The debt burden of the economy increased by €19.1 billion in 2022 compared to the previous year, to €793.8 billion, although as a percentage of GDP it fell from 361.2% to 333.9%, so the Bank of Portugal revealed on the stock exchange on Thursday.
According to data published this Thursday by the banking regulator, the debt burden of the non-financial sector – that is, of government departments, companies and individuals – will increase by EUR 19.1 billion to EUR 793.8 billion in 2022.
Of the total, the largest share is the private sector, which includes private companies and individuals, accounting for EUR 441.3 billion, while EUR 352.5 billion is the sum of public sector debt (government services and public companies).
However, the debt burden of the economy fell from 361.2% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2021 to 333.9% of GDP in 2022, due to the increase in GDP in 2022, higher than the increase in the indebtedness.
As a percentage of GDP, government debt fell from 160.3% to 148.3% and that of the private sector from 200.9% to 185.6% of GDP.
In nominal terms, private sector debt increased by €10.3 billion in 2022 compared to the previous year.
“Private corporate debt has risen by €5.5 billion, reflecting an increase in indebtedness to the outside world (€2.9 billion), the financial sector (€1.8 billion) and corporates (1. 0 billion euros)”denotes the Bank of Portugal (BdP).
The entity headed by Mário Centeno also indicates that private debt has in turn increased by 4.8 billion euros, mainly with the financial sector (4.0 billion euros).
Public sector indebtedness rose by €8.8 billion, mainly in public services (€5.2 billion) and individuals (€3.0 billion).
According to the BdP, total private corporate debt grew by 1.7% between the end of 2021 and the end of 2022, down 1.7 percentage points (pp) from the previous year.
“An analysis by economic sector shows that the downward trend in growth compared to that of 2021 was cross-sectional for all sectors, with the exception of trade, hospitality and hospitality, which increased by 0.9 percentage points in 2022″explains.
In turn, private debt increased by 3.6% between the end of 2021 and the end of 2022, a growth rate higher than that of the previous year (3.3%).
Source: DN
