Public social spending as share of GDP in Portugal
Portugal: Public social spending as share of GDP was 24.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Public social spending as share of GDP in Portugal, 1980–2024
Source: OECD (2025); OECD (1985); Lindert (2004) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Portugal recorded 24.1% for public social spending as share of gdp in 2024.
That represents a change of up 4.9% on the previous year and down 3.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, public social spending as share of gdp in Portugal peaked at 26.1% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 9.5%, in 1980.
That places Portugal 12th out of 42 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Public social spending as share of GDP in Portugal, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 9.5% | — |
| 1981 | 10.2% | +6.7% |
| 1982 | 9.6% | -5.3% |
| 1983 | 9.7% | +1.2% |
| 1984 | 9.7% | -0.7% |
| 1985 | 9.8% | +1.7% |
| 1986 | 10.4% | +6.0% |
| 1987 | 10.7% | +2.6% |
| 1988 | 10.9% | +1.5% |
| 1989 | 10.5% | -3.3% |
| 1990 | 12.2% | +16.5% |
| 1991 | 13.1% | +7.2% |
| 1992 | 13.8% | +5.0% |
| 1993 | 15.1% | +9.9% |
| 1994 | 15.2% | +0.8% |
| 1995 | 16.0% | +5.1% |
| 1996 | 16.6% | +3.6% |
| 1997 | 16.4% | -0.9% |
| 1998 | 16.8% | +2.4% |
| 1999 | 17.2% | +2.4% |
| 2000 | 18.6% | +7.7% |
| 2001 | 19.1% | +2.6% |
| 2002 | 20.4% | +7.1% |
| 2003 | 21.5% | +5.2% |
| 2004 | 21.8% | +1.6% |
| 2005 | 22.4% | +2.9% |
| 2006 | 21.6% | -3.5% |
| 2007 | 21.3% | -1.6% |
| 2008 | 21.8% | +2.2% |
| 2009 | 24.1% | +10.8% |
| 2010 | 24.3% | +0.8% |
| 2011 | 24.2% | -0.4% |
| 2012 | 24.3% | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 25.4% | +4.5% |
| 2014 | 25.0% | -1.7% |
| 2015 | 24.0% | -4.0% |
| 2016 | 23.5% | -2.0% |
| 2017 | 22.8% | -3.0% |
| 2018 | 22.5% | -1.3% |
| 2019 | 22.3% | -0.7% |
| 2020 | 26.1% | +16.7% |
| 2021 | 25.5% | -2.1% |
| 2022 | 24.1% | -5.6% |
| 2023 | 23.0% | -4.5% |
| 2024 | 24.1% | +4.9% |
Portugal compared with similar countries
- Portugal's 24.1% is above the median for high income countries, which is 22.3%, 1.1× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Portugal's 24.1% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 23.0%, 1.0× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 10.1% | 9.5% | 10.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 15.3% | 12.2% | 17.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 21.3% | 18.6% | 24.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 23.8% | 22.3% | 25.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 24.5% | 23.0% | 26.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Portugal
More reference data data for Portugal
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.5144 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.4372 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.51 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0472 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.51 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.72 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.81 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 6.9 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2572 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is public social spending as share of gdp in Portugal?
- Public social spending as share of gdp in Portugal was 24.1% in 2024, according to OECD (2025); OECD (1985); Lindert (2004) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest public social spending as share of gdp recorded in Portugal?
- The highest recorded value was 26.1% in 2020.
- What is the lowest public social spending as share of gdp recorded in Portugal?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.5% in 1980.
- How does Portugal rank for public social spending as share of gdp?
- Portugal ranks 12th out of 42 countries with data for 2024.
- Is public social spending as share of gdp rising or falling in Portugal?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Portugal data come from?
- The figures come from OECD (2025); OECD (1985); Lindert (2004) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Public social spending as share of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Public social expenditure divided bt gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.