In this article, we take a look at the 25 most politically influential countries in the world. You can skip our detailed analysis of how political influence shapes the global economy and go directly to 5 Most Politically Influential Countries in the World.
A country’s political power over other countries allows it to exert its influence on their policymaking as well as rally them towards common causes. Many countries have their local spheres of political influence. For instance, China, India and Russia hold considerable sway regionally, with the US dominating the global political landscape.
Impact of US Political Hegemony
Globalization has been the most important result of US political influence, especially since 1990. It has been the result of US-led trade liberalization, leading to countries opening up their economies for free global trade.
Trade openness has grown by 8% for the past 10 years, with 130 countries rising in economic prosperity since 2009. It has been a win-win for the world, with corporations in advanced economies expanding their businesses in developing economies, all the while creating new jobs in the developing world.
Not only that, a significant percentage of the workforce in advanced economies are involved in industries whose products and services are exclusively used in other countries.
The figure is 10% for the United States and close to 30% for Germany, per the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The OECD also observes that companies in exporting industry also pay higher than average wages than companies in other industries.
Further, globalization is also closing the wage gap between advanced and developing economies. Currently, wages for jobs are 2.5 times higher in advanced developed-economies than in advanced developing-economies but owing to factors like trade openness and outsourcing, wages have grown by 8% in advanced developing-region of Asia compared to 1.5% in western countries from 1999-2009, according to Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
On the other hand, corporations from advanced countries have grown by an average of 9% for the past decade in emerging economies.
The US has the second-highest number of Fortune-500 companies operating globally, at 122 as of 2021. The top 5 corporations with the biggest market caps are all American with the exception of Saudi Aramco.
These include Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT).
This allows the country considerable leverage in sanctioning other economies like Russia when they violate international law.
For instance, after Russia invaded Ukraine, the majority of US corporations seized their business operations in the country and left, making a significant dent on the Russian economy.
The Emerging Political Competitor
Political influence largely relies on military and economic power, and other soft-power elements like culture. However, economic power is the strongest predictor of political power, a worldview held by both Marxists and Classical Liberals.
In this sense, the US political hegemony is increasingly being challenged by an emerging China, which is the second biggest economy in the world. China’s lightning-fast growth is largely attributed to globalization, when the country opened up to the world in the late 70s.
It is set to surpass the US economically by 2030, given no significant externalities, according to organizations like Euler Hermes and Center for Economic and Business Research.
This has led to many political pundits suggesting that China will naturally compete with the US to leave its own political imprint on the world. Others, however, believe that China may stick to the classical principle of non-intervention.
However, China is increasingly making its presence felt beyond Asia through investments in regions like Africa. Its FDI in Africa increased by 44% between 2014 and 2018, with Nigeria being the top destination for Chinese money, at an inflow of $14.2 billion. Meanwhile, the US investment in the region has dropped by 30%.
The increasing rivalry, exacerbated by intellectual-property theft on part of China, is also leading to the US starting a shift of its supply chains from China, which have been the core to its economic growth. The first significant decline in China’s share in US imports came in 2019, with Chinese exports to the latter dropping by 17%, according to RaboBank.
The supply chains, for the most part, have been moving to Vietnam, Mexico and Taiwan, which gained 20%, 16% and 10%, respectively, from China’s lost share. The process was further accelerated due to extended Covid restrictions in the country that were relaxed in December, 2022.
With this backdrop, let’s move down to the 25 most politically influential countries in the world.
Our Methodology
For our list of the 25 most politically influential countries in the world, we’ve ranked them based on the averaged-out scores from two reports – The Brand Finance’s Global Soft Power Index, 2022 and 2021 CEO-World report of most influential countries.
Brand Finance’s report measures countries’ soft power based on metrics like media influence, diplomatic influence and relations, economic strength, innovation and technology companies among various others, with the overall score ranging from 0-100.
The CEO-World report, on the other hand, measures countries’ influence based on a global-perception survey carried out with the participation of over 280,000 veterans and experts in fields like economics, international relations, diplomacy and culture. Its scores also range from 0-100.
Here are the 25 most politically powerful countries in the world:
25. Egypt
Political-Influence Score: 57.27
Egypt is the sixth most advanced country in Africa. It is also the second biggest economy on the continent behind Nigeria. Egypt’s political influence mainly stems from the Suez Canal, which is one of the most important trade routes in the world.
24. Austria
Political-Influence Score: 58.07
Austria is located in the Southern region of Central Europe. It is a member state of the European Union and as such, considered quite influential within the EU.
23. Brazil
Political-Influence Score: 58.24
Brazil is the biggest country in Latin America in terms of the size of the economy, land mass and population. These factors allow the country to wield significant political influence over the region as well as the world. It is an active member of the UN and is also an important BRICS member.
22. Turkey
Political-Influence Score: 59.79
Turkey is located at the crossroads of Asia and Europe. Being a member of NATO and the G20, Turkey holds considerable sway in world affairs. On top of that, the country’s influence in the Islamic world is also worthy of mention. It has historically been closely engaged with fellow-Muslim countries like Pakistan.
