Fiscal Balance (% of GDP)
Fiscal balance, sometimes also referred to as government budget balance, is calculated as the difference between a government’s revenues (taxes and proceeds from asset sales) and its expenditures. It is often expressed as a ratio of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). If the balance is positive, the government has a surplus (it spends less than it receives). If the balance is negative, the government has a deficit (it spends more than it receives). Fiscal balance as a percentage of GDP is used as an instrument to measure a government’s ability to meet its financing needs and to ensure good management of public finances.
The table below shows the fiscal balance as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in U.S. dollars (USD) by country for the last five years.
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Fiscal Balance Data
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | -4.1 | -1.8 | -2.0 | -1.6 | -1.9 |
| Algeria | -15.3 | -13.1 | -6.6 | -4.5 | -5.1 |
| Angola | -2.9 | -4.5 | -6.3 | 2.2 | - |
| Argentina | -5.1 | -5.8 | -5.9 | -5.0 | -3.8 |
| Armenia | -4.8 | -5.5 | -4.8 | -1.8 | -1.0 |
| Australia | -2.3 | -2.4 | -1.9 | -0.5 | 0.0 |
| Austria | -1.0 | -1.5 | -0.8 | 0.2 | 0.7 |
| Azerbaijan | -1.2 | -0.4 | -1.6 | -0.4 | -0.3 |
| Bahrain | -13.0 | -13.6 | -10.0 | -6.3 | -4.7 |
| Bangladesh | -4.0 | -3.4 | -3.3 | -4.6 | -5.2 |
| Belarus | 1.4 | 1.5 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 2.6 |
| Belgium | -2.4 | -2.4 | -0.7 | -0.8 | -1.9 |
| Belize | -8.0 | -3.4 | -2.8 | -0.7 | -1.8 |
| Bolivia | -6.9 | -6.7 | -7.8 | -8.1 | -7.2 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0.7 | 1.2 | 2.6 | 2.3 | - |
| Botswana | -4.6 | 0.7 | -1.1 | -4.6 | -6.2 |
| Brazil | -10.2 | -9.0 | -7.8 | -7.1 | -5.9 |
| Brunei | -14.5 | -21.7 | -10.6 | -3.6 | -10.5 |
| Bulgaria | -1.7 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 2.1 |
| Cambodia | -0.6 | -0.3 | -0.8 | 0.7 | - |
| Canada | -0.1 | -0.5 | -0.1 | -0.4 | -0.4 |
| Chile | -2.1 | -2.7 | -2.8 | -1.7 | -2.8 |
| China | -3.4 | -3.8 | -3.7 | -4.1 | -4.9 |
| Colombia | -3.0 | -4.0 | -3.6 | -3.1 | -2.5 |
| Costa Rica | -5.7 | -5.2 | -6.1 | -5.8 | -7.0 |
| Croatia | -3.3 | -1.0 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Cyprus | -1.0 | 0.3 | 2.0 | -3.7 | 1.7 |
| Czech Republic | -0.6 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 0.3 |
| DR Congo | - | - | - | - | - |
| Denmark | -1.2 | 0.1 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 3.7 |
| Dominican Republic | -0.4 | -2.8 | -2.9 | -2.4 | -2.3 |
| Ecuador | -6.1 | -8.2 | -4.5 | -3.1 | -2.8 |
| Egypt | -11.0 | -12.0 | -10.7 | -9.5 | -8.0 |
| El Salvador | -3.3 | -3.0 | -2.3 | -2.5 | -2.9 |
| Estonia | 0.1 | -0.5 | -0.8 | -0.6 | -0.3 |
| Ethiopia | -2.3 | -3.2 | -3.0 | -2.5 | - |
| Eurozone | -2.0 | -1.5 | -1.0 | -0.5 | -0.6 |
| Finland | -2.4 | -1.7 | -0.7 | -0.9 | -1.1 |
| France | -3.6 | -3.6 | -2.9 | -2.3 | -3.0 |
