Morocco preserves its reputation in the world in 2022

Morocco’s reputation has remained stable in the course of 2022, registering a slight increase of 0.3 points in its general reputation indicator, standing at 48.6 points on the RepCore scale, which corresponds to a moderate reputation according to the Reputation Lab normative scale. This is what emerges from the report published by the IRES.

This report, drawn up by Reputation Lab on behalf of the Royal Institute for Strategic Studies (IRES), is the eighth edition of the annual analysis of the perception of the Kingdom of Morocco among the general public of the most influential countries from the economic, political, social and cultural standpoint.

This score places Morocco in 33rd place in the ranking out of the 72 countries analyzed in this study conducted among the general public of the G7 countries + Russia. Morocco’s reputation index is similar to that of countries like the United States, Argentina, Israel or the Dominican Republic, according to the report, entitled “Morocco’s reputation in the world in 2022.”

If we consider only the group of 60 countries with the highest GDP, Morocco occupies the 32nd position, with a score very close to the average of all the largest economies (48.6 points against an average of 49.4 points).

Morocco’s external reputation also showed a generally positive trend with regard to the new features that were recently included in the 2022 edition, namely “environmental protection” and “confronting climate change,” added the report.

According to the report, evaluations remain positive with regard to attributes related to the country’s technological capacity, while the external reputation for “leisure and entertainment”, “natural environment” and “good and hospitable residents” continued to decline; Which the study attributed to the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic.

With regard to Morocco’s internal reputation, which reflects Moroccans’ perceptions of their country, it witnessed a significant improvement (+10.9 points) between 2021 and 2022, moving from a medium level to a high level for the first time since the study was launched in 2015; This was explained by the document as “the remarkable diplomatic successes that have enhanced Moroccans’ sense of national pride.”

In order to improve the Kingdom’s internal and external reputation, especially with regard to the “development level” dimension, the report called on Morocco to engage in major reforms of education, innovation and technology, brand capital, and the quality of products and services; This is in parallel with the major projects for economic recovery and universal health coverage.

In the global ranking published by Reputation Lab, Russia was excluded from the scope of measurement, the scope of the study being limited to the G7 countries.

This decision was taken because in the current situation, the assessments of people interviewed in Russia to assess other countries are nuanced by very significant prejudices.

In the aforementioned ranking, Morocco maintains the 32nd position among the 60 largest economies. However, the study on Morocco’s external reputation also includes the opinions of respondents in Russia.

The degree of knowledge of Morocco being below the average of the same group of countries (69% in the familiarity indicator against the average of 75%), there is therefore a communication opportunity to enhance it and positively influence reputational capital.

Among the 60 main economies, France, the United States, Italy, Germany and UK enjoy a higher level of familiarity among respondents.

On the other hand, Kazakhstan, Bangladesh, Algeria and Qatar are the least known countries of the inhabitants of the G7 + Russia. However, remarkable familiarity does not necessarily rhyme with good reputation. Well-known countries like Russia or China have very low reputation levels, while lesser-known countries like Finland or Singapore enjoy much higher reputation levels among people who know them.

In any case, a high reputation combined with a high level of familiarity allows a country to derive maximum benefit in terms of tourist arrivals and other economic variables; it would be the case of countries such as France, Italy or Spain.

Over the past decade, the period under study, Morocco’s reputation has gradually improved from a ‘low’ level in 2015 (44.4 points) to a ‘moderate’ level in 2022 (48.6 points). Actually, for the first time, Morocco is ahead of the four benchmark countries with which it has been compared, after having overtaken Chile over the past year.

If we compare Morocco and its four benchmarks in each of the former G8 countries, Morocco is the best rated country in the United States, Russia and Canada. Chile, for its part, enjoys the best reputation in France, while Turkey and Mexico register their best perception in the United Kingdom. South Africa obtains the best scores in Germany and Italy.

Comparing Morocco with its four benchmarks on the rational dimensions of reputation, Chile is the best rated country in the dimensions “Institutional quality”, “Ethics and responsibility” and “Level of development”, while Turkey is the best in terms of “Quality of life” and “Human factor” dimensions.

Although it is not the best rated nation in any of the five dimensions, Morocco nevertheless receives the best overall rating, driven by a positive emotional halo that contrasts with the negative halos of Turkey and Chile.