In recent years, nation branding attracts interest of scholars and academic environment. In the era of globalisation, the need to care for propoer image and perception of a state in international environment becomes even more apparent. Soft power resources are a vital element in creating a strong nation brand. The aim of the article is to verify hipothesis stating that civil society can be perceived as a soft power resource used in building the brand. Therefore, the proposed research is conducted by analysing most significant branding rankings with respect to the positions reached by Sweden, used as a model state with strong civil society.