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Households' savings rate was 12.8% in 2020, up by 5.7 percentage points from 2019
Quarterly National Sector Accounts
Households' savings rate was 12.8% in 2020, up by 5.7 percentage points from 2019 - 4th Quarter 2020
26 March 2021

Summary

• The net lending of Portuguese economy, compared to the previous quarter, remained at 0.1% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the year ending in the fourth quarter of 2020 (in 2019, the net lending of the economy was 1.0% of GDP).
• Gross National Income (GNI) and Gross Disposable Income (GDI) diminished both 0.8%, while nominal GDP decreased by 1.0% in the year ending in the fourth quarter of 2020 (rates of change of -0.8% and -1.1% in the previous quarter, respectively). Compared to 2019, GNI, GDI and nominal GDP decreased by 4.4%, 4.3% and 5.4%, respectively (rates of change of 4.2% for GNI and 4.3% for GDI and nominal GDP in 2019, compared to 2018).
• In the fourth quarter 2020, the net lending of households' sector increased by 1.4 percentage points to 5.9% of GDP and the savings rate reached 12.8% (11.0% in the previous quarter and 7.1% in 2019), being necessary to go back to 2002 to find a similar savings rate. This result reflected mainly the nominal reduction by 5.0% in private consumption of households, an unprecedented negative rate of change for the series beginning in 1995, as the household’s disposable income increased by 1.0%, partly reflecting the measures carried out by government in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic with a negative impact in the General Government (GG) balance.
• The balance of Non-Financial Corporations stood at -2.4% of GDP, same as in the previous quarter, but less negative than in the end of 2019 (-3.2%), with an increase in subsidies and a reduction in paid income properties (rates of change of 23.5% and -2.5%, respectively), particularly in the case of dividends.
• The net lending of Financial Corporations remained similar to the previous quarter (2.2% of GDP), but diminishing compared to 2019, when it was 2.6% of GDP.
• The balance of the GG sector decreased by 1.5 percentage points in the year ending in the fourth quarter of 2020, representing a net borrowing of 5.7% of GDP (positive balance of 0.1% in 2019). Considering quarterly figures and not the year ending in the quarter, the balance of GG in the fourth quarter of 2020 was -3 905.1 million euros (-7.4% of GDP, compared with -4.3% in the third quarter). The deterioration of the GG balance was associated to the measures carried out by government in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and to the sensitiveness of public finances to the significant contraction in economic activity, notably in the case of fiscal revenue.


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