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

Portugal
4.5%
in 2022
Spain
4.5%
in 2022
Portugal rank
70th
Spain rank
72nd

Initial government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP over time

  • Portugal
  • Spain
123456197019962022

How they compare

Portugal currently reports 4.5% against 4.5% in Spain, a difference of 0.0%.

The two have swapped places 4 times across 37 shared years of data; in 1974 it was Portugal ahead.

Portugal ranks 70th and Spain ranks 72nd of 185 countries.

Portugal has averaged higher in every one of the 6 decades both report.

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% 0.8% Portugal
2010s 5.0% 4.4% 0.6% Portugal
2020s 4.7% 4.7% 0.0% Portugal

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher initial government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp, Portugal or Spain?
Portugal, at 4.5% against 4.5% in Spain as of 2022.
What is the difference in initial government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp between Portugal and Spain?
0.0%, with Portugal 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 initial government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp?
Portugal ranks 70th and Spain ranks 72nd of 185 countries.
Where does this data come from?
UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as Initial 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: Initial government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 15 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/compare/initial-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/initial-government-expenditure-on-education-as-a-percentage-of-gdp-percent/portugal/spain/">Portugal vs Spain: Initial government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Initial 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
185 places, 4,380 data points, 1970–2025
Last refreshed

February 2026 Data Release