Portugal - Gross capital formation (% of GDP)

Gross capital formation (% of GDP) in Portugal was 18.75 as of 2020. Its highest value over the past 50 years was 35.85 in 1981, while its lowest value was 14.63 in 2013.

Definition: Gross capital formation (formerly gross domestic investment) consists of outlays on additions to the fixed assets of the economy plus net changes in the level of inventories. Fixed assets include land improvements (fences, ditches, drains, and so on); plant, machinery, and equipment purchases; and the construction of roads, railways, and the like, including schools, offices, hospitals, private residential dwellings, and commercial and industrial buildings. Inventories are stocks of goods held by firms to meet temporary or unexpected fluctuations in production or sales, and "work in progress." According to the 1993 SNA, net acquisitions of valuables are also considered capital formation.

Source: World Bank national accounts data, and OECD National Accounts data files.

See also:

Year Value
1970 28.07
1971 26.11
1972 28.74
1973 31.26
1974 29.65
1975 19.45
1976 24.78
1977 30.12
1978 31.62
1979 30.60
1980 34.02
1981 35.85
1982 35.38
1983 29.32
1984 23.06
1985 21.40
1986 23.17
1987 27.38
1988 30.47
1989 28.29
1990 27.72
1991 25.74
1992 24.95
1993 22.15
1994 22.95
1995 24.19
1996 24.41
1997 26.52
1998 28.32
1999 29.03
2000 28.78
2001 28.16
2002 25.90
2003 23.11
2004 23.82
2005 23.36
2006 22.93
2007 23.10
2008 23.58
2009 20.84
2010 21.13
2011 18.60
2012 15.70
2013 14.63
2014 15.32
2015 15.86
2016 15.83
2017 17.23
2018 18.29
2019 18.49
2020 18.75

Limitations and Exceptions: Because policymakers have tended to focus on fostering the growth of output, and because data on production are easier to collect than data on spending, many countries generate their primary estimate of GDP using the production approach. Moreover, many countries do not estimate all the components of national expenditures but instead derive some of the main aggregates indirectly using GDP (based on the production approach) as the control total. Data on capital formation may be estimated from direct surveys of enterprises and administrative records or based on the commodity flow method using data from production, trade, and construction activities. The quality of data on government fixed capital formation depends on the quality of government accounting systems (which tend to be weak in developing countries). Measures of fixed capital formation by households and corporations - particularly capital outlays by small, unincorporated enterprises - are usually unreliable. Estimates of changes in inventories are rarely complete but usually include the most important activities or commodities. In some countries these estimates are derived as a composite residual along with household final consumption expenditure. According to national accounts conventions, adjustments should be made for appreciation of the value of inventory holdings due to price changes, but this is not always done. In highly inflationary economies this element can be substantial.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Gross domestic product (GDP) from the expenditure side is made up of household final consumption expenditure, general government final consumption expenditure, gross capital formation (private and public investment in fixed assets, changes in inventories, and net acquisitions of valuables), and net exports (exports minus imports) of goods and services. Such expenditures are recorded in purchaser prices and include net taxes on products.

Aggregation method: Weighted average

Periodicity: Annual

Classification

Topic: Economic Policy & Debt Indicators

Sub-Topic: National accounts