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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 per cent in 2023 – was recorded in China’s Special Administrative Region Macao. Kuwait ranked second, marking a surplus at 33 per cent of its GDP. Thereafter, Papua New Guinea, Djibouti and Singapore all reported surpluses of over 20 per cent. 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

The current account deficit of least developed countries improved in 2023

Balances in least developed countries’ current account, billions of United States dollars

UN Trade and Development, UNCTADstat.

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The least developed countries’ (LDCs) current account deficit was shrinking gradually from 2015 till 2020, resulting in its reduction by almost a half, from $57 billion to $30 billion. In 2021 and 2022, the deficit rose to $51 and $64 billion, respectively, only to improve again in 2023, when it was recorded at $36 billion. The trade deficit for goods and services together followed a similar pattern, being the highest in 2022, at $120 billion, then coming down in 2023 to $99 billion.

The relative current account deficit of LDCs, measured as a percentage of gross domestic product, went from -4.7 per cent in 2022 to -2.5 per cent in 2023 for LDCs as a group.

Data updated on 11 Oct 2024

Although lower in 2023, the current account surplus of developing economies remained ample

Balances in the current account, billions of United States dollars

UN Trade and Development, UNCTADstat.

Current account deficits and surpluses do not add up to zero at the world level, due to imperfect geographic coverage and cross-country differences in compilation methods.

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The combined current account surplus of developing economies was measured at $518 billion in 2023. Its decrease from 2022 ($778 billion) can be attributed to a lower surplus observed in Asian developing economies, which recorded about $300 billion less for their current account balance in 2023 compared to the year before. The current account deficit of the developing economies of the Americas was nearly halved in 2023, improving from $135 billion in 2022 to $74 billion in 2023. Developed economies reported an improved $120 billion deficit for 2023, representing just over one third of the deficit measured for 2022 ($341 billion).

Developing economies maintain a significant trade-in-goods surplus vis-a-vis the developed world. In turn, the latter consistently records a sizeable surplus in services trade.

Data updated on 11 Oct 2024

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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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Economy, investment and finance

Many African and American economies have current account deficits

The current account deficit of least developed countries improved in 2023

Although lower in 2023, the current account surplus of developing economies remained ample

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