Public debt fell to 118.2% of GDP in 2019
Public debt from Maastricht's perspective, which counts for Brussels, fell to 118.2% of GDP in December 2019, and in 2018 it stood at 122.2%. Debt reduction is higher than the government's estimate.
The public debt in the view of Maastricht, which is relevant for compliance with the Stability Pact, fell to 118.2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in December 2019, according to the Statistical Bulletin of the Bank of Portugal released this Thursday. In the same period of the previous year, it had been set at 122.2% of GDP.
This number means that the reduction in public debt was higher than that estimated by the Finance Minister, Mário Centeno. In the State Budget (OE) report for 2020, the forecast was that public debt as a percentage of GDP would be 118.9%. The public debt was 249,740 million euros, in absolute terms.
According to data from the Bank of Portugal, public debt net of government deposits stood at 111.3% in December 2019. The Government’s forecast was for it to stand at 111.5% of GDP, according to the State Budget report. In absolute terms, the public debt net of deposits was 235,250 million euros.
Already for 2020, the Government foresees a further reduction of the public debt ratio as a percentage of GDP to 116.2%. At the moment, Portugal benefits from low interest rates, but if the European Central Bank’s accommodating policy changes and interest rates begin to rise, the pressure on public accounts will increase again.
