Dublin has risen two places to be named as the 20th most reputable city in the world, new research has shown.

According to the City RepTrak 2016, which is compiled by the Reputations Agency and the Reputation Institute, Dublin has achieved its joint-highest ranking in the survey, which is based on the views of the general public in G8 countries.

The capital recorded a 'Pulse' score of 76.3. Pulse scores measure the strength of the emotional bond, or gut feeling, with the general public in the world's largest and most influential economies in each of the cities.

Sydney claimed the best reputation in the study for the second year running, followed by Vienna and then Zurich.

Cities are evaluated based on levels of trust, esteem, admiration and respect. The City RepTrak also measures cities across 16 metrics, including advanced economy, effective administration, and the business environment offered by the location.

Willingness to visit, work, live, and invest also come into account when evaluating a nation. This has become more important to Ireland following the Brexit vote.

Dublin is now ranked ahead of cities such as London, Paris, Berlin, and Brussells.

The study was conducted through an online questionnaire of 20,600 members of the general public in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the UK, and the US.

Those that are "somewhat" or "very" familiar with the cities are selected to rate them.

The world’s Top 20 Most Reputable Cities are:

1. Sydney 2. Vienna 3. Zurich 4. Toronto 5. Stockholm 6. Edinburgh 7. Montreal 8. Rome 9. Vancouver 10. Copenhagen 11. Helsinki 12. Venice 13. Melbourne 14. Barcelona 15. Madrid 16. Frankfurt 17. Amsterdam 18. San Francisco 19. Tokyo 20. Dublin

Head of corporate PR at The Reputations Agency, one of the firms behind the new survey, Niall Quinn said Ireland boost in the rankings was "encouraging".

"With a renewed focus on alternatives to London post Brexit, and given the link between a city’s reputation and people’s willingness to visit, work, live and invest in that city, an enhanced reputation can only add to the attractiveness of Dublin as a possible location for businesses looking to relocate operations from the UK," he said.

IDA chief Martin Shanahan welcomed the increase, saying "rankings matter" to foreign direct investment (FDI).

"IDA Ireland continues to market Ireland as an attractive location for Foreign Direct Investment. We welcome the improvement registered by Dublin in this major global survey of the reputation of leading international cities.

"Securing investment for Ireland has, and continues to be, highly competitive as each country and major city seeks to highlight a business case for target investors."

Online Editors