural society but sometimes forgets to look like one.

Diplomacy: A longstanding investment that is still reaping rewards. No other nation has permanent membership on the UN Security Council, as well as in Nato and the EU (after Brexit).
Culture: Government investment in culture, aimed at holding up tourism numbers, shows that France is not resting on its laurels.
Retail:Two of the world’s most influential retail and luxury-goods brands around call Paris home and drive global design, cultural and media trends.

Burkini bans: The image of a woman surrounded by police officers in Nice for wearing a burkini caused enormous offence to many.
Marine Le Pen: The possibility of the country electing a far-right president has not gone unnoticed elsewhere.
Image: For a nation that’s so proud of its education system, the fact that only one university makes it into the global top 100 should be a serious cause for concern.

Education: Australia scores high on education for both quality and quantity. It attracts more than 250,000 international students (only the US and UK pull in more) and has six universities in the global top 100.
Diaspora: Few nations export so many people who are well liked and welcomed pretty much everywhere they go.
Nature: It’s not a soft-power strength unless you know how to use it. Australia certainly knows how to use it. We love a koala.

Power share: Too much of Australia’s soft-power success is in the west. It needs to do more to make an impact on its doorstep in Asia, particularly in China.
Sport: This should be a strength – in many ways it is – but Australia is failing to reach its potential, as reflected in another middling performance at the Rio Olympics.
Image: Given the increasingly cartoonish nature of Australia’s parliament it is probably a good thing that international news organisations don’t cover Australia as well as they should.

Leadership: Popular at home, popular abroad, prime minister Justin Trudeau has reached the soft-power heights of an Obama or Merkel.
Refugees: With its well-publicised and well-planned acceptance of more than 25,000 Syrian refugees, Canada has shown more compassion than most western nations.
Music: Only the US and the UK had more artists in the top 100 tracks streamed worldwide last year.

Diplomacy: Canada’s diplomatic footprint, both in terms of embassies and staff, is still too low. Investment and a strategy is needed to get up to speed.
International aid: The aid budget is less than half the UN’s recommended 0.7 per cent of GDP. For a nation that is trying to project an image as liberal and internationalist, this is far too low.
Culture: Music aside, Canada punches well below its weight. Too few Canadian authors, artists and film-makers are making waves overseas.

International aid: Sweden is the only nation on Earth that gives double the UN’s recommendation of 0.7 per cent of GDP.
Music: In addition to Abba and Eurovision, Swedish creation Spotify has helped to transform the way that we listen to and appreciate music.
Brands: For a small nation – the population is just 9.5 million – Sweden is home to a host of international names, from fashion to furniture.

Sport: They’re good at handball. But outside Scandinavia no one really cares about handball.
Culture: This should be an undisputed strength for the Swedes but with just two cultural missions abroad the government could – and should – be doing more to help out.
Politics: A shaky coalition government and a range of domestic challenges have meant Sweden has taken less of a role in international leadership than in the past.

Cities: Geneva, Zürich and Lausanne, all with populations fewer than 400,000, are respected cities that play host to hundreds of multinational companies.
Food: While few have ever said “Hey, let’s get Swiss food tonight,” Switzerland is home to some leading restaurants – five of which feature in our Restaurant Awards.
Art: Less the making, more the selling. Art Basel, with outposts in Hong Kong and Miami Beach, has become one of the art world’s premier fair brands.

International aid: Cuts to the aid budget, which wasn’t particularly generous in the first place, have been noticed.
Innovation: Just 2,000 international patents were filed in Switzerland last year. That’s fewer than in Mexico, Indonesia and Chile.
Tourism: Switzerland attracts just 9.3 million tourists per year, far fewer than its neighbours. While the country doesn’t want mass tourism, it wouldn’t hurt to bump up those numbers a little.

Its capital Copenhagen – a regular winner of Monocle’s Quality of Life Survey – attracts tourists and is an example of what a great city should feel like. But Denmark’s soft power is also about its exports – for a nation of just over five million it exports more films and television dramas than many countries 10 times its size. Now it’s also exporting h ygge, the Danish form of cosiness and happiness. Denmark is a nation whose soft power is bolstered by its people and while they may not always appreciate the “happy” label, it’s done wonders for their image.

A nation where politics can make a big difference to its reputation, Italy has benefited from relative stability over the past two years with prime minister Matteo Renzi but that could disappear if he loses a referendum in December. Meanwhile, Italy withdrew its bid to host the 2024 Olympics citing costs. The decision may show a lack of ambition but it’s probably wise for a country with such economic problems. As ever, Italy scores highly for food and culture. Over the past two years it has also displayed more generosity towards refugees and migrants than many of its neighbours.

A year of political instability has not unduly affected Spain’s reputation but has left its foreign policy and soft-power strategy in limbo. Yet regardless of who is leading the country by the time monocle hits newsstands, Spain will be fine. Madrid and Barcelona may get the headlines but Spain is blessed with cities such as San Sebastián and Palma, which have their own sparkling reputations. The country has brilliant weather and a friendly lifestyle that is open to newcomers. Sport remains a huge plus: Spain’s footballers light up leagues around the world and the country is also home to two of the world’s most famous clubs.

New Zealand’s reputation is as solid as an All Blacks’ tackle, while cultural exports such as Lorde continue to fly the (unchanged) flag abroad. A fresh international tourism campaign wouldn’t go amiss. Not only would it boost visitor numbers, it would remind the rest of the world of New Zealand’s key strengths: natural beauty and a welcoming nature. If the country wants to step up it should turn to Canada, where Trudeau has shown that a nation’s small size and lack of a formal position on world bodies doesn’t have to preclude the opportunity for global leadership.

