Expense in Portugal

Portugal: Expense was 37.2% in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
37.2%
Change on year
down 5.5%
World rank
28th
of 157 countries
All-time high
47.6%
in 2014
All-time low
23.7%
in 1975
Years of data
48
1975–2023

Expense in Portugal, 1975–2023

01020304050197519992023

Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of GDP.

Analysis

In 2023, expense in Portugal stood at 37.2%.

The figure is down 5.5% on the previous year and down 18.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, expense in Portugal peaked at 47.6% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 23.7%, in 1975.

Portugal ranks 28th of 157 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 48 years of available data.

Expense in Portugal, year by year

Annual values for Expense (% of GDP) in Portugal, 1975 to 2023.
Year % of GDP Change
1975 23.7%
1976 25.9% +9.3%
1978 26.2% +0.9%
1979 26.0% -0.7%
1980 27.4% +5.4%
1981 29.6% +8.1%
1982 29.1% -1.7%
1983 30.8% +5.9%
1984 29.5% -4.2%
1985 33.6% +13.8%
1986 33.7% +0.3%
1987 30.1% -10.5%
1988 29.8% -1.1%
1989 31.2% +4.6%
1990 32.3% +3.8%
1991 34.7% +7.5%
1992 35.9% +3.3%
1993 37.2% +3.8%
1994 35.0% -6.1%
1995 37.2% +6.3%
1996 37.0% -0.4%
1997 35.9% -3.1%
1998 37.1% +3.5%
1999 36.9% -0.5%
2000 37.2% +0.7%
2001 38.1% +2.3%
2002 38.4% +1.0%
2003 39.7% +3.4%
2004 40.4% +1.5%
2005 41.3% +2.4%
2006 40.0% -3.2%
2007 39.2% -2.0%
2008 40.2% +2.6%
2009 43.3% +7.7%
2010 44.1% +2.0%
2011 44.5% +0.7%
2012 44.4% -0.3%
2013 45.6% +2.7%
2014 47.6% +4.3%
2015 44.0% -7.5%
2016 41.3% -6.1%
2017 41.7% +0.8%
2018 39.3% -5.7%
2019 38.7% -1.6%
2020 44.5% +15.1%
2021 42.5% -4.7%
2022 39.3% -7.4%
2023 37.2% -5.5%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 25.4% 23.7% 26.2% 4
1980s 30.5% 27.4% 33.7% 10
1990s 35.9% 32.3% 37.2% 10
2000s 39.8% 37.2% 43.3% 10
2010s 43.1% 38.7% 47.6% 10
2020s 40.9% 37.2% 44.5% 4

Countries ranked near Portugal

  1. 25 Estonia 37.7% compare
  2. 26 Israel 37.3% compare
  3. 27 Romania 37.3% compare
  4. 29 Uruguay 36.5% compare
  5. 30 Namibia 36.2% compare
  6. 31 Bulgaria 35.8% compare

See the full ranking of 183 places →

More economy & growth data for Portugal

All data for Portugal →

Frequently asked questions

What is expense in Portugal?
Expense in Portugal was 37.2% in 2023, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
What is the highest expense recorded in Portugal?
The highest recorded value was 47.6% in 2014.
What is the lowest expense recorded in Portugal?
The lowest recorded value was 23.7% in 1975.
How does Portugal rank for expense?
Portugal ranks 28th out of 157 countries with data for 2023.
Is expense rising or falling in Portugal?
Over the last ten years it is down 18.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Portugal data come from?
The figures come from Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Expense (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 48 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Expense in Portugal. Statizoid, drawing on Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Retrieved 31 August 2026, from https://economy.statizoid.com/stat/expense-percent-of-gdp/portugal/

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 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://economy.statizoid.com/stat/expense-percent-of-gdp/portugal/">Expense in Portugal</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Expense (% of GDP)
Unit
% of GDP
Source
Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
183 places, 5,211 data points, 1972–2024
Last refreshed

Expense is a decrease in net worth resulting from a transaction. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.