Portugal achieved a significant reduction in public debt in recent years, but also recorded a decrease in household wealth, in line with the European panorama. This trend occurs in a context where productivity is stagnant and savings and investment are disappointing. The conclusion comes from a study by the McKinsey Global Institute, which analysed how household wealth has been drifting away from the real economy.
According to the report "The Global Balance Sheet 2026: Imbalance and Divergence", global household wealth reached a historic high of 570 trillion dollars in 2025, 40 billion more than the previous year. However, only 20% of this growth resulted from the formation of new productive capital, reflecting a growing dissociation between wealth creation and real economy fundamentals. The eurozone continues to be constrained by a combination of stagnant productivity, high savings levels and insufficient investment, approaching a scenario of secular stagnation.
Specifically, in Portugal household net wealth per capita decreased by approximately 1.6% between 2024 and 2025, while productive assets decreased by approximately 10 percentage points of GDP. In the opposite direction, the country continued its trajectory of public debt reduction and recorded a historic high in the ratio between corporate capitalisation and GDP, in line with the global trend. In Europe, productive investment remains below pre-pandemic levels and global averages.
The McKinsey report warns that accelerating productivity is the only scenario that allows simultaneously sustaining income growth, wealth and economic activity. In the eurozone, the most critical factor for accelerating growth is an increase in productive investment. The consultancy considers that monitoring these factors will be decisive for understanding the evolution of productivity, wealth creation and economic stability over the next decade.
