Field Listing :: 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 to the World
Country
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)(% of GDP)
Afghanistan -8.7% of GDP (2011 est.)
Albania -3.3% of GDP (2012 est.)
Algeria -2.4% of GDP (2012 est.)
American Samoa -6.1% of GDP (FY07)
Andorra
Angola 12% of GDP (2012 est.)
Anguilla 0.2% of GDP (2009 est.)
Antigua and Barbuda -5.4% of GDP (2009 est.)
Argentina -3.2% of GDP (2012 est.)
Armenia -2.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
Aruba -7.4% of GDP (2012 est.)
Australia -0.8% of GDP (2012 est.)
Austria -2.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
Azerbaijan -3.2% of GDP (2012 est.)
Bahamas, The -3.6% of GDP (2012 est.)
Bahrain -1.7% of GDP (2012 est.)
Bangladesh -4.8% of GDP (2012 est.)
Barbados -4.4% of GDP (2012 est.)
Belarus -1.1% of GDP (2012 est.)
Belgium -3.3% of GDP (2012 est.)
Belize 0% of GDP (2012 est.)
Benin -3.7% of GDP (2012 est.)
Bhutan -2.4% of GDP (2012 est.)
Bolivia 2% of GDP (2012 est.)
Bosnia and Herzegovina -3.8% of GDP (2012 est.)
Botswana 0.8% of GDP (2012 est.)
Brazil 2.7% of GDP (2012 est.)
British Virgin Islands 0% of GDP (2012 est.)
Brunei 16.1% of GDP (2012 est.)
Bulgaria -1.4% of GDP (2012 est.)
Burkina Faso -4.3% of GDP (2012 est.)
Burma -4% of GDP (2012 est.)
Burundi -3.4% of GDP (2012 est.)
Cambodia -5% of GDP (2012 est.)
Cameroon -1.5% of GDP (2012 est.)
Canada -3.8% of GDP (2012 est.)
Cape Verde -9.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
Cayman Islands -0.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
Central African Republic -0.8% of GDP (2012 est.)
Chad -5.3% of GDP (2012 est.)
Chile 1.4% of GDP (2012 est.)
China -2.3% of GDP (2012 est.)
Colombia -0.5% of GDP (2012 est.)
Comoros -0.6% of GDP (2012 est.)
Congo, Democratic Republic of the -3.8% of GDP (2012 est.)
Congo, Republic of the 16.3% of GDP (2012 est.)
Cook Islands 1% of GDP (FY05/06)
Costa Rica -4.4% of GDP (2012 est.)
Cote d'Ivoire -7.2% of GDP (2012 est.)
Croatia -4.5% of GDP (2012 est.)
Cuba -4.6% of GDP (2012 est.)
Curacao -0.9% of GDP (2011 est.)
Cyprus -4.2% of GDP (2012 est.)
Czech Republic -3.2% of GDP (2012 est.)
Denmark -4% of GDP (2012 est.)
Djibouti -1.2% of GDP (2012 est.)
Dominica -7.5% of GDP (2012 est.)
Dominican Republic -8% of GDP (2012 est.)
Ecuador -1.8% of GDP (2012 est.)
Egypt -10.4% of GDP (2012 est.)
El Salvador -2.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
Equatorial Guinea 2.8% of GDP (2012 est.)
Eritrea -11.3% of GDP (2012 est.)
Estonia -2.4% of GDP (2012 est.)
Ethiopia -2.7% of GDP (2012 est.)
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) -5% of GDP (FY09/10)
Faroe Islands -11.9% of GDP (2010 est.)
Fiji -4.2% of GDP (2012 est.)
Finland -1.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
France -4.5% of GDP (2012 est.)
French Polynesia 3.6% of GDP (1999)
Gabon 6.7% of GDP (2012 est.)
Gambia, The -5.4% of GDP (2012 est.)
Georgia 5% of GDP (2012 est.)
Germany 0% of GDP (2012 est.)
Ghana -5.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
Gibraltar 2.1% of GDP (2008 est.)
Greece -7.6% of GDP (2012 est.)
Greenland 1.9% of GDP (2010)
Grenada -4.8% of GDP (2009 est.)
Guam -3.9% of GDP (2002 est.)
Guatemala -2.6% of GDP (2012 est.)
Guernsey 1.2% of GDP (2005)
Guinea -6.5% of GDP (2012 est.)
Guinea-Bissau -3.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
Guyana -5.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
Haiti -1.2% of GDP (2012 est.)
Honduras -3.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
Hong Kong 1.1% of GDP (2012 est.)
Hungary -2.7% of GDP
note: in 2011, the Government decided to redirect funds from the country's obligatory private pension scheme into state coffers in order to pay off government debt, effectively renationalizing the private pension system; the 2.9% deficit shown here does not include this change; including this change would result in a budget surplus of 3.6%; the EU renewed its Excessive Deficit Procedure against Hungary in January 2012, because it expects the 2013 deficit to reach 3.7%; the primary criticism of Hungary's deficit reductions in 2011 and 2012 was that they were not achieved in a sustainable manner (2012 est.)
Iceland -2.3% of GDP (2012 est.)
India -5.6% of GDP (2012 est.)
Indonesia -2.4% of GDP (2012 est.)
Iran -5% of GDP (2012 est.)
Iraq 4.5% of GDP (2012 est.)
Ireland -8.5% of GDP (2012 est.)
Isle of Man 0.8% of GDP (FY05/06 est.)
Israel -3.8% of GDP (2012 est.)
Italy -2.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
Jamaica -6.1% of GDP (2012 est.)
Japan -9.1% of GDP (2012 est.)
Jersey -0.4% of GDP (2005)
Jordan -11.4% of GDP (2012 est.)
