Eurostat Ranks Portugal Among the EU's Few Budget Surpluses as Its Debt Eases to 91% of GDP
New Eurostat data shows Portugal ran a 0.3% budget surplus in the first quarter of 2026 — the third largest in the EU — while its public debt fell 3.9 points to 91% of GDP, even as the eurozone deficit widened to 3.1%.
Portugal finished the first quarter of 2026 as one of only a handful of European Union countries running a budget surplus, new figures from Eurostat (the EU's statistical office) show — and with its public debt falling faster than the currency bloc as a whole.
According to the quarterly national accounts released this week, Portugal posted a general government surplus of 0.3 percent of GDP in the first three months of the year. Among the member states with comparable data, only Cyprus (4.4 percent) and Ireland (2.4 percent) did better, leaving Portugal with the third-largest surplus in the EU.
Portugal against the eurozone trend
That performance stands out because the wider picture deteriorated. The eurozone deficit widened slightly to 3.1 percent of GDP, from 3.2 percent in the previous quarter, and the EU-wide figure also came in at 3.1 percent. Both were up 0.1 percentage points on the same quarter a year earlier — nudging the single-currency area back onto the wrong side of the EU's 3 percent deficit ceiling.
- Biggest surpluses: Cyprus (+4.4%), Ireland (+2.4%), Portugal (+0.3%).
- Deepest deficits: Bulgaria (-7.6%), Hungary (-6.6%), Poland (-5.9%).
- Eurozone deficit: 3.1% of GDP; EU deficit: 3.1% of GDP.
Debt still high, but falling fast
On debt, Portugal remains one of Europe's more heavily indebted economies, but the direction of travel is firmly downward. Its public debt stood at 91 percent of GDP at the end of the first quarter — the fifth-highest ratio in the EU, yet down a substantial 3.9 percentage points from a year earlier.
- Most indebted: Greece (143.5%), Italy (138.9%), France (117.6%), and — a few places above Portugal — the rest of the southern bloc.
- Least indebted: Estonia (25.2%), Denmark (26.8%), Bulgaria (28.5%).
- Averages: eurozone 88.9% of GDP; EU 82.9%.
- Fastest deleveraging: Greece (-9.4 pp over the year), Cyprus (-7.4 pp), Slovenia (-4.8 pp), with Portugal close behind.
The contrast with France, whose debt has climbed above 117 percent amid its own budget struggles, underlines how far Portugal has travelled since its own bailout years. A decade ago it was the country under Brussels' supervision; now it sits among the small group of EU members whose books are, for the moment, in the black.
What This Means for Residents and Expats
- Cheaper borrowing costs feed through: A shrinking debt ratio and a surplus help keep Portugal's sovereign borrowing costs low, which over time supports the mortgage and lending rates households pay.
- Fiscal room for tax measures: A surplus gives the government more space to fund the tax-favoured savings accounts and other measures floated in recent weeks, without breaching EU rules.
- Stability signal for investors: Being one of only three EU surplus economies strengthens Portugal's pitch to the foreign residents, retirees and companies weighing a move here.
- Caveat — quarterly data is volatile: First-quarter surpluses can be flattered by the timing of tax receipts; the full-year balance, which the government still expects to be roughly neutral, is the number that ultimately matters.
For now, the Eurostat scoreboard tells a flattering story: a country that was once a byword for eurozone crisis is deleveraging quickly and running a surplus while several of its larger neighbours slide deeper into deficit. The test will be holding that position as the year unfolds.
