Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)

This entry records the difference between national government revenues and expenditures, expressed as a percent of GDP. A positive (+) number indicates that revenues exceeded expenditures (a budget surplus), while a negative (-) number indicates the reverse (a budget deficit). Normalizing the data, by dividing the budget balance by GDP, enables easy comparisons across countries and indicates whether a national government saves or borrows money. Countries with high budget deficits (relative to their GDPs) generally have more difficulty raising funds to finance expenditures, than those with lower deficits.

Country Comparison Ranking

• Afghanistan

  -15.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Albania

  -2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Algeria

  -9.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• American Samoa

  -2.1% (of GDP) (2016 est.)

• Andorra

  -6.9% (of GDP) (2016)

• Angola

  -6.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Anguilla

  0.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Antigua and Barbuda

  -2.4% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Argentina

  -6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Armenia

  -4.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Aruba

  -2.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Australia

  -0.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Austria

  -0.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Azerbaijan

  -1.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Bahamas, The

  -2.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Bahrain

  -10.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Bangladesh

  -3.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Barbados

  -4% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Belarus

  2.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Belgium

  -1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Belize

  -1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Benin

  -6.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Bermuda

  -2.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Bhutan

  -3.4% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Bolivia

  -7.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Bosnia and Herzegovina

  2.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Botswana

  -1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Brazil

  -1.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• British Virgin Islands

  0% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Brunei

  -17.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Bulgaria

  1.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Burkina Faso

  -7.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Burma

  -3.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Burundi

  -5.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Cabo Verde

  -3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Cambodia

  -1.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Cameroon

  -3.4% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Canada

  -1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Cayman Islands

  4.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Central African Republic

  -0.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Chad

  -1.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Chile

  -2.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• China

  -3.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Colombia

  -2.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Comoros

  -6.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Congo, Democratic Republic of the

  -0.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Congo, Republic of the

  -7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Cook Islands

  3% (of GDP) (2010 est.)

• Costa Rica

  -6.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Cote d'Ivoire

  -4.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Croatia

  0.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Cuba

  -10.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Curacao

  -0.4% (of GDP) (2012 est.)

• Cyprus

  1.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Czechia

  1.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Denmark

  1.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Djibouti

  -9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Dominica

  -5.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Dominican Republic

  -3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Ecuador

  -4.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Egypt

  -8.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• El Salvador

  -2.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Equatorial Guinea

  -3.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Eritrea

  -9.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Estonia

  -0.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Eswatini

  -8.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Ethiopia

  -3.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• European Union

  -3% (of GDP) (2014)

• Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)

  -4% (of GDP) (FY09/10)

• Faroe Islands

  -1.7% (of GDP) (2014 est.)

• Fiji

  -4% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Finland

  -0.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• France

  -2.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• French Polynesia

  1.2% (of GDP) (2012)

• Gabon

  -1.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Gambia, The

  -2.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Georgia

  -3.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Germany

  1.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Ghana

  -6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Gibraltar

  1.1% (of GDP) (2008 est.)

• Greece

  0.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Greenland

  5.6% (of GDP) (2016 est.)

• Grenada

  3.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Guam

  -1% (of GDP) (2016 est.)

• Guatemala

  -1.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Guernsey

  1.2% (of GDP) (2005)

• Guinea

  -0.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Guinea-Bissau

  -1.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Guyana

  -4.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Haiti

  -1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Holy See (Vatican City)

  NA

• Honduras

  -2.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Hong Kong

  5.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Hungary

  -2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
  
  note: Hungary has been under the EU Excessive Deficit Procedure since it joined the EU in 2004; in March 2012, the EU elevated its Excessive Deficit Procedure against Hungary and proposed freezing 30% of the country's Cohesion Funds because 2011 deficit reductions were not achieved in a sustainable manner; in June 2012, the EU lifted the freeze, recognizing that steps had been taken to reduce the deficit; the Hungarian deficit increased above 3% both in 2013 and in 2014 due to sluggish growth and the government's fiscal tightening

• Iceland

  1.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• India

  -3.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Indonesia

  -2.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Iran

  -2.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Iraq

  -4.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Ireland

  -0.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Isle of Man

  0.3% (of GDP) (FY05/06 est.)

