The Anholt Nation Brands Index place Britain ahead of second-placed Canada and third-placed Switzerland in the overall rankings, which are based on a survey of 25,907 people in 35 countries.
The UK was ranked number one after scoring well on investment, sports, cultural heritage and its highly skilled and educated people.
Tom Wright, chief executive of VisitBritain, said: "You can think of Britain a little like an onion. There is always a new layer for visitors to peel back and discover and that's why we are seeing more and more people coming back here every year."
The survey, the fourth of its kind, relegated the $18 trillion US to 10th place, finding that the States was the nation that most divided opinion. The world's only remaining superpower, while scoring highly for product brands, pop culture, investment and technology, came near the bottom for cultural heritage, governance and for ignorance, while France were rated the world's rudest nation.
According to Simon Anholt, Britain ranks highly because its scores consistently across the board and rarely got a low score from anyone.
"What's most exciting about the new NBI dollar valuations is how much it appears that a nation's economy could be boosted or busted by a high or weak nation brand value.
"It'll surely turn the heads of many citizens to know that based on our figures, their individual brand value is over $60,000 in the case of an American or as high as $143,000 for a Dane," Anholt said.
Tina Louise, marketing director Europe for research firm GMI, added: "The NBI has proved to be a valuable tool to help governments and organisations across the world looking to promote their nation's brand values to a global audience."
The top 10 ranking of the nation brands:
1. UK
2. Switzerland
3. Canada
4. Italy
5. Sweden
6. Germany
7. Japan
8. France
9. Australia
10. United States
The Nation Brands Index was developed by Anholt in 2005 and it is produced with market research firm GMI.
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