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 have current account deficits

Current account balance as a ratio to gross domestic product, percentage, 2023

UN Trade and Development, UNCTADstat.

In 2023, for many economies in the Americas, in Africa, and in South and South-Eastern Europe, payments made for transactions with other economies exceeded their receipts earned, leading to negative current account balances. On the contrary, most economies in Asia and Oceania recorded current account surpluses or relatively small deficits. 

The highest current account surplus relative to gross domestic product (GDP) – 47% in 2023 – was recorded in China’s Special Administrative Region Macao. Kuwait ranked second, marking a surplus at 33% of its GDP. Thereafter, Papua New Guinea, Djibouti and Singapore all reported surpluses of over 20%. The highest current account deficits in proportion to GDP were observed in Kyrgyzstan, Palau and Dominica. 

In absolute terms, the United States of America ($905 billion), the United Kingdom ($110 billion), and Türkiye ($45 billion) ran the world's largest current account deficits in 2023. Germany ($279 billion) recorded the largest absolute surplus, followed by China ($253 billion), and Japan ($151 billion).

Data updated on 11 Oct 2024

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 current account data in this section correspond to the latest reporting standard, known as BPM6, defined by the IMF (2009).

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