Portugal’s external debt falls to 85.1%
The improved performance reflects the improved economy in recent years. However, in nominal terms there has been a worsening, with the debt rising.
Portugal closed last year with a net external debt of 179.8 billion euros. The amount rose in nominal terms, but fell as a percentage of GDP, and this is the lowest figure since 2011, according to data published this Wednesday by the Bank of Portugal.
Portugal’s net external debt increased by 300 million euros between the end of 2018 and the end of 2019. The indicator is calculated through the international investment position, excluding capital instruments, gold bars, and financial derivatives. Thus, the result measures the Portuguese assets position and liabilities vis-à-vis other countries.
Despite having increased in absolute terms, as a percentage of GDP, the net external debt decreased by 4.4 percentage points over the same period. It fell to 85.1%, from the previous 89.5%. This is the lowest figure since 2011, when Portugal requested financial help from the troika, according to the Bank of Portugal data.
“At the end of 2019, Portugal’s PII [international investment position] stood at -213.9 billion euros, a 2.8 billion euros improvement compared to the end of 2018,” says the report. “The transactions (+2.4 billion euros) and other adjustments (+1.9 billion euros) contributed to the change in PII, which were partially offset by price changes (-1.4 billion euros).”
As a percentage of GDP, the international investment position changed positively by 5.1 percentage points to -101.2% at the end of 2019 from -106.3% at the end of 2018.
