Japan vs Portugal: Public social spending as share of GDP

Japan
24.7%
in 2022
Portugal
24.1%
in 2024
Japan rank
10th
Portugal rank
12th

Public social spending as share of GDP over time

  • Japan
  • Portugal
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How they compare

Japan currently reports 24.7% against 24.1% in Portugal, a difference of 0.6%.

The two have swapped places 6 times across 43 shared years of data; in 1980 it was Japan ahead.

Japan ranks 10th and Portugal ranks 12th of 42 countries.

Across the 5 decades both report, Japan averaged higher in 1 and Portugal in 4.

Head to head by decade

Decade Japan Portugal Difference Ahead
1980s 10.6% 10.1% 0.5% Japan
1990s 12.4% 15.3% 2.9% Portugal
2000s 17.0% 21.3% 4.3% Portugal
2010s 21.9% 23.8% 1.9% Portugal
2020s 25.0% 25.2% 0.2% Portugal

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher public social spending as share of gdp, Japan or Portugal?
Japan, at 24.7% against 24.1% in Portugal as of 2022.
What is the difference in public social spending as share of gdp between Japan and Portugal?
0.6%, with Japan ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and Portugal?
43 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2022.
How do Japan and Portugal rank globally for public social spending as share of gdp?
Japan ranks 10th and Portugal ranks 12th of 42 countries.
Where does this data come from?
OECD (2025); OECD (1985); Lindert (2004) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Public social spending as share of GDP. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Public social spending as share of GDP
Unit
% of GDP
Source
OECD (2025); OECD (1985); Lindert (2004) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
42 places, 1,937 data points, 1880–2024
Last refreshed

Public social expenditure divided bt gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.