The World’s Most Ambitious Nations

Ambition can mean a lot of things. For some, it means trying to be better tomorrow than they were today, seeing their name in lights or chasing stamps in a passport instead of promotions. For some, it's even doing both at the same time - pursuing a dream career and travelling on a city break or an exciting summer holiday, or even finding a role that combines both passions and involves travelling for business.

Ambition comes in many different forms, but it intertwines with our identity and shapes how we see ourselves. So how is ambition perceived around the world?

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To find out, we conducted a survey of more than 5,300 people across 28 countries, asking them about their own ambitions, and that of others in their country, based on their experiences. To do this, we referred to Hirschi & Spurk’s Ambition Scale, a peer-reviewed psychological measure of ambition as a general personal trait.

This scale uses five core statements to understand an individual's ‘drive for success’, including:

· "I am ambitious"

· "I strive for success"

· "I have challenging goals"

· "For me it is very important to achieve outstanding results in my life"

· "For me it is very important to accomplish great things"

To dig deeper into how ambition is perceived around the world, we also asked participants to rate how much ambition is seen as a positive trait in their country, and how they felt about their levels of ambition compared to those around them, as well as which country they perceive to be home to the most ambitious people overall.

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Everyone holds their own perceptions of other countries, and ambition is something that can be seen in many ways – with the experiences of residents sometimes quite different to the views held by outsiders. So, which country did our participants consider to be home to those with the most ambition?

More than a third of those surveyed globally consider those in the United States to be the most ambitious, with this perception likely driven by national narratives of the American Dream. American culture is often characterised by the idea that hard work creates success, with Americans also seen to celebrate achievement more publicly than in other countries.

China ranks in second place, with 15% of participants acknowledging the ambition of those in this Asian powerhouse. With China following the United States as the world’s second biggest economy and known for its leading advancements in technology and manufacturing, as well as a culture of high-pressure education and demanding work hours, it’s easy to see why people associate the country with high ambition.

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Japan places third, with 9% of participants perceiving residents of the country as the most ambitious, despite Japan ranking last based on residents’ own scores. The gap may reflect a culture where individuals place high value on humility and group harmony, often downplaying their own achievements.

Germany (5%) and India (2%) complete the top five – with Germany the only European country to make a strong impression on ambition levels, given that the remaining European countries received less votes combined than the US did alone.

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The 10 nations perceived as most ambitious:

Ranking	Country	Continent	% of Votes for Most Ambitious Nation
1	United States	North America	35%
2	China	Asia	15%
3	Japan	Asia	9%
4	Germany	Europe	5%
5	India	Asia	2%
6	Switzerland	Europe	2%
7	South Africa	Africa	2%
8	Australia	Oceania	2%
9	Canada	North America	2%
10	Poland	Europe	2%

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Interestingly, aside from the United States, only three nations named themselves as the most ambitious: South Africa, Poland and Germany.

The United States was voted top among the 25 remaining countries, including by those in the UK. But despite this reputation amongst the other nations, the US ranks only 16th for ambition based on residents’ perception of their own ambition.

However, the United States is clearly a hub for those with ambition who are looking to make their mark, with the country named the leader for business travel last year, with the largest and most valuable corporate market (as reported by Conference & Meetings World). Our previous research into the smoothest cities for travellers also found that North American locations made up over half of the top 10 rankings – which is great news for anyone who’s hoping to make a low-stress business trip.

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Which nations perceive themselves to be the most ambitious?

According to our research, South Africa leads the ranking with an overall score of 22.8 out of a possible 25, suggesting that the majority of residents see themselves as being very ambitious. Almost all South African respondents (96%) say they strive for success, and a huge 93% said it's very important to them to achieve outstanding results in life.

In recent years, South Africa has set its sights on becoming a leading digital investment destination, an ambition announced by their President, Cyril Ramaphosa. With a focus on data infrastructure, AI and cloud computing, South Africa’s digital economy trajectory is growing quickly, and so is the ambitious mindset of its citizens.

Brazil follows closely behind in second place, achieving an Ambition Score of 21.0 out of 25, and there's no surprise that this nation appeared in the top rankings. Known for its ‘garra’, a Portuguese word meaning grit or ‘fighting spirit’, it’s clear that Brazilians are highly regarded for their ambition, and they believe it themselves too.

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Mexico ranks in third place with a score of 20.4 out of 25 and completes the top three most ambitious nations revealed in our study. Nearly nine in 10 (88%) Mexican respondents said they strive for success, with 84% saying they also have challenging goals.

In fourth place is Canada (20.0 out of 25), followed by Portugal (19.7 out of 25) which rounds out the top five most ambitious nations across the world. Just over three quarters (76%) of Canadians said it is important for them to achieve outstanding results in their lives, with 75% of Portuguese respondents saying the same thing.

Closer to home, the United Kingdom ranked in 24th place, achieving an Ambition Score of 18.3 out of 25. Whilst a huge amount of ambition is still clear to see, with 62% of Brits describing themselves as ambitious and only a quarter (26%) saying they're not, it was only enough for the UK to rank within the bottom five nations globally.

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See below for the full ranking of the world’s most ambitious nations:

Ranking	Country	Continent	Average ‘ambition’ score (/25)
1	South Africa	Africa	22.8
2	Brazil	South America	21.0
3	Mexico	North America	20.4
4	Canada	North America	20.0
5	Portugal	Europe	19.7
6	Hungary	Europe	19.5
7	Poland	Europe	19.4
8	Austria	Europe	19.2
9	Ireland	Europe	19.2
10	Spain	Europe	19.2
11	Greece	Europe	19.2
12	Chile	South America	19.1
13	Netherlands	Europe	19.1
14	Norway	Europe	19.0
15	Finland	Europe	18.9
16	United States	North America	18.9
17	Germany	Europe	18.9
18	Czech Republic	Europe	18.8
19	New Zealand	Oceania	18.8
20	Sweden	Europe	18.5
21	Denmark	Europe	18.5
22	Australia	Oceania	18.5
23	Italy	Europe	18.5
24	United Kingdom	Europe	18.3
25	Belgium	Europe	18.2
26	France	Europe	17.9
27	Estonia	Europe	17.6
28	Japan	Asia	17.3

From business travellers heading overseas for important meetings, to families heading on a beach holiday, ambition is the driver that keeps people moving. So why not make chasing your dreams that little bit easier by booking one of our airport hotels? You know what you’re getting with a Premier Inn.

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To identify the world’s most ambitious nations, we conducted a survey of 5,354 people across 28 countries via research platform Prolific. Ambition Scores were then calculated using the validated 5-item Ambition Scale developed by Hirschi & Spurk (2021, Journal of Vocational Behavior), a peer-reviewed psychological measure of ambition as a general personal trait. Respondents rated their agreement with five statements, covering general ambition, striving for success, goal-setting and the desire to achieve outstanding results, on a 5-point scale.

Scores were averaged by nationality to produce an overall Ambition Score out of 25 for each country, which were then ranked to reveal the world's most ambitious nations. All rankings are based on unrounded figures.

Respondents were also asked their nationality, employment status and which country they perceive to be most ambitious, as well as two supplementary statements not included in the core Ambition Score: the extent to which they agreed that ambition is generally seen as a positive trait in their country, and how ambitious they consider themselves relative to others in their country.

All data is correct as of September 2026.

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