In this article, we take a look at cultural influence by country. You can skip our detailed analysis of culture’s soft power and its economic advantages and go directly to Top 5 Countries with the Most Cultural Influence.
If the traditions and norms of a country are considered “cool” in another country, the former is said to have cultural influence over the latter. It is essentially a third form of power, albeit a soft one, after military and economic might.
There are many mediums of cultural transmission, with the most notable being mass media. For instance, movies produced in Hollywood are watched effectively in the entire world, leaving a uniquely American imprint on the global society.
Apart from media, mediums of cross-country cultural transmission also include cuisines, literature, fashion, social values and non-cinematic art like music and paintings among others.
Economic Benefits
Cultural influence often provides economic advantages for businesses. If a country is culturally popular in another country, its businesses in that country benefit. This is especially true for developing countries with growing middle class.
Consider the example of China, where cultural influence has led to the consumption of Starbucks Corporation's (NASDAQ:SBUX) food products due to its perception as a trustworthy, quality company, and its international status, according to a study conducted by the University of Leicester.
As per Wang Sharay, a senior marketing director from China, Western brands in the country are associated with creativity, heritage and originality.
In this regard, globalization has proved incredibly lucrative for western brands in non-western countries. According to Harvard Business Review, popular businesses like Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL), Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL), McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) and brands like Olay, from The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) have been growing at a collective average of 9% every year in the emerging markets for the past decade.
East Asian countries have also had remarkable success in exporting culture. A more direct example would be that of Pokemon.
As per the latest figures, 440 million units of pokemon gaming software and 43 billion pokemon trading cards have been sold around the world in 77 countries, owing to the global popularity of Pokemon, a Japanese anime from The Pokemon Company, which is watched in 192 countries.
This shows that cultural influence is highly important for businesses in a globalized world.
The US, UK, Italy and Japan are some of the most culturally influential countries in the world. Below, we list the top 25 countries with the most cultural influence. Also please see our article on 12 Countries That Produce the Best Music.
Cultural Influence by Country: Top 25 With The Most Cultural Influence
Our Methodology
For our list of the top countries with the most cultural influence, we’ve averaged out the countries' rankings based on their rankings in two reports on their cultural influence - the US News' report and the CEO World report.
The US News has isolated countries for cultural influence based on evaluation on a ranking model developed by BAV Group, with a score range of 0-100, with higher score corresponding to higher level of cultural influence.
On the other hand, The CEO World methodology is based on a global perception survey of 280,600 experts spanning political and business leaders, with questions pertaining to 11 attributes, which primarily included military power, media reach, country's culture and diplomatic influence among others. It has a score range of 0-100 as well.
Usually developing composite scores based on two uncorrelated sources yields more accurate rankings than each of those sources. That's why we believe our rankings are more accurate than the two sources we used to create our index.
Here are the top 25 most culturally influential countries:
25. Belgium
Belgium is a Northwestern European country known for its chocolates and waffles. Its literary and artistic influence comprises works of Paul de Man and Rene Magritte respectively, among others.
One of the significant cultural aspects where Belgium shines is fashion, with the country scoring 38.3 out of 100 in the category globally, on US News.
24. Thailand
Thailand is a globally prominent country located in Southeast Asia. The country is frequented by tourists, looking for a uniquely Asian experience.
Bangkok, a prominent Thai city, is one of the most visited places in the world. It ranked number 1 for being the most frequented cities in the world for four years in a row in 2019, according to the Global Destination Cities Index of 2019, by Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA). Thailand’s cuisine is also integral to restaurant menus across the world.
23. Portugal
Portugal is a Southern European country located on the Iberian peninsula. It has the 23rd averaged out ranking based on our sources, making it one of the most culturally popular countries in the world. Portugal has influenced the world in literature through poets like Luis Vaz De Camoes, with his globally recognized work - Os Lusiadas.
The Portuguese national football team also has a global fanbase. Other cultural elements of the country that have left an impression on the world include arts.
22. New Zealand
New Zealand is located in Oceania. It is famous for its wine, owing to different wine regions and subregions with differing climatic conditions. The country has been highly popularized for its landscapes being the backdrop in “The Hobbit” and the “Lord of the Rings” movies. It is now often referred to by the fans of these movie trilogies as ‘Middle Earth’.
21. Singapore
Singapore is a city state located in Southeast Asia, mainly popular across the world for its futuristic society. The country is one of the cultural drivers of mainstream adoption of robotics. There are over 327,000 industrial robots in Singapore’s workforce. These are 605 robots for every 10,000 humans, as confirmed by Reuters. Other things Singapore is known for is its driverless taxi systems, patrolling police bots and smart-homes infrastructure.
20. Denmark
Denmark is another Scandinavian country on the list of most culturally influential countries. It is known in the entire world for being one of the happiest countries on the planet, thanks largely to its socio-economic management.
Denmark is also highly entrepreneurial, and has several world-renowned companies operating across the globe. These include Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) and Coloplast among others.
19. Norway
Norway is located in the Scandinavian region of Europe and is known for its Viking heritage. Norway’s contribution to arts and literature is unmistakable. For instance, Edvard Munch’s ‘The Scream’ painting is a global icon in the arts.
18. Mexico
Mexico is located in Central America and borders the United States to the North. Mexico owes its cultural success largely to its northern neighbor, which has popularized its cultural traditions, and food items from its cuisine like The Tacos and Burritos, through Hollywood as well as the mainstream US culture.