Dutch liberalism and tolerance will be put to the test at next year’s general elections; the Netherlands that emerges could have a big impact on its soft-power reputation. Higher education is a huge strength: with eight universities in the global top 100 it is the fourth best in the world – quite an achievement for a nation of 17 million. Technology has also boosted Dutch soft power but it needs to make a lot more noise about its successes. The fact that both technology companies and universities attract an international workforce should be something for the Dutch to celebrate.

Lisbon and Porto are bright, attractive cities that are bringing in entrepreneurial newcomers. Football has played a part in Portugal’s rise up the table – even without Cristiano Ronaldo on the pitch they lifted the European Championship this year for the first time. But Ronaldo has a rival for the position of most important Portuguese man abroad: António Guterres, the new UN secretary-general. Rare is the diplomat who wins approval from Russia and the US but Guterres even managed to get approval from China, a result of the goodwill generated by the handover of Macau in 1999.

When Juan Manuel Santos was awarded the Nobel peace prize for the truce with Farc, a group of Norwegians could be forgiven for feeling briefly annoyed: this deal would not have happened without the work of Norway’s negotiation unit. But that is the Norwegian way: quietly getting on with helping others and not worrying if no one really notices. It donates more than 1 per cent of its gdp to international aid projects and also accepted more than 10,000 Syrian refugees. Alongside its Nordic neighbours it has also been at the forefront of new diplomatic ideas, such as shared embassies.

The advantage of having so many well-known companies associated with your nation is the reflected glory they bring you. The downside is that when a battery catches fire in a Samsung product, it can have an impact on an entire nation’s reputation. Business remains one of South Korea’s strongest cards though, as does film, television and music. While they may not get a big audience in the West, South Korean culture travels well throughout Asia. However, it has a pitiful aid budget and despite Ban Ki-moon heading the UN for the past decade, the country’s reputation for diplomacy has not improved.

Compared to its Nordic neighbours, Finland tends to score poorly. But when it’s weighed up against other nations of just five million, it does pretty well. In Helsinki it has a world-class city, well led by thoughtful politicians for decades. And in Santa Claus (despite the howls of protests from other nations who lay claim to him), it has managed to craft a clever soft-power story that brings in tourists. While its strong views inside the EU may not go down well in southern Europe, they have found favour in the north – Finnish diplomacy is low key but it has been effective.

Boosted by the Olympics and Paralympics in 2016, Brazil’s soft-power standing has improved. But this was also the year when a president was impeached, corruption allegations against a number of politicians were widely reported and the economy continued to stall. Let’s focus on the positives. Brazilian TV dramas continue to be exported, captivating millions of viewers. Football too. There is hardly a league in the world that doesn’t have a sprinkling of Brazilian footballers. And then there is the Brazilian diaspora – the country’s biggest soft-power tool.

China reaches the top 2o for the first time. Indeed, it’s the first time that any autocratic nation has risen this high. Its diplomatic reach is growing – only the US has more embassies and consulates. Its cultural institutes continue to open in new nations too; there are now few nations where the Chinese government isn’t teaching the locals Mandarin. But China’s soft power still has a menacing edge. It is, after all, promoting the actions of a dictatorship. Its media outreach may be less bombastic than Russia’s but CCTV and Xinhua will never be trusted sources.

The potential election of a far-right president unnerved many outside Austria, shaking those whose experience of the country is based mainly on visits to Vienna. If this were a survey of capitals it would score highly: it is a cultural champion, a food giant and a history buff’s dream. It is also a truly international city, with a big UN office, multinational companies and enough attractions to bring in millions of visitors every year. Despite no universities in the global top 100, Austria attracts about 60,000 international students a year.

Terror attacks do not have to have an impact on a nation’s soft power. But Belgium’s bungled response and the fissures it highlighted between the French and Walloon, and between races and religions, have caused damage. It is hard to tell the rest of the world a story about your nation if you can’t agree on it yourselves. As the home of the EU, Brussels is a centre of political power and one of Europe’s most international cities – that counts for something. And Belgium’s food exports are still popular. But none of that will matter unless Belgium manages to bounce back from a terrible year.

Singapore’s strengths have traditionally been education and business. While the city-state is keen to attract international talent, the government’s intolerance can make it tricky: this year it criticised companies for funding Gay Pride. Culture plays a far larger role in Singapore’s soft power now than it did a decade ago, while the nation’s design reputation is also increasing thanks in part to its impressive design schools. To take advantage of these improvements, Singapore could do with a better-funded diplomatic corps – there are still too few Singaporean embassies around the world.

India’s strengths, from cricket to Bollywood, are as impressive as ever. A recognisable globe-trotting prime minister also helps, although because few news organisations have a New Delhi correspondent, Narendra Modi’s less impressive domestic policies (and his Hindu nationalism) tend to go unreported abroad. Education plays such an important role here but its own system is poor: there is too much corruption and standards are low. It is also worth asking why Indian innovation is more impressive abroad. As ever, the Indian diaspora plays a big, positive role.

Poland is central Europe’s fastest-growing economy and the leading light in the Visegrad Four group of central and east European states. The nation has become increasingly influential since joining the EU in 2004 and its former prime minister, Donald Tusk, now heads the European Council. Meanwhile, Warsaw and Poznan are making a play for some of London’s financial jobs following the UK’s decision to leave the EU. Poland’s growing diaspora is a strength although the government has admitted that it wouldn’t mind if a few more came home to help boost the economy.