Imports account for nearly 40% of investment in Portugal

Imported goods and services accounted for 39.9% of Portugal’s gross fixed capital formation in 2025, according to Banco de Portugal, underlining the country’s reliance on foreign equipment and technology for investment. The figures show how major projects in Portugal are increasingly tied to global supply chains rather than domestic production alone.

The central bank said that, for every €100 invested in Portugal last year, about €40 corresponded to direct or indirect imports. The ratio was 32.9% in 2015, measured at 2021 prices. Banco de Portugal estimates the imported content of the Sines data centre investment at close to 100%, making it the clearest example of this trend.

Within investment, imports represented 78% of machinery and equipment and 80% of transport equipment in 2025, up from 76.7% and 73.5%, respectively, in 2015. In construction, the imported share rose to 23.9% from 15.8% a decade earlier. The central bank said imported content has generally increased over the past three decades, with a more marked rise after 2013.

Banco de Portugal said investment, alongside exports, is the component of demand with the highest imported content, at around 40% in 2025. Private consumption stood at 27.3%, while public consumption had the lowest imported share, at about 13%. Across final demand as a whole, imported content rose from 22.4% in 1999 to 32.4% in 2025, reaching 33.3% in the first half of 2026.

The central bank linked the increase to deeper participation in global value chains, vertical specialisation and technological dependence, particularly in electronic products, which it said should gain importance with the digital transition. It also cautioned that estimates from 2024 onward are more preliminary and based on less detailed data, meaning the import-intensity effect may be overstated.

Originally published at Eco.pt