Portugal vs Spain: Military personnel as a share of total population
Portugal
0.3%
in 2022
Spain
0.3%
in 2022
Portugal rank
91st
Spain rank
90th
Military personnel as a share of total population over time
- Portugal
- Spain
How they compare
Spain currently reports 0.3% against 0.3% in Portugal, a difference of 0.0%.
The two have swapped places 22 times across 200 shared years of data; in 1816 it was Spain ahead.
Portugal ranks 91st and Spain ranks 90th of 194 countries.
Across the 22 decades both report, Portugal averaged higher in 13 and Spain in 9.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Portugal | Spain | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1810s | 0.8% | 1.1% | 0.3% | Spain |
| 1820s | 1.0% | 1.0% | 0.1% | Portugal |
| 1830s | 1.6% | 0.7% | 0.9% | Portugal |
| 1840s | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.0% | Portugal |
| 1850s | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.1% | Spain |
| 1860s | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.1% | Spain |
| 1870s | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.1% | Portugal |
| 1880s | 0.7% | 0.9% | 0.2% | Spain |
| 1890s | 0.6% | 0.8% | 0.1% | Spain |
| 1900s | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.1% | Portugal |
| 1910s | 1.2% | 0.9% | 0.4% | Portugal |
| 1920s | 0.7% | 0.8% | 0.1% | Spain |
| 1930s | 0.5% | 1.2% | 0.6% | Spain |
| 1940s | 0.7% | 1.8% | 1.2% | Spain |
| 1950s | 0.9% | 1.7% | 0.8% | Spain |
| 1960s | 1.8% | 1.1% | 0.7% | Portugal |
| 1970s | 1.9% | 1.0% | 0.9% | Portugal |
| 1980s | 1.0% | 0.9% | 0.1% | Portugal |
| 1990s | 0.8% | 0.5% | 0.3% | Portugal |
| 2000s | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.1% | Portugal |
| 2010s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.1% | Portugal |
| 2020s | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.0% | Portugal |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher military personnel as a share of total population, Portugal or Spain?
- Spain, at 0.3% against 0.3% in Portugal as of 2022.
- What is the difference in military personnel as a share of total population between Portugal and Spain?
- 0.0%, with Spain ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Portugal and Spain?
- 200 years are reported by both, from 1816 to 2022.
- How do Portugal and Spain rank globally for military personnel as a share of total population?
- Portugal ranks 91st and Spain ranks 90th of 194 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Correlates of War - National Material Capabilities Version 7.0 (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Military personnel as a share of total population. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Ratio of military personnel to total population, expressed as a percentage.