• Israel

  -2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Italy

  -2.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Jamaica

  0.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Japan

  -3.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Jersey

  -0.4% (of GDP) (2005)

• Jordan

  -5.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Kazakhstan

  -1.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Kenya

  -6.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Kiribati

  -64.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Korea, North

  -0.4% (of GDP) (2007 est.)

• Korea, South

  1.4% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Kosovo

  -2.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Kuwait

  -10% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Kyrgyzstan

  -3.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Laos

  -5.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Latvia

  -0.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Lebanon

  -6.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Lesotho

  -6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Liberia

  -4.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Libya

  -25.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Liechtenstein

  1.6% (of GDP) (2012 est.)

• Lithuania

  0.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Luxembourg

  1.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Macau

  10% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Madagascar

  -2.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Malawi

  -3.4% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Malaysia

  -3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Maldives

  -10.1% (of GDP) (2016 est.)

• Mali

  -2.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Malta

  3.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Marshall Islands

  1.3% (of GDP) (2013 est.)

• Mauritania

  -0.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Mauritius

  -0.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Mexico

  -1.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Micronesia, Federated States of

  6.6% (of GDP) (FY12/13 est.)

• Moldova

  -0.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Monaco

  -1% (of GDP) (2011 est.)

• Mongolia

  -6.4% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Montenegro

  -5.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Morocco

  -3.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Mozambique

  -5.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Namibia

  -5.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Nauru

  -9.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Nepal

  -0.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Netherlands

  1.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• New Caledonia

  0% (of GDP) (2015 est.)

• New Zealand

  1.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Nicaragua

  -2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Niger

  -5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Nigeria

  -1.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Niue

  -12.6% (of GDP) (FY04/05)

• North Macedonia

  -2.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Northern Mariana Islands

  3.7% (of GDP) (2016 est.)

• Norway

  4.4% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Oman

  -13.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Pakistan

  -5.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Palau

  8.8% (of GDP) (2016 est.)

• Panama

  -1.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Papua New Guinea

  -4.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Paraguay

  -1.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Peru

  -3.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Philippines

  -2.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Poland

  -1.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Portugal

  -3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Puerto Rico

  -0.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Qatar

  -5.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Romania

  -2.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Russia

  -1.4% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Rwanda

  -4.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Saint Kitts and Nevis

  1.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Saint Lucia

  0.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Saint Pierre and Miquelon

  3.8% (of GDP) (1996 est.)

• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

  -0.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Samoa

  -4.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• San Marino

  -2.9% (of GDP) (2011 est.)

• Sao Tome and Principe

  -2.4% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Saudi Arabia

  -8.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Senegal

  -3.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Serbia

  0.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Seychelles

  -0.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Sierra Leone

  -7.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Singapore

  -0.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Slovakia

  -1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Slovenia

  0% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Solomon Islands

  -2.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Somalia

  -0.1% (of GDP) (2014 est.)

• South Africa

  -4.4% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• South Sudan

  -1.3% (of GDP) (FY2017/18 est.)

• Spain

  -3.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Sri Lanka

  -5.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Sudan

  -10.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Suriname

  -7.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Svalbard

  NA

• Sweden

  1.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Switzerland

  1.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Syria

  -8.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Taiwan

  -0.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Tajikistan

  -1.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Tanzania

  -1.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Thailand

  -3.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Timor-Leste

  -75.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Togo

  -3.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Tonga

  0% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Trinidad and Tobago

  -8.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Tunisia

  -5.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Turkey

  -1.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Turkmenistan

  -2.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Tuvalu

  25.6% (of GDP) (2013 est.)

• Uganda

  -4.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Ukraine

  -1.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• United Arab Emirates

  -0.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• United Kingdom

  -1.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• United States

  -3.4% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Uruguay

  -3.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Uzbekistan

  0.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Vanuatu

  -0.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Venezuela

  -46.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Vietnam

  -6.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Virgin Islands

  -0.4% (of GDP) (2016 est.)

• Wallis and Futuna

  -0.8% (of GDP) NA (2015 est.)

• West Bank

  0.4% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• World

  -3% (of GDP) (2016 est.)

• Yemen

  -5.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Zambia

  -7.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

• Zimbabwe

  -9.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)