The ranking was based on six metrics: risk of natural disasters, road fatalities, data breach rates, GDP per capita, billionaires per capita, and the volume of online searches related to luck.

Portugal had an overall score of 32.50 out of 100, with a low score on the World Risk Index of 4.76. The country has a low rate of billionaires at only 0.10 per million and a modest GDP per capita of $35,430.

Europe dominates the ranking

European countries dominate the ranking, occupying all spots in the Top 10. Switzerland ranks as the luckiest country in the world with a score of 78.19 out of 100. The country has a low score of just 1.23 in the World Risk Index, the highest rate of billionaires in the study, 4.59 per million, along with an impressive GDP per capita of $126,180.

Luxembourg and Norway place second and third on the ranking, with Luxembourg standing out for having the highest GDP per capita of $158,730, and the lowest World Risk Index score of 0.57. Norway registers the lowest rate of road fatalities, with only 1.60 per 100,000 people.

Not chasing luck

Holger Sindbaek, founder of the traditional card game platform World of Card Games, says the dominance of European nations in the Top 10 demonstrates how deeply rooted favourable conditions are across the continent: “Citizens in these regions inherit a quality of life where physical and digital security are a given, not an exception.”

According to Sindbaek, the data reveal that truly “lucky” countries are so stable and prosperous that their citizens rarely feel the need to chase after luck, arguing that this can be seen by the low volume of online searches related to luck.