Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Portugal
Portugal: Government spending on education as a share of GDP was 4.6% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Portugal, 1973–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Portugal recorded 4.6% for government spending on education as a share of gdp in 2022.
The figure is down 4.6% on the previous year and down 7.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government spending on education as a share of gdp in Portugal peaked at 5.6% in 2009 and was at its lowest, 1.6%, in 1973.
That places Portugal 78th out of 199 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 46 years of available data.
Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Portugal, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 1.6% | — |
| 1974 | 1.9% | +18.4% |
| 1975 | 3.1% | +58.2% |
| 1976 | 3.1% | +0.5% |
| 1978 | 2.9% | -5.8% |
| 1979 | 2.7% | -6.9% |
| 1980 | 3.1% | +13.6% |
| 1981 | 3.2% | +3.9% |
| 1982 | 3.3% | +4.5% |
| 1983 | 3.2% | -2.9% |
| 1984 | 3.1% | -2.8% |
| 1985 | 3.3% | +3.8% |
| 1986 | 3.0% | -6.5% |
| 1987 | 3.2% | +3.6% |
| 1988 | 3.4% | +7.3% |
| 1989 | 3.5% | +2.6% |
| 1990 | 3.6% | +2.7% |
| 1991 | 4.1% | +14.1% |
| 1992 | 4.3% | +6.5% |
| 1993 | 4.8% | +11.6% |
| 1994 | 4.7% | -3.5% |
| 1995 | 4.6% | -1.2% |
| 1996 | 5.1% | +9.8% |
| 1999 | 5.0% | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 5.2% | +2.3% |
| 2001 | 5.3% | +3.4% |
| 2002 | 5.3% | -1.5% |
| 2003 | 5.3% | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 5.0% | -4.5% |
| 2005 | 5.1% | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 4.9% | -3.3% |
| 2007 | 4.9% | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 4.7% | -4.6% |
| 2009 | 5.6% | +18.5% |
| 2010 | 5.4% | -2.8% |
| 2011 | 5.1% | -5.3% |
| 2012 | 4.9% | -3.4% |
| 2013 | 5.3% | +6.5% |
| 2014 | 5.1% | -2.8% |
| 2015 | 4.9% | -4.4% |
| 2017 | 5.0% | +2.7% |
| 2018 | 4.7% | -6.9% |
| 2019 | 4.6% | -1.1% |
| 2020 | 4.9% | +5.1% |
| 2021 | 4.8% | -1.9% |
| 2022 | 4.6% | -4.6% |
Portugal compared with similar countries
- Portugal's 4.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is 4.4%, 1.0× the median. (72 countries reporting)
- Portugal's 4.6% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 4.5%, 1.0× the median. (51 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Portugal changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | +58.2% | 1.9% | 3.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.6% | 1.6% | 3.1% | 6 |
| 1980s | 3.2% | 3.0% | 3.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.5% | 3.6% | 5.1% | 8 |
| 2000s | 5.1% | 4.7% | 5.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.0% | 4.6% | 5.4% | 9 |
| 2020s | 4.7% | 4.6% | 4.9% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Portugal
More education data for Portugal
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 82,664 (2018)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 11,380 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 136,282 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 128,743 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 741,752 (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 598,661 (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.89 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0566 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government spending on education as a share of gdp in Portugal?
- Government spending on education as a share of gdp in Portugal was 4.6% in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest government spending on education as a share of gdp recorded in Portugal?
- The highest recorded value was 5.6% in 2009.
- What is the lowest government spending on education as a share of gdp recorded in Portugal?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.6% in 1973.
- How does Portugal rank for government spending on education as a share of gdp?
- Portugal ranks 78th out of 199 countries with data for 2022.
- Is government spending on education as a share of gdp rising or falling in Portugal?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.9%. 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 (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Government spending on education as a share of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 46 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Total annual general government spending on all levels of education, expressed as a percentage of GDP.