LISBON – Portugal’s economy had an external surplus of €9.3 billion in 2024, equivalent to 3.3% of gross domestic product, an all-time high since records began, the Bank of Portugal announced on Wednesday.
According to the central bank’s data, the 3.3% figure is the “highest ratio in the series starting in 1953.”In 2023, the surplus was €5.3 billion, or 2.0% of GDP that year.
In 2024, there was a surplus in terms of goods and services, of €6.7 billion (2.3% of GDP), with the surplus in the balance of services (€31.910 billion) more than outweighing the deficit recorded for goods (€25.260 billion). In 2023, the balance of goods and services had shown a surplus of €4.0 billion (1.5% of GDP).
The deficit for goods, in absolute terms, “hardly changed compared to 2023” while as a percentage of GDP it fell from 9.5% in 2023 to 8.9% in 2024. Growth in exports, at 1.9%, was higher than growth in imports, of 1.4%.
On the services side, the surplus swelled by €2.7 billion from 2023 – an increase that the Bank of Portugal noted was due to faster growth in exports than in imports, at 8.1% and 6.8% respectively.
It also stressed that the services surplus as a percentage of GDP was 11.2%, the highest figure in that particular series, which began in 1999.
By sector, service exports were dominated by travel and tourism (€27.651 billion) and transport services (€10.500 billion), and then ‘other services provided by companies’ (€10.075 billion).
The largest shares of services imports were accounted for by ‘other services provided by companies’ (€6.903 billion), with travel and tourism a little behind (€6.735 billion) followed by transport services (€5.437 billion).
The travel and tourism sector, which stands out on both sides of the trade balance, saw growth of 8.8% in terms of exports and 6.8% in imports. Its surplus grew by €1.8 billion in the year under review compared to 2023, to the highest figure in the series, of €20.916 billion, or 7.4% of GDP.
In 2024, the largest markets in terms of Portugal’s tourism revenue were the UK (€4.1 billion), France (€3.2 billion) and Germany (€3.1 billion).
The primary income deficit shrank by €2.000 billion to €4.981 billion, while the secondary income surplus fell by around €15 million to €4.471 billion.
The balance of remittances between emigrants and immigrants also increased, this being the item that weighs the most in secondary income. Standing out were remittances from emigrants living in Switzerland (€1.135 billion), France (€1.109 billion) and the UK (€719 million), together accounting for more than two thirds of total remittances received by Portuguese families.
In turn, the capital account surplus shrank by around €600 million, “mainly due to a lower allocation of European investment funds to the final beneficiaries,” the Bank of Portugal noted.
As a result, it said, the overall financial balance was €9.664 billion, or 71% more than in 2023.
(Jorge Faria de Oliveira | Lusa.pt)