A new study highlights Portugal’s international reputation, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lisbon earning strong recognition abroad.
A new study, “Image and Reputation of the Portugal Brand”, conducted by the consulting firm OnStrategy, reveals that the value of the Portugal brand reached €257.1 billion in 2025, a slight increase of 0.8% compared to the previous year.
This valuation represents 83.3% of Portugal’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which stood at €308.5 billion in 2025, registering a real increase of 1.9% and a nominal increase of 6%, SAPO reports.
This result shows that Portugal’s brand value did not keep pace with the growth of wealth produced. For comparison, the report indicates that the brand valuations of China (111%), Spain (109%), the USA (107%), France (106%), and the United Kingdom (102%) exceeded their respective GDP figures in 2025.
The study is conducted annually and involved more than 50,000 participants in Portugal and approximately 90,000 across the other 29 countries.
Portugal’s international reputation
According to João Baluarte, partner at OnStrategy, the value of the Portugal brand reflects more than just its reputation: “The value of the Portugal Brand is not just a reputational indicator; it is a real economic asset with a direct impact on the country's competitive capacity.”
On a scale of 0 to 100, Portugal’s image and reputation received 60.9 points among Portuguese respondents and 62.6 points among international respondents.
Portugal achieved an overall score of 61.7 points, placing it in 21st position among the 30 countries included in the study.
The USA leads the image and reputation ranking, with 73.7 points, closely followed by China, with 73.3, and Japan, with 72.1.
Tourists rated Portugal’s image and reputation at 65.9 points.
Businesspeople and investors (both domestic and foreign) gave Portugal some of its highest ratings, with scores ranging from 62 to 63.9 points.
Portuguese citizens had a less optimistic perspective, assigning the country 59.1 points. As the study points out, “the potential detractors are our own citizens and emigrants,” with emigrants giving a rating of 58.2 points.
Factors influencing Portugal’s image
Pedro Tavares, founding partner of OnStrategy, emphasises that the data indicates that the obstacles to a better evaluation of the Portugal brand lie in its international relevance, leadership and vision, economic environment, and healthcare, SAPO reports.
Domestic audiences highlight safety and lifestyle, ethics, and the political environment and government as areas of concern. Internationally, exposure and communication, as well as innovation and differentiation, negatively affect the country’s image and reputation.
Ronaldo and Lisbon lead brand recognition
The study also analysed the impact of 500 Portuguese brands with international recognition on the country’s image and reputation, concluding that only a few can be considered “ambassadors” and drivers of the Portugal brand.
Among respondents outside the country, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lisbon achieved excellent scores of 86.3 and 80.8 points, respectively.
Among domestic respondents, Delta (84.6) and Vista Alegre (81.2) received excellent ratings, with Ronaldo scoring 78.5 points. The Algarve brand scored higher among domestic participants (77.6) than among external participants (74.7).
The SL Benfica brand did not feature among the top seven brands mentioned by Portuguese respondents and ranked last among international respondents, with 62.7 points.
“There is a general consensus that Country Brands, such as corporate and commercial brands of products and services, also contribute significantly to the results of economies focused on exports, tourism, foreign direct investment, and talent attraction,” João Baluarte said.
According to the study, across the different respondent groups, including citizens, students, business leaders, investors, journalists, emigrants and tourists, the only attributes of Portugal that achieved a level of excellence among both domestic and international audiences were beauty, values, culture and traditions.
“The strength of the Portugal Brand lies in its ability to generate relevance, trust, admiration, preference, and differentiation, primarily supported by the perceived quality of its products and services and by its cultural sustainability (beauty, values, culture, and traditions),” João Baluarte added.
The study also shows that international respondents have limited knowledge and awareness of Portugal’s different regions, assigning them an image and reputation score of 38 points.