Current Account (% of GDP)
The current account is one of the two components of a country's balance of payments, the other being the capital account. It consists of the trade balance (the difference between the total value of exports of goods and services and the total value of imports of goods and services), the net factor income (difference between the return on investments generated by citizens abroad and payments made to foreign investors domestically) and net cash transfers, where all these elements are measured in the domestic currency.
When a country's current account balance is positive (also known as incurring a surplus), the country is a net lender to the rest of the world. When a country's current account balance is negative (also known as running a deficit), the country is a net borrower from the rest of the world. The ratio of the current account balance to the Gross Domestic Product (or % of GDP) provides an indication of the country’s level of international competitiveness.
The table below shows the current account as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by country for the last five years.
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Current Account Data
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | -9.3 | -10.8 | -8.6 | -7.6 | -6.9 |
| Algeria | 0.6 | -4.3 | -16.4 | -16.5 | -12.9 |
| Angola | 6.0 | -2.6 | -8.9 | -3.0 | - |
| Argentina | -2.1 | -1.6 | -2.6 | -2.7 | -4.8 |
| Armenia | -7.3 | -7.5 | -2.5 | -2.2 | -3.5 |
| Australia | -3.2 | -3.2 | -4.8 | -3.1 | -2.5 |
| Austria | 1.9 | 2.5 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 1.9 |
| Azerbaijan | 15.9 | 13.2 | -0.4 | -3.6 | 4.1 |
| Bahrain | 7.4 | 4.6 | -2.4 | -4.6 | -3.9 |
| Bangladesh | 1.6 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 1.9 | -0.6 |
| Belarus | -10.1 | -6.9 | -3.2 | -3.6 | -1.7 |
| Belgium | -0.4 | -0.9 | -0.2 | 0.0 | -0.2 |
| Belize | -4.5 | -7.5 | -9.7 | -8.3 | -7.0 |
| Bolivia | 2.4 | 1.7 | -5.8 | -5.7 | -6.3 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | -4.9 | -7.4 | -5.3 | -4.7 | -4.8 |
| Botswana | 7.6 | 13.2 | 5.6 | 13.7 | 12.3 |
| Brazil | -3.0 | -4.2 | -3.3 | -1.3 | -0.5 |
| Brunei | 20.9 | 30.7 | 16.0 | 9.6 | - |
| Bulgaria | 1.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 2.3 | 4.5 |
| Cambodia | -12.9 | -9.9 | -9.4 | -8.9 | - |
| Canada | -3.2 | -2.4 | -3.6 | -3.2 | -2.9 |
| Chile | -4.0 | -1.6 | -2.2 | -1.4 | -1.5 |
| China | 1.5 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 1.8 | 1.3 |
| Colombia | -3.3 | -5.2 | -6.3 | -4.2 | -3.3 |
| Costa Rica | -5.4 | -5.3 | -3.8 | -2.8 | -3.2 |
| Croatia | 0.9 | 1.8 | 4.4 | 2.6 | 4.4 |
| Cyprus | -4.9 | -4.3 | -1.5 | -4.9 | -6.7 |
| Czech Republic | -0.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 0.9 |
| DR Congo | -9.5 | -4.8 | -3.9 | -3.6 | -3.1 |
| Denmark | 7.9 | 8.6 | 8.8 | 7.3 | 7.8 |
| Dominican Republic | -4.1 | -3.3 | -1.9 | -1.1 | -0.2 |
