Retail government bonds in Portugal: how much individuals hold and what is on sale
Short answer: Individuals in Portugal hold EUR 45.4 billion of Certificados de Aforro savings certificates as of 30 September 2026, 14.44% of State direct debt. Portugal ranks second by this share among the 13 countries for which an official source gives both the amount and the debt. Certificados de Aforro were 20.35% of State direct debt at the end of 2001, fell to 4.48% at the end of 2021 and have since risen to 12.75% at the end of 2025. Certificados do Tesouro add another EUR 6.3 billion (2.01%), so the two retail programmes together are 16.45% of State direct debt.
How has it changed?
Share of State direct debt, end of year
Share of State direct debt (Dívida direta do Estado, not Maastricht debt) at the end of each year. The debt total has a structural break in December 2015 (cash collateral). Source: IGCP, debt stock monthly values; calculation obrotomierz.pl. File: obieg-szereg.csv.
Every figure for Portugal in the dataset
Each row is one figure as published in an official source, with what it covers. Class A is a programme sold only to individuals; class C counts all government securities that households hold, with no retail programme; class X is a broader line or one that includes deposits, so it is never added to the A rows it contains.
| Programme | What it covers | Class | Amount | As of | Share of debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certificados de Aforro | savings certificates, all series | A | 45.4 bn EUR | 2026-09-30 | 14.44% |
| Certificados do Tesouro | treasury certificates for retail | A | 6.3 bn EUR | 2026-09-30 | 2.01% |
- Certificados de Aforro: share of Portuguese State direct debt (Dívida direta do Estado; not Maastricht debt); valuation: as recorded by IGCP, basis not stated (capitalised interest not checked).
- Certificados do Tesouro: share of Portuguese State direct debt (Dívida direta do Estado; not Maastricht debt); valuation: as recorded by IGCP, basis not stated (capitalised interest not checked).
How Portugal compares
An official source gives the amount of government bonds sold to individuals in 16 countries; for 13 of them it also gives the debt, so we can compute a share. The figures are not fully comparable: each country measures its debt differently, and the class column above says what the amount covers.
| Country | Amount | As of | Share of debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hungary | 12,542.1 bn HUF | 2026-09-30 | 18.51% |
| Portugal | 45.4 bn EUR | 2026-09-30 | 14.44% |
| Poland | 194.4 bn PLN | 2026-08-31 | 8.64% |
| Ireland | 19.4 bn EUR | 2025-12-31 | 8.36% |
| Italy | 112.6 bn EUR | 2026-09-30 | 4.16% |
| Czechia | 130.7 bn CZK | 2026-09-30 | 3.53% |
| Latvia | 503 m EUR | 2026-09-30 | 2.20% |
| Spain | 26.0 bn EUR | 2026-08-31 | 1.73% |
| Austria | 5.4 bn EUR | 2025-12-31 | 1.73% |
| South Africa | 21.9 bn ZAR | 2025-03-31 | 0.43% |
| United States | 145.2 bn USD | 2026-10-31 | 0.36% |
| Belgium | 1.6 bn EUR | 2026-06-30 | 0.29% |
| Canada | under 0.05 bn CAD | 2025-03-31 | 0.00% |
| United Kingdom | 139.6 bn GBP | 2026-03-31 | not given |
| Singapore | 20.2 bn SGD | 2026-11-02 | not given |
| Brazil | 279.3 bn BRL | 2026-09-30 | not given |
What is on sale today
- Certificados de Aforro (série F), floating
- Certificados do Tesouro (série 5), step-up
Sales: continuously. We checked this on the issuer’s page, igcp.pt, on 25 October 2026.
Sources
- IGCP (Agência de Gestão da Tesouraria e da Dívida Pública): Dívida Direta do Estado, Stock da dívida valores mensais / Debt stock monthly figures (xlsx, posted 2026-10) (read on 7 November 2026)
- Issuer’s page for individuals: https://www.igcp.pt/ (checked on 25 October 2026)
Data and citation
Every number on this page comes from our open dataset on government savings bonds for individuals in 195 countries (CC BY 4.0, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.23638786 for all versions; the citation below gives the DOI of this version). Files for Portugal and the other countries: obieg.csv, obieg-szereg.csv, obieg-zrodla.csv, produkty.csv and marze.csv (column names in Polish, described on the dataset page).
Błażewski, R. (2026). Government savings bonds for individuals in 195 countries (version 2026-11-13) [Data set]. obrotomierz.pl. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24168443
Frequently asked questions
How much do individuals hold in Portugal’s retail government bonds?
Individuals in Portugal hold EUR 45.4 billion of Certificados de Aforro savings certificates as of 30 September 2026, 14.44% of State direct debt. Portugal ranks second by this share among the 13 countries for which an official source gives both the amount and the debt. Certificados de Aforro were 20.35% of State direct debt at the end of 2001, fell to 4.48% at the end of 2021 and have since risen to 12.75% at the end of 2025. Certificados do Tesouro add another EUR 6.3 billion (2.01%), so the two retail programmes together are 16.45% of State direct debt.
Can individuals buy government bonds directly in Portugal?
Yes. Portugal sells Certificados de Aforro (série F), floating and Certificados do Tesouro (série 5), step-up. Sales: continuously. The issuer’s page is igcp.pt.
Does Portugal sell inflation-linked savings bonds?
No. Portugal sells no inflation-linked bonds to individuals; its retail products are Certificados de Aforro (série F), floating and Certificados do Tesouro (série 5), step-up.
Other countries
- Retail government bonds in Hungary
- Retail government bonds in Ireland
- Retail government bonds in Italy
- Retail government bonds in South Africa
- Retail government bonds in Czechia
- Retail government bonds in Austria
- Retail government bonds in the United States
- Retail government bonds in the United Kingdom
- Retail government bonds in Spain
- What all 195 countries sell to individuals
By Rafał Błażewski, obrotomierz.pl. Amounts and debt figures as published in the official sources listed above; shares calculated by us. We show who sells what and do not recommend any product; we earn nothing from government bonds.