17. Greece
The cultural influence of Greece is so pervasive that it is called the cradle of western civilization and the birthplace of democracy. If modern cultural influence was taken out of the equation, Greece would probably be the most culturally influential country in the world, owing to its ancient glory.
Greece has influenced the world the most through its literature. The greatest classics include Plato’s Republic and Homer’s Iliad among other highly prominent works of literature. In cinema, Greece has been highlighted through movies like 300 and Troy.
Many of the celestial bodies were also named by ancient Greeks, based on Greek Mythology, which have stuck.
16. The Netherlands
The Netherlands is another Northwestern European nation on the list of countries with the most cultural influence. It has a cultural-influence score of 49.8 on the BAV Group’s model.
A number of Dutch companies play an important role in the global economy and have presence in most countries. Some of these include Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) and Signify N.V. (AMSTERDAM:LIGHT.AS)
15. Brazil
Brazil is a huge country located in South America. It is one of the most culturally important countries in the world when it comes to football, with its national football team commanding a global fanbase.
Brazil is also famous for its rainforest - Amazon, which is also the inspiration for the name of the company - Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN). In terms of cuisine, Brazil’s Feijoada can be found on restaurant menus around the world.
14. Sweden
Sweden is another Scandinavian country on the list. Sweden has many contributions in the mainstream global pop-culture, with popular singers like Zara Larsson, and Hollywood actors like Dolph Lundgren. Sweden also influences global cuisines, with its Kroppkaka dish prepared in several continental restaurants around the world.
13. United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the most culturally significant country in the Middle East. Known for its nightlife and sky-high skyscrapers like Burj-Al-Khalifa, the UAE ranks 13th on the list. Its emirate, Dubai, draws millions of tourists every year. According to the Global Destination Cities Index of 2019 by Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA), Dubai was the fourth most popular tourist destination in 2019.
12. Australia
Australia is another country located in Oceania. It has had considerable contribution to literature and arts, which makes it one of the most culturally influential countries in the world.
In philosophy, Australia is known for the works of David Chalmers. On the other hand, many prominent literary critics like Vance Palmer, Christopher Brennan and Marjorie Bernard were born in Australia.
The country also has a significant share of actors in Hollywood, with Chris Hemsworth, Eric Bana, Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman being some of the most notable ones.
On the corporate front, Australia is known for companies like Atlassian Corporation (NASDAQ:TEAM).
11. Canada
Canada is undoubtedly one of the most culturally prominent countries on the planet. It has an image of a friendly, peaceful and welcoming nation, making it a desirable country for immigrants, with roughly 0.3 million people immigrating to Canada every year.
Canada has been popularized in the US showbiz through Canadian celebrities like Ryan Reynolds, Justin Bieber, Keeanu Reeves and Rachel McAdams among many other prominent ones. In terms of Fashion, the country has a score of 52.5 on the BAV Group model, one of the highest in the world.
Canada’s Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) is also the go-to solution for online sellers around the world, with 5.6 million stores using Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) technology as of 2022.
10. Switzerland
Switzerland is often associated with scenic landscapes but it is even more associated with watches. Switzerland is home to some of the top luxury watchmakers in the world, that have earned the watches made in the country, the title of ‘Swiss Watches’, a connotation of luxury and quality.
Swiss watches are highly sought after around the world by luxury customers, with some of the top brands being Rolex, Patek Phillipe and Chopard.
9. South Korea
South Korea is as culturally influential as it is technologically advanced. Its greatest cultural influence is arguably in the music pop-culture, with its K-Pop band - BTS, garnering nearly 27 billion views from around the world across all their official channels as of 2022, while another band, called Blackpink, accumulated 28 billion views from across the world on Youtube alone.
South Korea also dominates in electronics, with its company Samsung, being the top smartphone company in the world, selling close to 69 million smartphones across the globe in 2021. Samsung phones also make up nearly 15% of all the smartphones in circulation and usage around the world.
8. Spain
Cultural-Influence Score: 79.8
Spain is another country located in Southern Europe and is among the top 8 countries by cultural influence, in terms of language, literature, music, cinema and other art forms.
Spain was also a former colonizer, which has resulted in the spread of its culture around the world, with 20 countries having Spanish as their official language.
7. China
China is the second largest economy in the world, and as such, holds considerable cultural influence over the world, both through its ancient civilization and its modern status.
China has inspired literature around the world through its philosophies of Confucianism and Taoism, attributed to the Chinese philosophers Confucias and Lao Tzu respectively.
The Chinese style of martial arts - Kung Fu, is also popular throughout the world. Chinese cuisine also finds its place in restaurants and kitchens around the world, with its renowned dishes like Kung Pao Chicken, Manchurian and Chow Mein.
Chinese companies like Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) and Tencent Holdings Limited (HKSE:0700.HK) have also globally penetrated, with the former having a total of 24% in Global Merchandise Volume in 2021, ahead of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) by 11%.
6. Germany
Germany is not only the richest economy in Europe, it is also one of the most important countries by cultural influence. In music alone, Germany has produced legendary classical composers like Ludwig Van Beethoven.
The country’s contribution to literature is equally awe-inspiring, with poets like Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Some of the German brands of automobiles like Mercedes, BMW and Audi are highly valued across the world for build quality and luxury.
Speaking of which, German brands around the world enjoy an automatic social certification of high quality, due to Germany’s reputation in that regard.
