Matthew Diebel

USA TODAY

Well, it took about 70 years.

Yes, from being the world's pariah in the decades following Nazism and World War II, Germany is now the world's favorite country, according to the Anholt-Gfk Nations Brand Index, which measures the image of 50 leading nations.

The Teutonic powerhouse knocked the United States from its longtime perch at the top of the ratings, which measure "twenty-three different attributes that make up the six overall dimensions on which national image is based."

"Germany appears to have benefited not only from the sports prowess it displayed … at the FIFA World Cup championship, but also by solidifying its perceived leadership in Europe through a robust economy and steady political stewardship," said Simon Anholt, who created the index in 2005.

The index is compiled from a total of 20,125 interviews with people in 20 countries, according to Anholt-GfK, which is based in Denmark.

The result was welcomed by Alan Posener, a commentator and blogger for Berlin's Die Welt newspaper. " As a German of the baby boomer generation, I can remember a time when many Germans my age would speak English when abroad so as to hide their nationality," he wrote. "German children might find themselves ostracized on a Danish beach. German teens on a pilgrimage to Swinging London might be confronted by people giving them the Nazi salute."

The USA, which held first place since 2009 and is still seen as No. 1 one in creativity, contemporary culture and educational institutions, suffered from its perceived shaky record in global peace and security.

"In a year of various international confrontations, the United States has lost significant ground where tension has been felt the most acutely," said Xiaoyan Zhao, senior vice president and director of the index. "Both Russia and Egypt have downgraded the U.S. in an unprecedented manner, particularly in their perception of American commitment to global peace and security, and in their assessment of the competence of the U.S. government."

Russians' perceptions may have put the USA in second place, but they had a much more dramatic decline, dropping from 22nd to 25th place in the index.

"In previous years, Russia had shown upward momentum," said Zhao, "but in the 2014 NBI study, it stands out as the only nation out of 50 to suffer a precipitous drop. Russia's largest decline is registered on the Governance dimension, especially for the attribute of its perceived role in international peace and security. This is the most drastic score drop seen for any single attribute across the 50 nations."

Rounding out the top 10 are the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Japan, Italy, Switzerland, Australia and Sweden.

USA TODAY staffer Matthew Diebel is of German ancestry. However, that had nothing to do with why this story was written.