Germany has bumped aside the United States to become the world's top "nation brand," a market survey company said Wednesday, dpa reported. The United States had held the top spot for five years in the annual Anholt-GfK Nation Brands Index, which measures perceptions by people around the world of foreign countries. A rise in public perceptions of Germany's sporting excellence, mainly because of the German football team's win of the World Cup final in Brazil in July, helped the Germans into their lead. GfK, which is based in Nuremberg, southern Germany, said Russia was the only nation to suffer a precipitous drop in global reputation. -- SPA 19:35 LOCAL TIME 16:35 GMT تغريد