Canada has been named as the most reputable nation in the world, in a recent survey on the perception of countries across the globe.

The North American country reclaimed the top spot in the Reputation Institute's annual report, which looks at the government, environment and economy of 55 nations.

The survey, carried out by the research and advisory firm which provides "reputation management" services, measured the perceived trust, admiration, respect and esteem of 55 countries, based on the views of 27,000 people representing the G8 countries.

Since the survey began in 2010, Canada has been ranked first for four out of the six surveys carried out – and has never been lower than second. It recovered the top spot this year after losing out to Switzerland last year.

The world's most reputable countries in 2015 Show all 10 1 /10 The world's most reputable countries in 2015 The world's most reputable countries in 2015 1. Canada Getty The world's most reputable countries in 2015 2. Norway Getty The world's most reputable countries in 2015 3. Sweden Getty The world's most reputable countries in 2015 4. Switzerland Getty The world's most reputable countries in 2015 5. Australia Getty The world's most reputable countries in 2015 6. Finland Getty Images The world's most reputable countries in 2015 7. New Zealand Getty The world's most reputable countries in 2015 8. Denmark Getty The world's most reputable countries in 2015 9. Netherlands Getty The world's most reputable countries in 2015 10. Belgium

In a strong showing for northern European countries, this year's list saw Norway take second place, Sweden third and last year's winners Switzerland in fourth.

The UK improved two places on last year to be ranked 13th overall, while the US was placed just above the global mean in 22nd.

The report highlights how the biggest and most powerful countries are not necessarily the most well-regarded by others across the world. While the US failed to make it into the top 20, Russia was placed all the way down in 52nd, with China only slightly better in 46th.

The report however does suggest an interesting correlation between the happiest countries and those with the best reputation.

(UN World Happiness Report 2015)

Nine of the top ten countries in the UN's World Happiness Report 2015, published in May, also feature in the top ten of the latest report on reputable countries.

Fernando Prado, managing partner at the Reputation Institute, said a country's reputation can affect its tourism industry.

He said: "When people perceive a country positively based on their direct experiences and through the lens of others, that translates into increased tourism dollars.

"That’s because a country's reputation dictates supportive behaviors such as the willingness of people to visit that country."

The country with the worst reputation in this year's report was Iraq, with Iran only one place above and Pakistan third from bottom.

Here are the top 10 countries in this year's report

1 - Canada

2 - Norway

3 - Sweden

4 - Switzerland

5 - Australia

6 - Finland

7 - New Zealand

8 - Denmark

9 - Netherlands

10 - Belgium

... and here are the bottom 10 countries

46 - China

47 - Ukraine

48 - Saudi Arabia

49 - Algeria

50 - Kazakhstan

51 - Nigeria

52 - Russia

53 - Pakistan

54 - Iran