Germany vs Portugal: Social spending as share of GDP
Germany
0.2%
in 2021
Portugal
0.2%
in 2021
Germany rank
31st
Portugal rank
29th
Social spending as share of GDP over time
- Germany
- Portugal
How they compare
Portugal currently reports 0.2% against 0.2% in Germany, a difference of 0.0%.
That makes Portugal's figure about 1.2 times Germany's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 42 shared years of data; in 1980 it was Germany ahead.
Germany ranks 31st and Portugal ranks 29th of 42 countries.
Across the 5 decades both report, Germany averaged higher in 2 and Portugal in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Germany | Portugal | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.4% | 0.0% | 0.3% | Germany |
| 1990s | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.1% | Germany |
| 2000s | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.1% | Portugal |
| 2010s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.0% | Portugal |
| 2020s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.0% | Portugal |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher social spending as share of gdp, Germany or Portugal?
- Portugal, at 0.2% against 0.2% in Germany as of 2021.
- What is the difference in social spending as share of gdp between Germany and Portugal?
- 0.0%, with Portugal ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Germany and Portugal?
- 42 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2021.
- How do Germany and Portugal rank globally for social spending as share of gdp?
- Germany ranks 31st and Portugal ranks 29th of 42 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- OECD (2025) β with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Social spending as share of GDP. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Public social expenditure divided by gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage. Includes both in-cash and in-kind benefits in other social policy programs.