Young people believe that Canada is the most attractive and trusted country among the powerful G20 group of nations, followed by Australia, Italy and the UK, with the China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the US the least trusted.

The research by the British Council gives a glimpse into the perception young people have to countries that one day they might want to work in or move to and it has been doing so every two years since 2012.



The report sets out how attractive and trustworthy these leading countries are to young people and the impact this has on their decisions to do business with, study and visit these countries.

The UK’s position has recovered across a range of metrics in multiple territories following a dip in 2016 after the European Union referendum. However, the picture is not wholly positive. The UK’s rankings are not altogether back to pre-referendum levels and there has been a worrying drop in the numbers saying they intend to study or visit the country.

Canada comes first in the rankings across four key metrics at 84% for overall attractiveness, 73% for trust in people, 64% for trust in Government and 68% for trust in institutions. Italy and Australia are in joint second place for overall attractiveness at 82% with the UK in fourth at 81%.

Australia and the UK are in joint second place for trust in people at 67% while Australia is again second with the UK in third place for trust in Government at 57% and 56% respectively. The UK is second for trust in institutions at 64% ahead of Germany at 63%.

Where Canada emerges as attractive for young people, the United States is not. Indeed, the US if fourth bottom in terms of trust in Government at 45%, Saudi Arabia at 44%, Russia at 43% and China 41%.

The survey also found that 31% of respondents say they intended to visit the UK in future, down from 37% in 2016 putting it in sixth place while in terms of trust, trust in people is back at second place having bounced back to pre-referendum levels as 67% of respondents say they trust people from the UK.

Trust in Government is also up. The UK’s third place in 2018 is an improvement on the post-referendum survey though still below the results pre-referendum. The UK is in second place for trust in institutions at 64% and this is the one metric that was seemingly unaffected by the referendum.

While still second behind the US, there has been a drop of 1% to 16% in the numbers of people saying they intend to study in the UK in future.

The survey report concludes that it is not the decision to leave the EU that matters most to the UK’s future success, but how the UK conducts itself in the months and years after 29 March 2019 that will determine the extent that it is viewed as an attractive and trusted partner internationally.