Sri Lanka rises into top 80 for ease of doing business in new Global Soft Power Index

SRI Lanka ranks 100th globally in the Global Soft Power Index (GSPI) 2026 with a score of 33.8/100, down three positions from 97th in 2025, according to a new iteration of the GSPI by Brand Finance.

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Brand Finance publishes the GSPI based on a survey of more than 150,000 respondents from over 100 countries to gather data on global perceptions of all 193 member States of the UN. Thanks to the scope of the survey, the Index is the world’s most comprehensive study on perceptions of nation brands, providing an in-depth analysis of the evolving status of Soft Power as nations navigate significant global changes and challenges.

Soft Power is defined as a nation’s ability to influence the preferences and behaviours of various actors in the international arena (States, corporations, communities, publics, etc.) through attraction and persuasion rather than coercion. Each nation is scored across 55 different metrics to arrive at an overall score out of 100 and ranked in order from 1st to 193rd.

While Sri Lanka’s overall Soft Power ranking declined this year, the results reflect a mixed performance, with selective improvements emerging alongside persistent structural weaknesses.

Perceptions of ease of doing business in and with Sri Lanka improved, aligning with easing inflation and lower borrowing costs.

These shifts supported improved access to capital and stronger perceptions of economic stability, contributing to more favourable views of Sri Lanka as a destination to invest, work, study, and visit.