Portugal’s total debt falls to 355.3% of GDP

Portugal’s total economic debt (State, public and private companies and consumers) fell to its lowest rate since 2010 – from 357.6% of GDP to 355.2% of GDP in the second quarter.

The data was released on Thursday by the Bank of Portugal which states, “At the end of the first half of 2019, Portugal’s total “debt in the non-financial sector stood at around €730Bn , of which almost €329.9Bn came from the public sector and €401.1Bn from the private sector”, specifying that the amounts were produced from a revision of public debt stemming from a change in methodology in calculation at a European Union level which pushed up the figures.
Compared with the end of 2018, Portugal’s overall economic debt swelled 8.6Bn. “This increase resulted in an increase in public sector debt of €7.2Bn and of €1.5Bn in the private sector,” states the Bank of Portugal.
In the public sector, debt increased mainly as a consequence of the public administration (the State) and the non-resident sector, while debt fell in the public financial sector,” explains the Bank of Portugal.
In the private sector, the debt increase was down to companies debt, “Which reflects the increase of financing [loans) vis-à-vis the financial sector and abroad.
However, GDP grew more than the amount of debt so that the ratio fell vis-à-vis the first quarter of 2019 and the fourth quarter of 2018. Reaching 355.2%, the ratio of debt to GDP in the second quarter was the lowest since the first quarter of 2010 when the ratio stood at 350.9%.
The percentage of public sector debt (which is not the same as the ratio of public debt), fell to 160.9% in the second quarter. The percentage of the private sector, which is greater, fell the most, going from 196.7% of GDP to 195.2%.