Finances minister insists Portugal will close 2026 with sovereign debt of 85-86%

Portugal’s sovereign debt exceeded 90% of her GDP in the first quarter of the year but nevertheless its minister of Finances, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento said that Portugal would end 2026 with a debt of 85-86% of GDP.

“By the end of the year, public debt will be a few percentage points below the 89.7% with which we closed [the year 2025], we estimate around 86%, 85%,” Joaquim Miranda Sarmento told journalists, questioned upon entering the Eurogroup meeting (an informal body that brings together the Finance Ministers of the Eurozone), in Brussels.

When questioned about the increase in public debt to 91.0% of GDP in the first quarter of this year, upon entering the Eurogroup meeting, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento explained that this “happens every year” and is due to payouts on treasury bonds.

Portugal’s Treasury and Public Debt Management Agency, Miranda Sarmento stated, has to issue debt to be able to settle repayments.

According to the Bank of Portugal (BdP), in March 2026 the total public debt was close to €283.183Bn, €471 million more than in February.

According to the central bank, this evolution mainly reflected the increase in liabilities in deposits (+€400 million), in particular, the increase in savings certificates (+€300 million) and deposits from public entities in the Treasury (+€300 million).

Source: Jornal Ecónomico; Credits: IGCP