Portugal vs Spain: Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP

Portugal
4.6%
in 2022
Spain
4.6%
in 2022
Portugal rank
78th
Spain rank
77th

Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP over time

  • Portugal
  • Spain
123456197019962022

How they compare

Spain currently reports 4.6% against 4.6% in Portugal, a difference of 0.0%.

The two have swapped places 3 times across 37 shared years of data; in 1974 it was Portugal ahead.

Portugal ranks 78th and Spain ranks 77th of 199 countries.

Across the 6 decades both report, Portugal averaged higher in 5 and Spain in 1.

Head to head by decade

Decade Portugal Spain Difference Ahead
1970s 2.7% 2.0% 0.7% Portugal
1980s 3.3% 3.3% 0.0% Portugal
1990s 4.5% 4.1% 0.4% Portugal
2000s 5.1% 4.3% 0.9% Portugal
2010s 5.0% 4.4% 0.6% Portugal
2020s 4.7% 4.7% 0.0% Spain

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp, Portugal or Spain?
Spain, at 4.6% against 4.6% in Portugal as of 2022.
What is the difference in government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp between Portugal and Spain?
0.0%, with Spain ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Portugal and Spain?
37 years are reported by both, from 1974 to 2022.
How do Portugal and Spain rank globally for government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp?
Portugal ranks 78th and Spain ranks 77th of 199 countries.
Where does this data come from?
UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP (%). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Portugal vs Spain: Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 16 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/compare/government-expenditure-on-education-as-a-percentage-of-gdp-percent/portugal/spain/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://education.statizoid.com/compare/government-expenditure-on-education-as-a-percentage-of-gdp-percent/portugal/spain/">Portugal vs Spain: Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
Coverage
199 places, 5,141 data points, 1970–2025
Last refreshed

February 2026 Data Release