Government expenditure on tertiary education as % of GDP in Portugal

Portugal: Government expenditure on tertiary education as % of GDP was 0.8% in 2017. ▲ Rising

Latest (2017)
0.8%
Change on year
down 10.4%
World rank
83rd
of 160 countries
All-time high
1.1%
in 2007
All-time low
0.2%
in 1973
Years of data
40
1973–2017

Government expenditure on tertiary education as % of GDP in Portugal, 1973–2017

0.20.40.60.811.21973199520171973: 0.189 %1974: 0.193 %1975: 0.346 %1976: 0.32 %1978: 0.374 %1979: 0.326 %1980: 0.359 %1981: 0.378 %1982: 0.42 %1983: 0.427 %1984: 0.447 %1985: 0.479 %1986: 0.503 %1987: 0.55 %1988: 0.598 %1989: 0.638 %1990: 0.668 %1991: 0.668 %1992: 0.791 %1993: 0.794 %1994: 0.778 %1995: 0.85 %1996: 0.918 %1999: 0.942 %2000: 0.936 %2001: 0.982 %2002: 0.906 %2003: 0.953 %2004: 0.832 %2005: 0.919 %2006: 0.935 %2007: 1.1 %2008: 0.908 %2009: 1 %2010: 1.1 %2011: 1 %2013: 0.895 %2014: 0.913 %2015: 0.894 %2017: 0.801 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

Portugal recorded 0.8% for government expenditure on tertiary education as % of gdp in 2017.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 10.4% on the previous year and down 28.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, government expenditure on tertiary education as % of gdp in Portugal peaked at 1.1% in 2007 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 1973.

That places Portugal 83rd out of 160 countries with data for 2017, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 40 years of available data.

Government expenditure on tertiary education as % of GDP in Portugal, year by year

Annual values for Government expenditure on tertiary education as % of GDP (%) in Portugal, 1973 to 2017.
Year % Change
1973 0.2%
1974 0.2% +1.9%
1975 0.3% +79.1%
1976 0.3% -7.4%
1978 0.4% +17.0%
1979 0.3% -12.9%
1980 0.4% +9.9%
1981 0.4% +5.6%
1982 0.4% +11.1%
1983 0.4% +1.5%
1984 0.4% +4.8%
1985 0.5% +7.0%
1986 0.5% +5.2%
1987 0.6% +9.3%
1988 0.6% +8.7%
1989 0.6% +6.7%
1990 0.7% +4.7%
1991 0.7% +0.0%
1992 0.8% +18.3%
1993 0.8% +0.4%
1994 0.8% -1.9%
1995 0.9% +9.2%
1996 0.9% +8.0%
1999 0.9% +2.5%
2000 0.9% -0.6%
2001 1.0% +4.9%
2002 0.9% -7.7%
2003 1.0% +5.2%
2004 0.8% -12.7%
2005 0.9% +10.6%
2006 0.9% +1.6%
2007 1.1% +19.4%
2008 0.9% -18.6%
2009 1.0% +13.5%
2010 1.1% +5.8%
2011 1.0% -7.5%
2013 0.9% -11.3%
2014 0.9% +2.0%
2015 0.9% -2.1%
2017 0.8% -10.4%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 0.3% 0.2% 0.4% 6
1980s 0.5% 0.4% 0.6% 10
1990s 0.8% 0.7% 0.9% 8
2000s 1.0% 0.8% 1.1% 10
2010s 0.9% 0.8% 1.1% 6

Countries ranked near Portugal

  1. 80 Bulgaria 0.8% compare
  2. 81 Paraguay 0.8% compare
  3. 82 Hungary 0.8% compare
  4. 84 Belarus 0.8% compare
  5. 85 Slovakia 0.8% compare
  6. 86 South Sudan 0.8% compare

See the full ranking of 160 places →

More reference data data for Portugal

All data for Portugal →

Frequently asked questions

What is government expenditure on tertiary education as % of gdp in Portugal?
Government expenditure on tertiary education as % of gdp in Portugal was 0.8% in 2017, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest government expenditure on tertiary education as % of gdp recorded in Portugal?
The highest recorded value was 1.1% in 2007.
What is the lowest government expenditure on tertiary education as % of gdp recorded in Portugal?
The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 1973.
How does Portugal rank for government expenditure on tertiary education as % of gdp?
Portugal ranks 83rd out of 160 countries with data for 2017.
Is government expenditure on tertiary education as % of gdp rising or falling in Portugal?
Over the last ten years it is down 28.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Portugal data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Government expenditure on tertiary education as % of GDP (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Government expenditure on tertiary education as % of GDP in Portugal. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 08 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/government-expenditure-on-tertiary-education-as-percent-of-gdp-percent/portugal/

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About this data

Indicator
Government expenditure on tertiary education as % of GDP (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
160 places, 3,221 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Total general (local, regional and central) government expenditure on tertiary education (current, capital, and transfers), expressed as a percentage of GDP. It includes expenditure funded by transfers from international sources to government. Divide total government expenditure for a given level of education (ex. primary, secondary, or all levels combined) by the GDP, and multiply by 100. A higher percentage of GDP spent on education shows a higher government priority for education, but also a higher capacity of the government to raise revenues for public spending, in relation to the size of the country's economy. When interpreting this indicator however, one should keep in mind in some countries, the private sector and/or households may fund a higher proportion of total funding for education, thus making government expenditure appear lower than in other countries. Limitations: In some instances data on total public expenditure on education refers only to the Ministry of Education, excluding other ministries which may also spend a part of their budget on educational activities. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/