The Portuguese savings rate is at its highest level since 2003, but is still far from the values reached in the 70s and 80s, when they saved almost a third of their disposable income.
The savings rate reached its maximum in 1972, when it was 31.2%, according to the Banco de Portugal statistical series. It remained at around 20% in the following years, but began a downward trend in the 1990s, falling to its lowest point in 2008, during the financial crisis.
In 2020, during the pandemic, savings soared to 12%, at a time when the Portuguese went through several confinements and uncertainty about the future was high.
After falls in the following two years, the Portuguese began to save more in 2023 and in 2024 the rate reached 2003 highs, standing at 12.1%.
For this year, data is only available for the second quarter, when the household savings rate rose 0.2 percentage points compared to the previous quarter, to 12.6% of disposable income.
According to INE’s Quarterly National Accounts by Institutional Sector, final consumption expenditure increased by 1.4%, a lower variation than the 1.5% growth in Gross Available Income (RDB), determining this evolution.
According to a study carried out by the TGM Research Institute for Xtb, the Portuguese are able to save a part of their monthly income, but the majority are unable to set aside a significant percentage.
The study, which has a sample of 1,000 respondents, concluded that 72% of Portuguese people say they are able to save part of their monthly income.
However, more than a third only set aside between 5% and 10% of their monthly income and only 16% save more than 20%.
When it comes to motivations for saving, many aim to meet unexpected expenses (37%) or achieve personal goals (36%), while around a sixth save for retirement or in the long term.
Among the obstacles to savings identified in this study are high fixed expenses (49%) and low income (47%).
Today marks World Savings Day, created by the World Society of Savings Banks to promote personal savings and strengthen people’s economic self-sufficiency.