Countries with the best reputations among consumers.
The Chart of the Week is a weekly Visual Capitalist feature on Fridays.
When you look at the tag of your shirt, and it says “Made in Bangladesh”, what does it mean to you?
For most people, a reputation for each country exists in their brains. The same Bangladeshi shirt coming instead from Germany or Brazil could evoke different perceptions to a consumer – and in aggregate, these views have a substantial impact on the success of goods in international markets.
The Most Respected Countries
Today’s chart shows survey results from 43,034 people in 52 countries on their perceptions of products from various countries of origin. According to Statista, which compiled the Made-in-Country-Index (MICI), each person assessed three countries to give a total of 129,102 individual assessments.
Here are the 10 jurisdictions that rated the highest on the list – we’ve also included each country’s top export for additional reference:
| Rank | Jurisdiction | Consumer Perception Index | Top Export |
| #1 | Germany | 100 | Vehicles |
| #2 | Switzerland | 98 | Gold |
| #3 | European Union | 92 | N/A |
| #4 | United Kingdom | 91 | Vehicles |
| #5 | Sweden | 90 | Vehicles |
| #6 | Canada | 85 | Vehicles |
| #7 | Italy | 84 | Medicine |
| #8 | Japan | 81 | Vehicles |
| #9 | France | 81 | Aircraft |
| #10 | United States | 81 | Refined Oil |
European countries generally had the best track record in the minds of consumers, with Germany taking the #1 spot overall and Switzerland following close behind.
Made in the USA
Although the United States ranked #10 after countries like Germany, Japan, Sweden, and Canada, we can still dive a little deeper yet.
In the same survey, Americans were specifically asked about the categories of goods for which they thought the U.S. was a “strong production country”. Here are the results:
Interestingly, according to 62% of these 1,018 respondents, the good that is best labeled “Made in America” is clothing. While the domestic industry has certainly been dealing with challenges on the business side, it appears American-made clothing is still coveted by consumers when it can be done right.
Article by Jeff Desjardins, Visual Capitalist
