LISBON, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Portugal's current spending on health saw an increase of 5.1 percent in 2018, according to the figures released on Thursday by Portuguese National Statistics Institute (INE).

The increase, the highest of its kind since 2008, is higher than the nominal growth rate of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the southwestern European country.

The current expenditure last year amounted to 18,345.1 million euros, representing 9.1 percent of the GDP, the statistics said, adding that the public spending (5.3 percent) grew faster than private spending (4.6 percent).

Meanwhile, the growth in direct health spending by households in Portugal accelerated last year to 4.4 percent after a "slight slowdown" in 2017, it said.