In 2021, European Union (EU) countries spent 1,882 billion euros on pension payments, equivalent to 12.9% of GDP. According to data released by Eurostat, although spending on these old-age benefits increased by 2.8% compared to 2020, the weight in GDP was 0.7 percentage points (p.p.) lower than in 2020, the year in which it stood at 13.6%.

Portugal is one of the EU countries where old-age and survivors' pensions weigh the most on GDP: it ranks 5th out of 27 countries.

According to the European Statistics Office, in Portugal, old-age and survivors' pensions represented 14.2% of GDP in 2021. Only Greece (16.4%), Italy (16.3%), Austria (15%) and France (14.9%) are ahead of Portugal in the ranking.

Ireland, with a pension weight of 4.5% of GDP, is at the bottom of the table. Next on the list are Malta (6.4%), Hungary (7%), and Lithuania (7.1%), which are the four countries where the effort to pay pensions is lowest.