The net borrowing of the Portuguese economy diminished in the fourth quarter of 2022, moving from 0.9% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the third quarter to 0.6% (in 2021, the Portuguese economy presented a net lending of 0.6%). Gross National Income (GNI) and Gross Disposable Income (GDI) increased by 2.6% and 2.7% in the year ending in the fourth quarter (11.0% and 10.4%, by the same order, compared to 2021). The reduction of the economy's external balance in 2022 mainly reflected the decrease in Households sector balance, from a net lending of 3.4% in 2021 to 0.5% in 2022.
The disposable income of Households sector increased by 3.3% compared to the previous quarter and grew by 7.8% compared to 2021. This evolution was mainly driven by the increase in compensation of employees, with a growth of 2.5% compared to the previous quarter and 9.6% compared to 2021. The savings rate stood at 6.1% in the year ending in the fourth quarter of 2022 (5.8% compared with the previous quarter and 9.9% savings rate in 2021). In real terms, per capita adjusted GDP of Households increased by 0.6% in the fourth quarter of 2022 and by 1.1% in annual terms.
The balance of Non-Financial Corporations stood at -2.1% of GDP, after a balance of -3.5% of GDP in the previous quarter. Compared to 2021, the balance slightly deteriorated (-1.8% of GDP) as a result of the increase in compensation of employees and gross capital formation (12.4% and 13.5%, respectively), which more than offset the rise of 15.3% in Gross Value Added (GVA). The net lending of Financial Corporations decreased to 1.4% of GDP in the year ending in the fourth quarter of 2022 (1.5% in the previous quarter and 2.3% in 2021).
The balance of the General Government (GG) sector decreased by 1.4 percentage points in the year ending in the fourth quarter of 2022, standing at -0.4% of GDP (-2.9% in 2021). Considering quarterly figures and not the year ending in the quarter as a reference, the balance of GG in the fourth quarter of 2022 reached -5671 million euros, corresponding to -9.1% of GDP, which compares with -4.1% in the same period of the last year, reflecting the significant increase in expenditure with social benefits (17.6%) and subsidies paid (88.6%).