The study, commissioned by hotel chain Premier Inn, surveyed 5,354 people across 28 countries, asking participants about their ambitions, personal goals and attitudes towards achievement.

Portugal achieved an average score of 19.7 out of 25, placing it ahead of every other European country included in the research, as well as the United States, which ranked 16th.

The results also showed that 75% of Portuguese respondents considered achieving outstanding results in life very important.

Portugal leads European rankings

South Africa topped the global ranking with 22.8 points, followed by Brazil with 21, Mexico with 20.4 and Canada with 20.

Portugal completed the top five, narrowly ahead of Hungary, which scored 19.5, and Poland, with 19.4.

Austria, Ireland, Spain and Greece followed with scores of approximately 19.2, while the Netherlands recorded 19.1 and Norway reached 19.

The United Kingdom ranked 24th out of the 28 countries surveyed, with an average score of 18.3.

France placed 26th with 17.9 points, while Japan finished last with 17.3.

Premier Inn suggested that Portugal’s strong performance may be connected to the cultural concept of desenrascanço, the Portuguese ability to improvise and find practical solutions to difficult situations.

However, the study did not establish whether this cultural characteristic directly influenced respondents’ scores.

United States falls behind Portugal

One of the more surprising findings concerned the difference between a country’s international reputation for ambition and how its own residents assessed themselves.

When participants were asked which country they considered the most ambitious, 35% selected the United States.

China followed with 15% of votes, while Japan received 9%.

Despite leading the international perception ranking, the United States placed only 16th when its residents completed the personal ambition assessment, scoring 18.9 out of 25.

Portugal, by comparison, scored 19.7.

The findings suggest that a country’s reputation for ambition does not necessarily correspond with how its population describes its own motivation and goals.

How was ambition measured?

The research used a psychological assessment known as the Ambition Scale, developed by researchers Andreas Hirschi and Daniel Spurk and published in the Journal of Vocational Behavior in 2021.

Participants rated their agreement with five statements covering personal ambition, striving for success, setting challenging goals and the importance of achieving significant results.

Each statement was scored on a five-point scale, producing a maximum combined score of 25.

The survey was conducted through the research platform Prolific, with results averaged by nationality to create the international ranking.

The findings reflect self-reported attitudes rather than independently measured achievements. They do not indicate that Portuguese workers are more productive, earn higher salaries or achieve greater professional success than people in other countries.

The study nevertheless places Portuguese respondents among those expressing the strongest personal motivation to pursue goals, whether in their careers, personal lives or other ambitions.

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