Public debt falls to 125.6%… helped by GDP
The Portuguese 2017 public debt fell to 125.6%, a smaller amount than the Government's goal. GDP's nominal growth of 4.1% in 2017 explains this better-than-expected performance.
The 2017 public debt fell to 125.6% of GDP, according to a press release from the Finance Ministry, this Wednesday, after INE confirmed that Portugal ended 2017 with a 2.7% GDP growth, the highest amount since 2000.
“Nominal GDP grew 4.1% in 2017, after a 3.2% growth in 2016, which means public debt now represents a 125.6% of GDP”, can be read in the Finance Ministry’s press release. It stood below the estimates, which pointed to a debt of 126.2% of GDP.
GDP grew 2.7% in 2017, 1.1 percentage points above the previous year and 0.2 points above the Euro Area and European Union, the Ministry clarifies. This growth in economy — which allowed for positive advances in public debt — was propelled by investment, especially on transport equipment, which grew 14.1%, and machines, that rocketed 13%. As for exports, they contributed to GDP growth by registering a 7.9% rise, according to the Finance Ministry, as a reaction to data disclosed this morning by INE.
Mário Centeno’s Ministry attributed the “solid” economic context to a “framework of a thorough management of public account, a balance between the accounts with the exterior and job creation”, highlighting the unemployment rate decrease to less than 8%, according to INE’s provisional data for January.