Kazakhstan -2.5% of GDP (2012 est.)
Kenya -4.6% of GDP (2012 est.)
Kiribati -29.6% of GDP (2010 est.)
Korea, North -0.4% of GDP (2007 est.)
Korea, South 2% of GDP (2012 est.)
Kosovo -5.1% of GDP (2011 est.)
Kuwait 21.6% of GDP (2012 est.)
Kyrgyzstan -7.8% of GDP (2012 est.)
Laos -2.1% of GDP (2012 est.)
Latvia -2.7% of GDP (2012 est.)
Lebanon -7.8% of GDP (2012 est.)
Lesotho -0.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
Liberia -1.1% of GDP (2012 est.)
Libya 6.4% of GDP (2012 est.)
Liechtenstein 0.9% of GDP (2010 est.)
Lithuania -4.3% of GDP (2012 est.)
Luxembourg -0.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
Macau 45.3% of GDP (2012 est.)
Macedonia -2.6% of GDP (2012 est.)
Madagascar -1.7% of GDP (2012 est.)
Malawi -6.3% of GDP (2012 est.)
Malaysia -5.2% of GDP (2012 est.)
Maldives -14% of GDP (2011 est.)
Mali -7.5% of GDP (2012 est.)
Malta -3.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
Marshall Islands NA% of GDP (2008)
Mauritania -1.8% of GDP (2012 est.)
Mauritius -4.2% of GDP (2012 est.)
Mexico -2.4% of GDP (2012 est.)
Micronesia, Federated States of 5.6% of GDP (FY07 est.)
Moldova -2.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
Monaco -1.9% of GDP (2010 est.)
Mongolia -5.2% of GDP (2012 est.)
Montenegro -4.6% of GDP (2011 est.)
Morocco -7.3% of GDP (2012 est.)
Mozambique -6.5% of GDP (2012 est.)
Namibia -4.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
Nepal -6.2% of GDP (FY11/12)
Netherlands -5.1% of GDP (2012 est.)
New Caledonia -2.3% of GDP (2001 est.)
New Zealand -6% of GDP (2012 est.)
Nicaragua 0.7% of GDP (2012 est.)
Niger -4.1% of GDP (2012 est.)
Nigeria -3% of GDP (2012 est.)
Niue -12.6% of GDP (FY04/05)
Northern Mariana Islands -4.7% of GDP (FY91/92)
Norway 15.2% of GDP (2012 est.)
Oman 6.3% of GDP (2012 est.)
Pakistan -6.4% of GDP (2012 est.)
Palau -3.2% of GDP (2010 est.)
Panama -2.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
Papua New Guinea 0.1% of GDP (2012 est.)
Paraguay -1.7% of GDP (2012 est.)
Peru 0.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
Philippines -2.7% of GDP (2012 est.)
Poland -2.1% of GDP (2012 est.)
Portugal -6.1% of GDP (2012 est.)
Puerto Rico -3.1% of GDP (FY99/00)
Qatar 6.2% of GDP (2012 est.)
Romania -2.3% of GDP (2012 est.)
Russia -0.1% of GDP (2012 est.)
Rwanda -1.8% of GDP (2012 est.)
Saint Kitts and Nevis -5% of GDP (2012 est.)
Saint Lucia -2.9% of GDP (2011 est.)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 0% of GDP (2012 est.)
Samoa -6.1% of GDP (2012 est.)
San Marino -3.2% of GDP (2009)
Sao Tome and Principe -10.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
Saudi Arabia 11.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
Senegal -5.8% of GDP (2012 est.)
Serbia -6.7% of GDP (2012 est.)
Seychelles 1.5% of GDP (2012 est.)
Sierra Leone -4.1% of GDP (2012 est.)
Singapore 0.1% of GDP (2012 est.)
Slovakia -4.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
Slovenia -4.6% of GDP (2012 est.)
Solomon Islands 5.2% of GDP (2012 est.)
South Africa -5.4% of GDP (2012 est.)
Spain -7.4% of GDP (2012 est.)
Sri Lanka -6.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
Sudan -10.8% of GDP (2012 est.)
Suriname -2.2% of GDP (2010 est.)
Svalbard NA% of GDP
Swaziland -0.3% of GDP (2012 est.)
Sweden -0.3% of GDP (2012 est.)
Switzerland 0.3% of GDP (2012 est.)
Syria -9.5% of GDP (2012 est.)
Taiwan -2.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
Tajikistan -0.3% of GDP (2012 est.)
Tanzania -5.7% of GDP (2012 est.)
Thailand -2.4% of GDP (2012 est.)
Timor-Leste 0% of GDP (2012 est.)
Togo -3.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
Tonga 0% of GDP (2012 est.)
Trinidad and Tobago -2.7% of GDP (2012 est.)
Tunisia -8.5% of GDP (2012 est.)
Turkey -2.6% of GDP (2012 est.)
Turkmenistan -1.5% of GDP (2012 est.)
Tuvalu -4.2% of GDP (2006)
Uganda -3.5% of GDP (2012 est.)
Ukraine -3.6% of GDP (2012 est.)
United Arab Emirates 4.5% of GDP (2012 est.)
United Kingdom -7.7% of GDP (2012 est.)
United States -7.6% of GDP (2012 est.)
Uruguay -1.6% of GDP (2012 est.)
Uzbekistan -0.2% of GDP (2012 est.)
Vanuatu -2.5% of GDP (2012 est.)
Venezuela -17.5% of GDP (2012 est.)
Vietnam -3.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
West Bank -16.6% of GDP (2011 est.)
World -3.8% of GDP (2012 est.)
Yemen -12% of GDP (2012 est.)
Zambia -6.2% of GDP (2012 est.)
Zimbabwe NA% of GDP (2010 est.)