Improving to 25th spot this year, Portugal sits well above Spain, which ranks 34th.

Brand Finance determines the relative strength of nation brands through a scorecard of metrics evaluating brand investment, brand equity, and brand performance. The nation brand strength methodology includes the results of the Global Soft Power Index – the world’s most comprehensive research study on nation brand perceptions, surveying opinions of over 75,000 people based in more than 100 countries.

According to the report “Portugal climbed five places in the brand strength ranking from 30th in 2020 to 25th this year with a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 70.6 out of 100, an improvement of +3.7 points on last year’s 66.9. At the same time, Spain fell down nine ranks from 25th in 2020 to 34th this year, as its BSI score dropped by -4.2 points from 70.5 to 66.2.

“Despite the pandemic, Portugal attracted strong levels of foreign direct investment. Following the launch of Startup Portugal in 2016, the Portuguese government’s ambition has been to make the country an attractive destination for new tech companies. It aims to foster an ecosystem to encourage and financially support entrepreneurship and continued to do so throughout the pandemic, creating a relief fund specifically for the startup ecosystem.

“Mirroring the improvement in brand strength, the financial value of Portugal’s nation brand has increased too. Following a 16 percent rise to US$230 billion – US$15 billion higher than its pre-COVID valuation – Portugal has entered the top 40 most valuable nation brands, jumping four places from 43rd in 2020 to 39th this year”.

David Haigh, Chairman and CEO, Brand Finance, said: “With tourism-based economies being particularly hard hit, the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need to diversify national economies. The support from the government for Portugal’s burgeoning startup scene is a true sign of its commitment to do just this, and as the pandemic also accelerated the world’s digital transition, it has proved to be a shrewd decision from that standpoint too.”