| Georgia | -1.2 | -1.5 | -0.5 | -0.8 | -1.8 |
| Germany | 0.9 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.9 | 1.4 |
| Ghana | -5.3 | -6.9 | -5.0 | -3.8 | -4.5 |
| Greece | -5.6 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.5 |
| Guatemala | -1.5 | -1.1 | -1.4 | -1.9 | -2.3 |
| Haiti | -1.7 | -3.0 | -1.7 | -4.6 | - |
| Honduras | -3.0 | -2.7 | -2.7 | -2.1 | -2.5 |
| Hong Kong | 0.6 | 4.5 | 5.6 | 2.4 | - |
| Hungary | -2.0 | -1.8 | -2.5 | -2.1 | -2.0 |
| Iceland | -0.8 | 12.4 | 0.6 | 0.8 | -1.0 |
| Indonesia | -2.6 | -2.5 | -2.6 | -1.7 | -2.2 |
| Iran | -1.6 | -1.9 | -1.8 | - | - |
| Iraq | -12.8 | -13.9 | -1.6 | 7.9 | - |
| Ireland | -2.0 | -0.7 | -0.3 | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| Israel | -2.1 | -2.1 | -2.0 | -2.9 | -3.7 |
| Italy | -2.6 | -2.4 | -2.4 | -2.2 | -1.6 |
| Jamaica | -0.3 | -0.2 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 0.2 |
| Japan | -3.8 | -3.7 | -3.1 | -2.4 | -2.8 |
| Jordan | -3.4 | -3.2 | -2.6 | -2.4 | -3.4 |
| Kazakhstan | -2.2 | -1.6 | -2.7 | -1.3 | -1.9 |
| Kenya | -8.1 | -7.7 | -9.0 | -7.0 | -7.6 |
| Korea | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 1.6 | -0.6 |
| Kosovo | -1.6 | -1.1 | -1.1 | -2.6 | -2.6 |
| Kuwait | -13.4 | -13.9 | -8.9 | -3.0 | - |
| Kyrgyzstan | -2.5 | -5.8 | -3.7 | -0.6 | -0.1 |
| Laos | -5.6 | -5.1 | -5.5 | -4.7 | -5.2 |
| Latvia | -1.4 | 0.2 | -0.8 | -0.8 | -0.2 |
| Lebanon | -7.9 | -9.6 | -7.0 | -11.0 | -10.9 |
| Lithuania | -0.3 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.3 |
| Luxembourg | 1.3 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 3.1 | 2.2 |
| Malaysia | -3.2 | -3.1 | -2.9 | -3.7 | -3.4 |
| Malta | -1.0 | 1.0 | 3.3 | 1.9 | 0.5 |
| Mexico | -3.4 | -2.5 | -1.1 | -2.1 | -1.6 |
| Moldova | -2.2 | -1.9 | -0.8 | -0.9 | -1.4 |
| Mongolia | -5.0 | -15.3 | -6.3 | 0.0 | -1.7 |
| Montenegro | -8.0 | -3.4 | -5.5 | -3.6 | -2.9 |
| Morocco | -4.2 | -4.3 | -3.6 | -3.7 | -3.7 |
| Mozambique | -6.7 | -5.5 | -3.2 | -7.1 | -0.2 |
| Myanmar | -2.8 | -3.9 | -2.7 | -3.0 | -3.5 |
| Netherlands | -2.0 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.7 |
| New Zealand | 0.2 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 2.5 |
| Nicaragua | -1.6 | -2.0 | -2.0 | -4.0 | - |
| Nigeria | -3.2 | -4.0 | -5.4 | -4.3 | - |
| North Macedonia | -3.5 | -2.7 | -2.7 | -1.8 | -2.0 |
| Norway | 6.0 | 4.1 | 5.0 | 7.8 | 6.4 |
| Oman | -17.6 | -21.1 | -13.9 | -8.7 | -9.1 |
| Pakistan | -5.3 | -4.6 | -5.8 | -6.6 | -8.9 |
| Panama | -2.3 | -1.9 | -1.9 | -2.9 | -3.1 |
| Paraguay | -1.3 | -1.1 | -1.1 | -1.3 | -2.8 |
| Peru | -1.9 | -2.3 | -3.0 | -2.3 | -1.6 |
| Philippines | -0.9 | -2.3 | -2.1 | -3.1 | -3.4 |
| Poland | -2.6 | -2.4 | -1.5 | -0.2 | -0.7 |
| Portugal | -4.4 | -1.9 | -3.0 | -0.4 | 0.2 |
| Puerto Rico | - | - | - | - | - |
| Qatar | -0.7 | -9.2 | -6.6 | 2.2 | 0.9 |
| Romania | -0.6 | -2.6 | -2.6 | -2.9 | -4.3 |
| Russia | -2.4 | -3.5 | -1.4 | 2.6 | 1.8 |
