Brazil vs Spain: Government spending as share of GDP vs. GDP per capita
Brazil
45.7%
in 2024
Spain
45.3%
in 2024
Brazil rank
26th
Spain rank
27th
Government spending as share of GDP vs. GDP per capita over time
- Brazil
- Spain
How they compare
Brazil currently reports 45.7% against 45.3% in Spain, a difference of 0.4%.
The two have swapped places 22 times across 132 shared years of data; in 1880 it was Brazil ahead.
Brazil ranks 26th and Spain ranks 27th of 151 countries.
Across the 15 decades both report, Brazil averaged higher in 6 and Spain in 9.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Brazil | Spain | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 24.4% | 9.2% | 15.2% | Brazil |
| 1890s | 15.4% | 9.2% | 6.2% | Brazil |
| 1900s | 13.4% | 8.7% | 4.7% | Brazil |
| 1910s | 14.0% | 11.6% | 2.4% | Brazil |
| 1920s | 9.3% | 13.4% | 4.1% | Spain |
| 1930s | 12.1% | 12.8% | 0.6% | Spain |
| 1940s | 9.9% | 17.4% | 7.5% | Spain |
| 1950s | 8.1% | 9.4% | 1.3% | Spain |
| 1960s | 16.5% | 12.0% | 4.5% | Brazil |
| 1970s | 10.8% | 12.4% | 1.6% | Spain |
| 1980s | 9.3% | 23.6% | 14.3% | Spain |
| 1990s | 39.3% | 41.5% | 2.1% | Spain |
| 2000s | 40.5% | 39.8% | 0.7% | Brazil |
| 2010s | 42.3% | 44.2% | 2.0% | Spain |
| 2020s | 44.2% | 47.6% | 3.4% | Spain |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher government spending as share of gdp vs. gdp per capita, Brazil or Spain?
- Brazil, at 45.7% against 45.3% in Spain as of 2024.
- What is the difference in government spending as share of gdp vs. gdp per capita between Brazil and Spain?
- 0.4%, with Brazil ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Brazil and Spain?
- 132 years are reported by both, from 1880 to 2024.
- How do Brazil and Spain rank globally for government spending as share of gdp vs. gdp per capita?
- Brazil ranks 26th and Spain ranks 27th of 151 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- International Monetary Fund (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Government spending as share of GDP vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Sum of all the money spent by the government on goods and services, as a percentage of GDP. It includes interest paid on government debt.