The Republic has for the first time been ranked in the top 10 of a list of states with the best reputation, with its business environment cited as a major driver.

According to the annual Country RepTrak study, the Republic was ranked in ninth position out of 55 states surveyed by the general public across G8 nations.

The study measures reputation based on levels of trust, esteem, admiration and good feeling. It polled an online panel of more than 58,000 individuals.

The study found that, in 2016, a state’s reputation was driven by perceptions based on three aspects: effective government (37.1 per cent weighting), appealing environment (36.0 per cent), and advanced economy (26.9 per cent).

This is the first time the Republic has entered the top 10 ranking since the research began in 2009. The index, compiled by the Reputations Agency and Reputation Institute, ranked Sweden as the state with the world's best reputation.

The Republic improved its scores across each of the 17 attributes. It improved scores most significantly in “offers a favourable environment for doing business”, “is run by an effective government” and “has adopted progressive social and economic policies”.

The Republic was ranked seventh in the list of states people would like to visit, ninth for where people would like to live or organise/attend an event, and 10th place for the propensity to buy products and services from that state.

Reputations agency managing director Niamh Boyle said the Republic's "growing global reputation" was "very timely" in a post Brexit uncertain economic climate.

Showcase

“Reputation is increasingly important in a very competitive global marketplace,” she said. “Ireland’s positive reputation and top 10 position is encouraging as we look to showcase our country to international visitors and investors.”

Sweden and Ireland were the main movers in the top 10 list. Sweden rose from third spot in 2015 and a score of 76.6 to first place and a score of 78.3.