Portugal | Public debt reaches 224.5 billion euros in 2014

A man walks past portraits of famous Portuguese Fado music singers, in the Mouraria neighbourhood of Lisbon

Portugal’s public debt at the end of 2014 is expected to have stood at between 127.9 percent and 128.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), according to estimates from the Technical Budget Support Unit (UTAO), published this week in Lisbon.
The UTAO, which provides support to the Portuguese parliament, said public debt “amounted to 224.5 billion euros at the end of 2014, which was more than planned in nominal terms,” and which, if it is confirmed would be, “an increase of 5.3 billion euros in nominal terms compared to the end of 2013.”
Also according to the statement, the forecast range is higher than the latest government forecast, included in the State Budget for 2015, which pointed to 127.2 percent.
“This differential includes not only the slippage in the debt level in nominal terms, but also the possibility of a lower than expected nominal GDP,” said the parliamentary support team, adding that the government’s economic growth forecast (1%) was higher by one-tenth of a percentage point compared to the figure released by the National Statistics Institute.
“If the European Commission’s forecasts of 128.9 percent are confirmed, and the midpoint of the UTAO forecast, of 128.3 percent, public debt as a percentage of GDP will have increased in 2014, albeit very slightly,” said the technical unit.
MDT/Macauhub