Portugal vs Spain: Public social spending as share of GDP
Portugal
24.1%
in 2024
Spain
25.9%
in 2024
Portugal rank
12th
Spain rank
9th
Public social spending as share of GDP over time
- Portugal
- Spain
How they compare
Spain currently reports 25.9% against 24.1% in Portugal, a difference of 1.8%.
That makes Spain's figure about 1.1 times Portugal's.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 45 shared years of data; in 1980 it was Spain ahead.
Portugal ranks 12th and Spain ranks 9th of 42 countries.
Across the 5 decades both report, Portugal averaged higher in 1 and Spain in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Portugal | Spain | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 10.1% | 16.6% | 6.5% | Spain |
| 1990s | 15.3% | 20.4% | 5.2% | Spain |
| 2000s | 21.3% | 20.2% | 1.1% | Portugal |
| 2010s | 23.8% | 24.7% | 0.9% | Spain |
| 2020s | 24.5% | 27.4% | 2.8% | Spain |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher public social spending as share of gdp, Portugal or Spain?
- Spain, at 25.9% against 24.1% in Portugal as of 2024.
- What is the difference in public social spending as share of gdp between Portugal and Spain?
- 1.8%, with Spain ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Portugal and Spain?
- 45 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2024.
- How do Portugal and Spain rank globally for public social spending as share of gdp?
- Portugal ranks 12th and Spain ranks 9th of 42 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- OECD (2025); OECD (1985); Lindert (2004) β 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
Public social expenditure divided bt gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.