Economy, investment and finance

Data insights

Economic, investment and financial data provide vital measurements of economies' health, overall development and capacity for growth. This collection of thematic insights explores critical dimensions of national accounts, economic potential and price signals.

Many African and American economies run current account deficits

Current account balance as a ratio to gross domestic product, percentage, 2025

UN Trade and Development, UNCTADstat.

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For many economies in the Americas, Africa, South and South-Eastern Europe, and Oceania, payments to the rest of the world exceeded receipts earned from international transactions in 2025, leading to negative current account balances. Most economies in Asia recorded current account surpluses or modest deficits.

The highest current account surplus relative to gross domestic product (GDP) was recorded in Macao (China) at 40% of GDP in 2025. Anguilla ranked second, with a surplus of 31% of GDP, followed by Tuvalu (30%) and Papua New Guinea (24%). The largest current account deficits relative to GDP were observed in Suriname, Dominica, Timor-Leste, and Kyrgyzstan.

In absolute terms, the United States of America (-$1 177 billion), the United Kingdom (-$125 billion), and Brazil (-$67 billion) ran the world's largest current account deficits in 2025. China recorded the largest absolute surplus (+$735 billion), followed by Germany (+$227 billion), and Japan (+$216 billion).

Data updated on 24 Sep 2026

Metadata

The current account, within the balance of payments, displays the transactions between residents and non-residents of a reporting economy, involving economic values, namely the cross-national exchange of goods and services as well as cross-national transfers of primary and secondary income.

The current account balance shows the difference between the sum of exports and income receivable, and the sum of imports and income payable, where exports and imports refer to both goods and services, while income refers to both primary and secondary income. A surplus in the current account is recorded when receipts exceed payments; a deficit is recorded when payments exceed receipts.

The statistics presented correspond to the concepts and definitions of the IMF Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual, Sixth Edition (BPM6), except those countries and territories who present their figures according to the fifth edition of the Manual (BPM5).

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