| Ecuador | -1.0 | -0.5 | -2.1 | 1.5 | -0.3 |
| Egypt | -2.2 | -0.9 | -3.6 | -6.0 | -6.5 |
| El Salvador | -6.9 | -5.3 | -3.2 | -2.1 | -2.0 |
| Estonia | 0.5 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 3.1 |
| Ethiopia | -6.1 | -11.0 | -11.1 | -8.4 | - |
| Eurozone | 2.2 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 3.5 |
| Finland | -1.9 | -1.5 | -0.9 | -0.3 | 0.7 |
| France | -0.5 | -1.0 | -0.4 | -0.8 | -0.5 |
| Georgia | -6.3 | -11.3 | -12.7 | -13.2 | -9.0 |
| Germany | 6.9 | 7.2 | 8.9 | 8.5 | 8.0 |
| Ghana | -12.6 | -9.9 | -7.8 | -6.7 | -4.5 |
| Greece | -2.0 | -1.6 | -0.2 | -1.1 | -0.8 |
| Guatemala | -2.6 | -2.1 | -0.2 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Haiti | -6.5 | -8.8 | -3.2 | -1.1 | -2.8 |
| Honduras | -9.7 | -7.1 | -4.8 | -2.8 | -1.7 |
| Hong Kong | 1.5 | 1.4 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 4.2 |
| Hungary | 3.7 | 1.5 | 3.5 | 6.1 | 2.9 |
| Iceland | 5.9 | 4.0 | 5.3 | 7.7 | 3.7 |
| India | -1.8 | -1.4 | -1.1 | -0.7 | -1.9 |
| Indonesia | -3.2 | -3.1 | -2.0 | -1.8 | -1.7 |
| Iran | 5.8 | 3.2 | 0.3 | 3.9 | - |
| Iraq | 9.6 | 10.2 | -1.1 | 2.1 | - |
| Ireland | 2.1 | 1.6 | 10.9 | 3.3 | 12.5 |
| Israel | 3.0 | 3.7 | 5.0 | 3.8 | 2.9 |
| Italy | 1.0 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 2.6 | 2.8 |
| Jamaica | -9.5 | -8.0 | -3.0 | -0.7 | - |
| Japan | 0.9 | 0.8 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 4.0 |
| Jordan | -10.4 | -7.3 | -9.1 | -9.6 | -10.6 |
| Kazakhstan | 0.5 | 2.8 | -2.8 | -6.4 | -3.0 |
| Kenya | -8.1 | -9.7 | -6.8 | -5.1 | -6.8 |
| Korea | 6.2 | 6.0 | 7.7 | 7.0 | 5.1 |
| Kosovo | -6.5 | -7.4 | -9.0 | - | - |
| Kuwait | 40.3 | 33.8 | 3.5 | -4.5 | 6.3 |
| Kyrgyzstan | -14.1 | -18.6 | -18.7 | -11.5 | -3.1 |
| Laos | -28.4 | -20.0 | -18.0 | -12.0 | - |
| Latvia | -2.7 | -2.0 | -0.8 | 1.5 | -0.9 |
| Lebanon | -26.7 | -28.1 | -19.6 | -23.3 | - |
| Lithuania | 0.8 | 3.4 | -2.9 | -1.2 | 0.8 |
| Luxembourg | 5.5 | 5.2 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 5.0 |
| Macedonia | -1.7 | -0.6 | -1.9 | -2.8 | -1.1 |
| Malaysia | 3.5 | 4.4 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 3.0 |
| Malta | 2.0 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 6.4 | 11.6 |
| Mexico | -2.4 | -1.8 | -2.5 | -2.2 | -1.7 |
| Moldova | -4.9 | -5.3 | -6.4 | -4.0 | -7.2 |
| Mongolia | -35.7 | -15.9 | -8.0 | -5.7 | -9.7 |
| Montenegro | -14.5 | -15.2 | -13.2 | -18.1 | -18.9 |
| Morocco | -7.9 | -5.7 | -2.1 | -4.2 | -3.6 |
| Mozambique | -39.1 | -33.5 | -38.6 | -35.0 | - |
| Myanmar | -4.9 | -2.2 | -5.1 | -3.9 | -5.3 |
| Netherlands | 9.9 | 8.6 | 8.7 | 8.4 | 10.2 |
| New Zealand | -3.2 | -3.2 | -3.1 | -2.2 | -2.7 |
| Nicaragua | -10.9 | -7.1 | -9.1 | -7.5 | -5.0 |
| Nigeria | 3.7 | 0.2 | -3.1 | 0.7 | 2.8 |
| Norway | 10.7 | 10.3 | 7.9 | 3.8 | 5.5 |
| Oman | 6.6 | 5.2 | -15.9 | -18.4 | - |
| Pakistan | -1.1 | -1.3 | -1.0 | -1.7 | -4.0 |
| Panama | -9.7 | -13.4 | -7.9 | -5.5 | -4.9 |
