World champions Spain remain top of the table ahead of the Netherlands, who were runners up at last summer's World Cup finals in South Africa.
Germany, defeated by Spain in the semi-finals, move up to third place, switching places withBrazil in the process.
Fabio Capello's side bounced back from their disappointing World Cup campaign to record back-to-back victories over Bulgaria andSwitzerland, and are rewarded by rising one place to sixth in the world governing body's latest standings.
The Republic of Ireland also started their qualifying run towards Poland and Ukraine with two wins from their two opening games, and climb six places to 33rd.
Giovanni Trapattoni's team are just six places behind France, who controversially beat them in a World Cup play-off last November. However, Les Bleus' failure to recover from their summer meltdown has seen them plummet to 27th, the lowest ranking in their history.
Northern Ireland's 1-0 win in Slovenia sees Nigel Worthington's side leap 14 places to 45th, two places above Scotland, who drop six notches down the ladder.
Despite losing their opening qualifier in Montenegro - a result which saw John Toshack resign as manager - Wales remain ranked 84th.
Five of the top 10 are from Europe, with four from South America.
Three-times consecutive African champions Egypt are the continent's sole representatives in the top 10, despite failing to qualify for the finals in South Africa.
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