| Saudi Arabia | -15.8 | -12.9 | -9.2 | -5.9 | -4.5 |
| Serbia | -3.5 | -1.2 | 1.1 | 0.6 | -0.2 |
| Singapore | -1.0 | 1.4 | 2.3 | 0.7 | -0.3 |
| Slovakia | -2.7 | -2.5 | -1.0 | -1.0 | -1.3 |
| Slovenia | -2.8 | -1.9 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.5 |
| South Africa | -3.7 | -3.6 | -4.1 | -4.0 | -6.3 |
| Spain | -5.2 | -4.3 | -3.0 | -2.5 | -2.8 |
| Sri Lanka | -7.6 | -5.3 | -5.5 | -5.3 | -6.8 |
| Sweden | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.5 |
| Switzerland | 0.6 | 0.3 | 1.2 | - | - |
| Taiwan | 0.1 | -0.3 | -0.1 | 0.0 | - |
| Tajikistan | -2.0 | -9.0 | -6.0 | -2.8 | -2.1 |
| Tanzania | -3.2 | -2.1 | -1.2 | -1.9 | - |
| Thailand | -2.3 | -2.6 | -3.0 | -2.4 | -1.8 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | -1.7 | -5.3 | -8.9 | -3.6 | -2.4 |
| Tunisia | -4.8 | -6.1 | -6.1 | -4.8 | -3.5 |
| Turkey | -1.0 | -1.1 | -1.5 | -2.0 | -2.9 |
| Turkmenistan | -0.7 | -2.4 | -2.8 | -0.2 | - |
| USA | -2.4 | -3.1 | -3.4 | -3.8 | -4.6 |
| Uganda | -3.9 | -4.1 | -3.2 | -3.8 | -6.7 |
| Ukraine | -1.6 | -2.3 | -1.4 | -2.1 | -2.2 |
| United Arab Emirates | -3.4 | -2.8 | -2.0 | 2.0 | - |
| United Kingdom | -4.6 | -3.3 | -2.5 | -2.2 | -2.1 |
| Uruguay | -3.4 | -3.7 | -3.5 | -2.9 | -3.4 |
| Uzbekistan | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | -0.2 | -1.1 |
| Venezuela | -15.6 | -16.8 | -18.2 | - | - |
| Vietnam | -6.1 | -3.7 | -1.2 | -3.5 | - |
| Yemen | -10.0 | -9.2 | -5.3 | -6.3 | - |
| Zambia | -9.5 | -6.1 | -7.7 | -8.3 | - |
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Fiscal Balance Economic News
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Japan: Japanese government unveils JPY 29.1 trillion (USD 200 billion) supplementary budget in November
November 22, 2022
On 8 November, the Japanese government unveiled a JPY 29.1 trillion (USD 200 billion) supplementary budget—worth around 5% of GDP. Around 25% of it will be spent on shielding businesses and households from rising inflation via electricity and fuel subsidies, and measures to boost wages. Additional funds will be spent on initiatives to boost wealth equality, disaster resilience and national security. Impact on inflation: The Japanese government has claimed that the budget will bring down inflation by 1.2 percentage points between January and September next year.
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United Kingdom: Chancellor announces fresh fiscal support in Spring Statement, but insufficient to offset cost of living squeeze
March 23, 2022
On 23 March, Chancellor Rishi Sunak presented his Spring Statement—a kind of mini-budget—and unveiled some tax cuts to support consumers.
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India: 2022–2023 budget seeks to support growth, while reining in the deficit marginally
March 1, 2022
On 1 February, the government unveiled its Union Budget for fiscal year 2022, which runs from April 2022 to March 2023.
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