| Paraguay | 2.1 | -0.2 | -1.1 | 1.5 | -1.3 |
| Peru | -4.6 | -4.4 | -4.8 | -2.7 | -1.3 |
| Philippines | 4.2 | 3.8 | 2.5 | -0.4 | -0.8 |
| Poland | -1.3 | -2.1 | -0.6 | -0.3 | 0.3 |
| Portugal | 1.6 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 0.5 |
| Puerto Rico | 4.7 | 4.2 | 7.3 | 8.3 | - |
| Qatar | 30.4 | 24.0 | 8.4 | -5.4 | 3.8 |
| Romania | -1.1 | -0.6 | -1.2 | -2.0 | -3.6 |
| Russia | 1.5 | 2.8 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 2.2 |
| Saudi Arabia | 18.1 | 9.8 | -8.7 | -3.7 | 2.2 |
| Serbia | -6.1 | -6.0 | -3.7 | -3.1 | -5.7 |
| Singapore | 16.5 | 18.7 | 18.6 | 19.1 | 18.8 |
| Slovakia | 1.9 | 1.0 | -1.7 | -1.4 | -2.2 |
| Slovenia | 4.4 | 5.8 | 4.4 | 5.2 | 6.5 |
| South Africa | -5.8 | -5.1 | -4.6 | -2.8 | -2.5 |
| Spain | 1.5 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 1.9 |
| Sri Lanka | -3.4 | -2.5 | -2.3 | -2.1 | -2.7 |
| Sweden | 5.2 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 3.3 |
| Switzerland | 11.4 | 8.2 | 10.6 | 9.3 | 9.5 |
| Taiwan | 9.7 | 11.4 | 14.1 | 13.7 | 14.4 |
| Tajikistan | -7.7 | -3.0 | -7.0 | -3.8 | -0.5 |
| Tanzania | -11.4 | -10.0 | -8.4 | -4.6 | - |
| Thailand | -1.2 | 3.7 | 8.0 | 11.7 | 10.6 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 20.3 | 14.7 | 4.6 | -11.7 | - |
| Tunisia | -8.4 | -9.1 | -8.9 | -8.8 | -10.4 |
| Turkey | -6.7 | -4.7 | -3.7 | -3.8 | -5.6 |
| Turkmenistan | -7.4 | -6.1 | -15.5 | -19.1 | - |
| USA | -2.1 | -2.1 | -2.4 | -2.4 | -2.4 |
| Uganda | -7.2 | -7.7 | -6.8 | -2.8 | -4.3 |
| Ukraine | -9.2 | -3.5 | 1.8 | -1.5 | -1.9 |
| United Arab Emirates | 18.3 | 13.3 | 4.7 | 2.4 | - |
| United Kingdom | -0.1 | -0.1 | -0.1 | -0.1 | 0.0 |
| Uruguay | -3.4 | -3.1 | -0.8 | 0.8 | 1.5 |
| Uzbekistan | 2.8 | 1.7 | -0.5 | 1.4 | 2.9 |
| Venezuela | 1.2 | 0.7 | -9.8 | - | - |
| Vietnam | 4.6 | 5.1 | 0.3 | 4.6 | 2.9 |
| Yemen | -4.3 | -4.7 | -11.4 | - | - |
| Zambia | -0.8 | 2.2 | -4.9 | -4.3 | -2.6 |
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Current Account Economic News
Turkey: Current account slips back into deficit in December
February 14, 2019
The current account balance recorded a USD 1.4 billion deficit in December, contrasting November’s revised USD 1.1 billion surplus (previously reported: USD 1.0 billion surplus) but down from the USD 7.8 billion deficit recorded in the same month a year prior.
Spain: Current account surplus shrinks in November
January 31, 2019
Spain’s current account balance recorded a surplus of EUR 1.8 billion in November, a considerable drop from the EUR 3.5 billion surplus recorded in November 2017 but well above the EUR 294 million surplus logged in October.
Brazil: Current account deficit widens in 2018
January 28, 2019
Brazil’s current account balance came in at a deficit of USD 815 million in December, a smaller shortfall than the USD 2.1 billion deficit recorded in the same month of 2017.
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