For the fifth consecutive year, “The Economist” magazine has compiled a ranking of the 36 richest countries in the world to find the best-performing economy.
This year, Portugal appears in first place, dethroning Spain, last year’s winner, which in 2025 has the same score as Colombia.
To compile this list, the magazine used data from five economic indicators – inflation, inflation deviation, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employment, and stock market performance.
“In 2025, [Portugal] managed to combine strong GDP growth, low inflation and a booming stock market,” writes the magazine.
Driving GDP and employment in Portugal, according to “The Economist”, is tourism, at a time when “many wealthy foreigners are moving to the country to take advantage of low tax rates”.
Ireland comes in second in this ranking, followed by Israel.
At the bottom are mainly economies further north in Europe: Estonia, Finland and Slovakia are last in this compilation of indicators.
In a publication on the X network, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro stated that “the distinction by ‘The Economist’ magazine that Portugal was the ‘economy of the year’ is a just acclamation of the merit and work of the Portuguese people and reinforces the Government’s motivation to continue on the path that has brought us this far in recent months”.
“It is by reforming with courage and making the country more competitive and productive that we will continue to create jobs, increase wages and strengthen the welfare state. This is how we will give more well-being and a better future to the Portuguese people,” the Prime Minister also wrote.
Government forecasts point to economic growth of 2% this year and 2.3% next year.