Apple is the most valuable brand in the world - for the third year in a row

Apple is the world's most valuable brand for the third year in a row, according to Interbrand's 2015 report>$4.

Apple has maintained the top spot since it pushed Coca-Cola off the throne in 2013.

The new report claims that the value of Apple's brand is $170.3 billion, up a huge 43% from last year. For comparison, Google's brand, which comes in number two, went up by only 12% to $120.3 billion.

Four of the top five brands are tech companies, with Google, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, and IBM following Apple.

The biggest leap this year, in terms of percentage, was Facebook, whose brand value shot up 54% to $22 billion. It came in at number 23.

The ranking system is based on a combination of financial performance, how effectively a brand influences customer choice, and how much of a premium price a brand can charge, thereby making profits.

Apple has, in recent years, been teaching a master class in that final item.

See the full rankings here>$4.