Economist Podcasts Boom with a view: our economy of the year
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Dec 30, 2025 
Join Callum Williams, a Senior economics writer at The Economist, as he reveals Portugal as the top economy of the year, highlighting tourism and controlled inflation. Shailesh Chitnas, a Global business writer, dives into the underappreciated facets of Dalit cuisine, connecting it to social stigma and cultural heritage. Finally, Charlotte Kilpatrick explores the revival of London's river boats, detailing their history and the resurgence in ridership post-pandemic. It's a fascinating mix of economics, culture, and transport!
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Five Metrics Make The Table
- The ranking uses five indicators: inflation, inflation breadth, GDP growth, employment growth and share-price growth.
- Callum Williams combines rankings across those indicators to create a single final score for each rich country.
Portugal's Winning Year
- Portugal topped The Economist's 2025 economy ranking thanks to tourism, inbound movers and controlled inflation.
- Southern Europe has recovered strongly after long underperformance, with Spain and Greece also recently topping the list.
Energy Shock Still Shapes Rankings
- Countries most exposed to the 2022 energy-price shock have underperformed consistently.
- Estonia, Finland and Britain rank poorly largely because of their high exposure to Russian gas price shocks.