The Bank of Portugal published updated statistics on non-financial sector indebtedness through December 2025, showing that total debt increased by EUR 28.9bn in 2025 to EUR 851.3bn. Despite the nominal increase, indebtedness as a share of GDP fell by 6.2 percentage points to 277.9% because GDP growth outpaced the rise in debt. At end-2025, EUR 480.3bn of the total related to the private sector (private corporations and households) and EUR 371.0bn to the public sector (general government and public corporations). Public sector debt rose EUR 11.7bn year on year, mainly reflecting higher debt to non-residents (EUR 9.0bn) driven by their investment in Portuguese debt securities (EUR 13.4bn), partly offset by a EUR 4.0bn fall in loans due to repayments to the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EUR 2.5bn) and the European Financial Stability Facility (EUR 1.5bn). Private sector debt increased EUR 17.2bn, largely due to households’ higher borrowing from the financial sector (EUR 12.5bn), mainly via housing credit; private corporations’ debt rose EUR 3.5bn, increasing against the financial sector (EUR 3.6bn, mainly loans) and the rest of the world (EUR 1.7bn, mainly debt securities) while falling against non-financial corporations (EUR 2.0bn). In annual terms, private corporations’ indebtedness grew 2.5% and households’ indebtedness rose 8.8% between end-2024 and end-2025. The next update is scheduled for 25 March 2026.
Bank of Portugal 2026-02-23
Bank of Portugal reports non-financial sector debt rose EUR 28.9bn in 2025 to EUR 851.3bn while debt-to-GDP fell to 277.9%
The Bank of Portugal reported that non-financial sector debt rose by EUR 28.9bn in 2025 to EUR 851.3bn, though its GDP share fell by 6.2 percentage points to 277.9% due to GDP growth. Public sector debt increased by EUR 11.7bn, driven by non-resident investment in Portuguese debt securities, while private sector debt rose by EUR 17.2bn, primarily from household borrowing for housing.