| 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.) |