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Public social spending as share of GDP in Portugal

Portugal: Public social spending as share of GDP was 24.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
24.1%
Change on year
up 4.9%
World rank
12th
of 42 countries
All-time high
26.1%
in 2020
All-time low
9.5%
in 1980
Years of data
45
1980–2024

Public social spending as share of GDP in Portugal, 1980–2024

01020301980200220241980: 9.5 % of GDP1981: 10.2 % of GDP1982: 9.6 % of GDP1983: 9.7 % of GDP1984: 9.7 % of GDP1985: 9.8 % of GDP1986: 10.4 % of GDP1987: 10.7 % of GDP1988: 10.9 % of GDP1989: 10.5 % of GDP1990: 12.2 % of GDP1991: 13.1 % of GDP1992: 13.8 % of GDP1993: 15.1 % of GDP1994: 15.2 % of GDP1995: 16 % of GDP1996: 16.6 % of GDP1997: 16.4 % of GDP1998: 16.8 % of GDP1999: 17.2 % of GDP2000: 18.6 % of GDP2001: 19.1 % of GDP2002: 20.4 % of GDP2003: 21.5 % of GDP2004: 21.8 % of GDP2005: 22.4 % of GDP2006: 21.6 % of GDP2007: 21.3 % of GDP2008: 21.8 % of GDP2009: 24.1 % of GDP2010: 24.3 % of GDP2011: 24.2 % of GDP2012: 24.3 % of GDP2013: 25.4 % of GDP2014: 25 % of GDP2015: 24 % of GDP2016: 23.5 % of GDP2017: 22.8 % of GDP2018: 22.5 % of GDP2019: 22.3 % of GDP2020: 26.1 % of GDP2021: 25.5 % of GDP2022: 24.1 % of GDP2023: 23 % of GDP2024: 24.1 % of GDP

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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest 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

  1. 9 Spain 25.9% compare
  2. 10 Japan 24.7% compare
  3. 11 New Zealand 24.6% compare
  4. 13 Norway 24.1% compare
  5. 15 Greece 23.7% compare

See the full ranking of 42 places →

More reference data data for Portugal

All data for Portugal →

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

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.