Germany Has the Best Global Reputation

German Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabrie
German Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabrie
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Germany Has the Best Global Reputation

German Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabrie
German Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabrie

Germany has toppled the United States as the country with the best global "brand image," according to a German survey.

The United States dropped to sixth place, after being ranked first, according to a study conducted by German-based market research firm GfK and the political consultant Simon Anholt.

While France went from fifth place to second

France ranked the second most popular country in the world, followed by Britain, which retained third place, followed by Canada and Japan, which tied fourth place.

The Anholt-GfK index, conducted by the company in cooperation with the Anholt Office each year, tries to identify the image of 50 countries in the world's population, with regard to their governance, exports, people, culture and heritage, investment and immigration, and tourism.

The image of Germany has improved in Asia, especially in China, according to the study, while Germany's assessment was less positive in its European neighbors in France and Poland, as well as Brazil, as well as the Germans themselves.

The image of Germany has improved in Asia, especially in China, according to the study, while Germany's assessment was less positive by its European neighbors in France and Poland, as well as Brazil, and even by the Germans themselves.

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel welcomed the results, saying: "Germany's image no longer rests on our economic strength. People think we're capable of much in the world."



Hundreds of Firefighters Battling Wildfire in Southern France

An Airbus H125 helicopter drops water over a wildfire in Saint-Julien Les Martigues, northwest of Marseille in southern France on July 18, 2025. (Photo by Christophe SIMON / AFP)
An Airbus H125 helicopter drops water over a wildfire in Saint-Julien Les Martigues, northwest of Marseille in southern France on July 18, 2025. (Photo by Christophe SIMON / AFP)
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Hundreds of Firefighters Battling Wildfire in Southern France

An Airbus H125 helicopter drops water over a wildfire in Saint-Julien Les Martigues, northwest of Marseille in southern France on July 18, 2025. (Photo by Christophe SIMON / AFP)
An Airbus H125 helicopter drops water over a wildfire in Saint-Julien Les Martigues, northwest of Marseille in southern France on July 18, 2025. (Photo by Christophe SIMON / AFP)

Nearly 1,000 firefighters and helicopters battled a wildfire about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of France's second-largest city Marseille on Friday, but officials said lower temperatures and increased humidity had improved the situation.

The 240-hectare (593 acres) wildfire flared up a week after a separate conflagration reached the northwestern outskirts of Marseille, forcing people to evacuate or into lockdown and temporarily shuttering the area's airport.

Pierre Bepoix, the colonel of rescue operations and deputy director for the area's firefighters, said 150 people had been evacuated, but firefighters had managed to save 150 homes and portions of the area's forests.

"It was a fire that swept through relatively dense vegetation ... which made our work particularly complicated," Bepoix told Reuters. "Obviously, priority was given to the preservation and protection of these homes and the lives that could be in these buildings."

Local officials said in a statement that 120 homes had been threatened by the fire, adding that it was not possible yet to identify any possible damage to them, and that two firefighters had been injured.

Meanwhile in Spain, a wildfire that broke out on Thursday evening in the central Toledo province and could be seen from downtown Madrid, ravaged 3,200 hectares of woodland.

Regional emergency services said early on Friday firefighters had secured the perimeter, though there were concerns over strong winds and high temperatures forecast throughout the day.