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 balance records first surplus in nearly three years in August
October 11, 2018
The current account balance recorded a USD 2.6 billion surplus in August, markedly contrasting the USD 0.9 billion deficit observed in the same month a year earlier and marking the first surplus since September 2015.
Spain: Current account surplus drops markedly in July
September 28, 2018
Spain’s current account balance recorded a small surplus of EUR 107 million in July, a significant decline from the EUR 2.2 billion surplus recorded in July 2017 and well below the EUR 977 million surplus logged in June.
Brazil: Current account deficit widens in August
September 24, 2018
Brazil’s current account balance came in at a deficit of USD 717 million in August, a deterioration from the USD 320 million shortfall recorded in the same month last year.
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