Portugal 2016

ACTIVIDADE ECONÓMICA ADMINISTRAÇÕES PÚBLICAS ECONOMIC ACTIVITY GENERAL GOVERNMENT 105 Net general government borrowing declined further in 2016, accounting for 2.0% of GDP on a national accounts basis, i.e. a 2.4 p.p. decrease from 2015, when this ratio had already declined by 2.8 p.p. The decrease recorded in 2016 resulted from the combination of a reduction in revenue and an even stronger reduction in expenditure, both as a percentage of GDP. The proportion declined by 0.8 p.p. on the revenue side and by around 3.2 p.p. on the expenditure side. Primary expenditure as a percentage of GDP declined by -2.8 p.p. (-3.2 p.p. in 2015), which more than offset said fall in total revenue and led to a positive primary balance of around 2.2% of GDP (in 2015 it had already recorded a marginally positive balance of 0.2%). The decrease in total revenue as a percentage of GDP was due to a decline in capital revenue, which thus contributed around -0.8 p.p. to the total change in revenue and to more moderate growth in current revenue, of around 2.0% (GDP grew at a rate of 3.0%).