21. Denmark
Political-Influence Score: 60.41
Denmark is located in the Scandinavian region of Europe. As a member of the European Union and NATO, Denmark plays an important role in shaping policy at the regional and international level.
It is also a leader in several important international organizations, such as the United Nations, where it has served on the Security Council and played a role in peacekeeping operations.
20. Norway
Political-Influence Score: 61.13
Norway is another Scandinavian country on the list. The country’s membership in the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the European Economic Area (EEA) allows it meaningful political influence in Europe. It is also a NATO member and is therefore an important player in global security affairs.
19. The Netherlands
Political-Influence Score: 61.88
The Netherlands is located in Northwestern Europe. It is another member of the EU and NATO. It is only behind Germany, France and Italy in terms of its influence in the EU, as determined by ECFR’s EU Coalition Explorer.
18. Sweden
Political-Influence Score: 62.67
Sweden is another Scandinavian country on the list and one of the most politically influential countries in the world in general and in Europe in particular.
Like many other countries on the list, Sweden is an EU and NATO member, which enables the country to have significant political capital.
17. United Arab Emirates
Political-Influence Score: 64.97
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is one of the most economically powerful countries in the world. It is a member of OPEC and its oil resources make it one of the most politically important countries in the world. OPEC countries’ reduction or increase of oil production is pivotal to the global energy prices.
16. Australia
Political-Influence Score: 65.22
Australia is the biggest country in Oceania. The country has global political capital but it is especially influential in the Asia-Pacific amid the rise of China and its regional implications. In this regard, Australia is a party to the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD).
15. Spain
Political-Influence Score: 65.86
Spain is another one of the most politically influential countries in the world, largely due to its importance in the EU. The country is located in Southern Europe.
14. Saudi Arabia
Political-Influence Score: 66.09
Saudi Arabia is the biggest economy in the Middle East and the most powerful member of OPEC, accounting for the biggest share of 34% of the group’s overall oil output. This makes the Kingdom the dominant player in OPEC, in practice. Saudi Arabia’s 11% share in global oil output offers the country great political leverage. Additionally, Saudi Arabia owns $116.5 billion worth of US debt, allowing it financial, and consequently, political leverage over the latter.
13. India
Political-Influence Score: 66.15
India is the sixth largest economy and the second most populous country in the world. The US sees India as an important geopolitical partner in competition against China.
However, India, despite its newfound importance with the US, was the pioneer of the non-aligned movement, a strategic position that endures to this day. It has allowed India to craft a friendship with the West while simultaneously being a close Russian partner in military-arms purchases. India, like Brazil, is also a member of BRICS. Additionally, the country is a party to QUAD.
India’s economy is also one of the fastest growing in the world, with an expanding middle class, skilled workers and huge demand. It has led to companies like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) opening up facilities in the country.
12. South Korea
Political-Influence Score: 66.69
South Korea is located in the Far East. The country is one of the closest security partners with the US, primarily due to its historical dispute with North Korea. It is also a prominent member of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), an organization that promotes trade and cooperation among member states.
Speaking of trade, South Korea is highly important in high-tech production. It accounted for 6% of the overall global output in the Knowledge-and-Technology-Intensive (KTI) industries in 2019 and was responsible.
11. Israel
Political-Influence Score: 66.99
Israel is the most technologically advanced country in the Middle East. A less-than-friendly neighborhood, combined with Israel’s own unique geo-military situation, has compelled the country to acquire global political capital to rally the world on its side.
Additionally, it is a key non-NATO ally of the US in the region, owing to the US interests in the Middle East and powerful pro-Israel lobbying groups in the US like Christians United for Israel (CUFI) and American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), with the former being the largest one in America.
10. Switzerland
Political-Influence Score: 67.27
Switzerland is one of the most politically influential countries in the world, thanks largely to its historic neutrality in world affairs, which allows it to reach across the entire geopolitical landscape diplomatically. In addition, being a member of the World Trade Organization, the country plays an important role in global policy-making.
9. Italy
Political-Influence Score: 70.65
Italy is another Southern European country on the list of the most politically influential countries in the world. The country plays an active role at international institutions such as the UN.
8. Canada
Political-Influence Score: 72.76
Canada is located in North America and being a G7 economy, it is one of the most politically influential nations in the world. It is also a member of NATO.
7. Japan
Political-Influence Score: 76.58
Japan is another country from the Far East. Apart from being the third biggest economy in the world after the US and China, Japan is also an important US ally.
6. Russia
Political-Influence Score: 77.19
Russia stretches across Asia and Europe. It is the second-biggest military power in the world, and as such, is politically prominent. Its military might is the remnant of its cold-war legacy, when it was the counterbalancing superpower to the US.
After the cold war, countries like Poland and Romania gained independence. However, Russia still has regional influence over countries like Belarus. Russia’s political influence has experienced a dramatic decline following its invasion of Ukraine. However, it still holds considerable global influence through its veto power in the UN and permanent membership.
The current Russian war has also led to its economic influence significantly falling, with American corporations like Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) closing their operations in the country.
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