Why some European governments are bigger than others—and the U.S.
A post on X (formerly Twitter) compares the size of governments in Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, and the United States.
On one hand, Portugal, with around 10 million people, once had a government of 70 members; on the other, countries with populations of 50 million, 70 million, and even nearly 350 million often have half—or even fewer—government officials.
Though the tweet is recent, it references past governments, as seen in the figures cited. Beyond alluding to António Costa's 2019 administration, it also harks back to a time when Angela Merkel was still German chancellor—a role she left in 2021.
It is true that Costa's 2019 government included 70 members—20 ministers (including the prime minister) and 50 secretaries of state. This was the largest since 2015, but today, Portugal has a government of 17 ministers (including the prime minister) and 43 secretaries of state, totaling 60 members.
In Spain, as of January 2020, the left-wing coalition executive consisted of the prime minister, 22 ministers, and 28 secretaries of state—51 government members in all. Currently, the number of ministers remains the same (23, including Pedro Sánchez), but the number of secretaries of state has risen to 35, bringing the total to 58. Spain's population stands at roughly 49 million.
France, in 2020 under Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, had 16 ministers and 21 junior ministers (equivalent to secretaries of state), totaling 38 government members—compared to Costa's "bloated" administration at the time. Today, France has 39 government members, with a population of nearly 69 million.
In Germany, the 2020 government included 14 ministers, along with Chancellor Angela Merkel and Vice-Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Currently, Friedrich Merz's government has 17 ministers, in a country of over 83 million people.
In the U.S., as recently as 2019, during the third year of Donald Trump's first term, the Cabinet consisted of 24 members, including secretaries—a figure that remains unchanged in the current administration, again under Trump. The U.S. population now exceeds 342 million.
It is important to note that governmental structures vary by country. In federal systems like Germany's, regional levels carry significant political weight. Thus, comparing the total number of government members across countries without accounting for these differences can lead to misleading conclusions.
Nevertheless, it is true that Portugal has a higher-than-average number of government members for Europe (16.5 ministers), particularly when secretaries of state are included.
SIC Verifica confirms that the post is based on real data, such as the fact that Portugal once had a 70-member government under António Costa. However, it presents the information in a potentially misleading way—both by using examples from over five years ago and by comparing countries with different political systems.
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