LISBON, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The ratio of Portuguese public debt to GDP met government and European Union (EU) targets in 2017, the Bank of Portugal revealed on Thursday.
Portugal recorded a debt-to-GDP ratio of 126.2 percent in 2017, precisely in line with the government's forecast in the 2018 State Budget.
In May 2017, when exiting the EU Excessive Deficit Procedure program, Portugal was set a debt-to-GDP target of 127.7 percent by the EU.
Besides meeting its goals, the figure is the best registered since 2012, and a 3.9 percentage point reduction on 2016.
At 242.6 billion euros, public debt in Portugal was 1.6 billion euros higher in 2017 than 2016. But the economy grew at 2.7 percent, its fastest rate since 2000, making for a lower ratio.
This is only the second time in a decade that the year-on-year ratio has fallen, 2015 being the previous occurrence. However, it's worth noting that in 2007 the debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 68.4 percent, according to figures published by the online business newspaper Eco.
The government target for 2018 is for a further reduction, down to 123.5 percent.
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