Morocco rises in the Soft Power Index 2024
The Soft Power Index, an indicator developed by the international consultancy Brand Finance, which measures and compares the persuasive capacity of countries, places Morocco at number 50 on the list. This is an improvement on last year, when it was ranked 55th.
- The higher the economic power, the higher the position in the rankings
- Morocco and the economy
- Soft power and hard power: closely related
This measure includes the 193 member states of the United Nations. Its results are obtained through surveys of a sample of more than 170,000 people from more than 100 countries. It is thus the most extensive study of country brand perceptions in existence.
Several criteria come into play when assessing the influence of a territory. For Morocco, governance, education, trade and business have been the main areas of difficulty for the country.
Nonetheless, Morocco has led its efforts to improve its reputation and has managed to turn its brand in an increasingly positive direction. This has been made possible by holding major events within its borders. Among these is Gitex Africa, the largest innovation and technology fair on the African continent, which was so successful in 2023 that a second edition will be held this year.
The higher the economic power, the higher the position in the rankings
Egypt is positioned in the index as the African state with the greatest capacity to influence (39th place).
On the other hand, at the global level, the United States is once again at the top of the list, followed by the United Kingdom. Completing the podium is China, which replaces Germany as far as the 2023 results are concerned.
The data show that the economic superpowers are the leaders par excellence in the ranking.
Morocco and the economy
Morocco's transformation over the last decade has been a success story. The International Monetary Fund forecasts that the nation's economy will grow by 3.6% by 2024 (link here). So, as Morocco's economy grows, it is no coincidence that its soft power is also growing.
Likewise, the rest of the Middle East and North African countries look set for a good future. Morocco ranks seventh among the countries of the Arab world in the Soft Power index report, behind the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt and Oman. The IMF believes that in the coming years this group could benefit from new opportunities arising from digitalisation, climate change, intra-regional trade and the past pandemic.
Soft power and hard power: closely related
While soft power refers to a country's reputation or, in other words, its ability to influence various international actors based on its image, hard power refers to the coercion it can exert.
See the close relationship between the two types of power in the cases of Russia and Israel. These two countries are at the centre of today's major armed conflicts, and the value of both has fallen. In fact, they occupy the lowest positions they have ever occupied in the index (16th and 32nd respectively).
The development of both types of power is essential and decisive for a territory's foreign policy. But, in this case, it has been recorded that opting for violence has a negative impact on perceptions of countries.