Persisting uncertainty around the Brexit outcome has caused a 14% decrease to the UK’s brand value, while U.S. and China remain above the rest, claiming first and second position in this year’s brand value ranking.

The report, by brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance, shows that the UK is not alone in its hardships, with the top 100 most valuable nation brands across the world also suffering monumental loss to their brand value because of the Covid-19 pandemic, inflation rates and general economic uncertainty. The total brand value of the top 100 nation brands dropped from US$98.0 trillion in 2019 to US$84.9 trillion in 2020.

“With COVID-19 contributing to the recent rise of protectionism, we may see a reversal of the economic growth brought about by globalisation. Having said that, optimism has certainly prevailed, with forecasts looking less dire than initially predicted, and with the announcement of a working vaccine beginning to be rolled out, the future is certainly looking brighter,” says David Haigh, CEO of Brand Finance.

Despite the economic and political uncertainty in the U.S., its brand including Amazon, Google and Microsoft, claimed the top spots in this year’s Brand Finance Global 500, providing the nation’s economy and reputation with a strong safety net.

Unlike the US, China’s brand value has managed to remain largely stable, recording only a modest 4% drop this year, becoming the first major economy to recover from the pandemic and is currently expected to be the only G20 economy that will grow this year.

“We are once again witnessing China inch ever closer behind the US in our ranking of the world’s most valuable nation brands. This year has proven that there is nowhere to hide when it comes to a nation’s economic performance and China has shown its ability to recover at a meteoric pace,” says Haigh.