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Spain and Portugal

The same question asked of every column. Numbers that break down by age or sex follow the controls; the rest stay country-wide and say so.

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Spain

Portugal

The widest gap is Disposable income per person: Spain €20,367 against Portugal €14,465, 40.8% apart.

Ageall ages
Sex

One question per row

The faint tick on each bar is the EU27 figure.

Figure
Spain
Portugal

People

Median age1.5 years
45.8 years
47.3 years
Life expectancy at birth1.5 years
84.0 years
82.5 years
People4.57×
49.1m
10.7m
People per square kilometre21.0%
97.7 per km²
118 per km²
Women in the population1.2 points
51.0%
52.2%
Born abroad3.3 points
19.3%
16.0%
Born outside the EU3.6 points
16.0%
12.4%

Money and work

Disposable income per person40.8%
€20,367
€14,465
Average net income34.8%
€22,943
€17,019
Take-home pay, average-wage worker26.1%
€27,041
€21,449
Gross pay, average-wage worker26.3%
€35,076
€27,768
Minimum wage32.8%
€1,425
€1,073
In work, age 20 to 647.2 points
72.4%
79.6%
Out of work4.5 points
10.5%
6.0%
Hours worked a week2.2 hours
37.6 hours
39.8 hours
At risk of poverty4.1 points
19.5%
15.4%
Housing costs over 40% of income0.9 points
7.2%
6.3%
GDP per person20.5%
€34,210
€28,390

Family and home

People at home4.2%
2.5
2.4
Households with children0.5 points
31.9%
31.4%
Children per woman28.2%
1.1
1.41
Own their home2.4 points
73.6%
71.2%

Health and daily life

Hospital beds16.8%
284 per 100,000 people
331 per 100,000 people
Doctors7.5%
466 per 100,000 people
434 per 100,000 people

Education

With a degree9.7 points
42.4%
32.7%
Students per 1,000 people24.5%
50.3 per 1,000 people
40.4 per 1,000 people

Public spending

Public spending on them29.2%
€14,912
€11,542
Tax raised per person14.8%
€12,224
€10,648
Government debt11.0 points
100.7%
89.7%

Country and infrastructure

Land area5.49×
505,983 km²
92,226 km²
Railway density16.5%
32.3 per 1,000 km²
27.8 per 1,000 km²
Motorway density8.3%
31.6 per 1,000 km²
34.2 per 1,000 km²
Cars per 1,000 people2.0%
550 per 1,000 people
561 per 1,000 people
Households with internet6.3 points
97.4%
91.1%
Tourist nights per resident24.9%
10.39
8.32

Environment

Renewable energy10.7 points
26.0%
36.7%
Land under forest1.1 points
38.1%
37.0%

Where €100 of public spending goes

Every euro each general government spends, sorted into the ten functions all 27 countries report against. Open a row for the ranking of 27 and what sits inside it.

Spain

Portugal

Function
Spain
Portugal
12.8%
13.7%
2.0%
2.1%
4.0%
3.9%
11.2%
8.6%
2.1%
1.6%
1.1%
1.4%
14.2%
16.1%
2.7%
2.0%
9.1%
10.3%
41.0%
40.4%

Reference year 2024. Total public spending €100.00 in every column, so the ten shares always add up to one hundred.

Frequently asked: Spain and Portugal

  1. Which covers more ground: Spain or Portugal?

    The gap is 5.49×: Spain 505,983, Portugal 92,226. Total area of the country, inland water included. Eurostat · Land area & People per square kilometre · 2026. See the figure

  2. Where do more people live: Spain or Portugal?

    The gap is 4.57×: Spain 49.1m, Portugal 10.7m. People usually resident in the country on 1 January. Eurostat · People & Women in the population · 2025. See the figure

  3. Where is unemployment higher: Spain or Portugal?

    The gap is 4.5 points: Spain 10.5%, Portugal 6.0%. Share of 15 to 74 year olds in the labour force who are without work and looking for it. Eurostat · Out of work · 2025. See the figure

  4. Who has more to spend, the typical person in Spain or Portugal?

    The gap is 40.8%: Spain €20,367, Portugal €14,465. Median equivalised disposable income: household income after taxes and transfers, divided by household size on the OECD-modified scale. What one person has to spend — not a salary. Eurostat · Disposable income per person, Average net income, & Disposable income by age · 2025. See the figure

  5. Where does more energy come from renewables: Spain or Portugal?

    The gap is 10.7 points: Portugal 36.7%, Spain 26.0%. Share of final energy use that comes from renewable sources. Eurostat · Renewable energy · 2025. See the figure

  6. Which spends a larger share on recreation and culture: Spain or Portugal?

    The gap is 0.7 points: Spain 2.7%, Portugal 2.0%. Sport and recreation, libraries, museums, broadcasting, and places of worship. Eurostat · Public spending by function · 2024. See the figure

  7. Which spends a larger share on protecting the environment: Spain or Portugal?

    The gap is 0.5 points: Spain 2.1%, Portugal 1.6%. Waste and waste water, pollution control, biodiversity and landscape protection. Eurostat · Public spending by function · 2024. See the figure

  8. Where do more adults hold a degree: Spain or Portugal?

    The gap is 9.7 points: Spain 42.4%, Portugal 32.7%. Share of adults whose highest completed education is a university or other tertiary degree. Eurostat · With a degree · 2025. See the figure

  9. Where are more children born per woman: Spain or Portugal?

    The gap is 28.2%: Portugal 1.41, Spain 1.1. Children a woman would bear over her life at today’s age-specific birth rates. Eurostat · Children per woman & Age at first child · 2024. See the figure

  10. Where are there more hospital beds per 100,000 people: Spain or Portugal?

    The gap is 16.8%: Portugal 331, Spain 284. Beds available in hospitals, per 100,000 residents. Eurostat · Hospital beds · 2024. See the figure

Medians where possible, per-capita averages for spending. This person is a composite of published statistics, not the most common person in the country.