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 -9.5% of GDP (2011 est.)
Albania -3.5% of GDP (2011 est.)
Algeria -2.5% of GDP (2011 est.)
American Samoa -6.1% of GDP (FY07)
Angola 7.5% of GDP (2011 est.)
Anguilla 0.2% of GDP (2009 est.)
Antigua and Barbuda -5.4% of GDP (2009 est.)
Argentina -1.7% of GDP (2011 est.)
Armenia -3% of GDP (2011 est.)
Aruba -4% of GDP (2011 est.)
Australia -3.3% of GDP (2011 est.)
Austria -3.3% of GDP (2011 est.)
Azerbaijan -17.7% of GDP (2011 est.)
Bahamas, The -2.1% of GDP (FY11/12 est.)
Bahrain -3.5% of GDP (2011 est.)
Bangladesh -4% of GDP (2011 est.)
Barbados -4% of GDP (2011 est.)
Belarus 1.7% of GDP (2011 est.)
Belgium -4.2% of GDP (2011 est.)
Belize -3.4% of GDP (2011 est.)
Benin -4.3% of GDP (2011 est.)
Bhutan -5.8% of GDP (2011 est.)
Bolivia 0.8% of GDP (2011 est.)
Bosnia and Herzegovina -3.1% of GDP (2011 est.)
Botswana -3.6% of GDP (2011 est.)
Brazil 3.1% of GDP (2011 est.)
British Virgin Islands 0% of GDP (2011 est.)
Brunei -2% of GDP (2011 est.)
Bulgaria -2.1% of GDP (2011 est.)
Burkina Faso -3.9% of GDP (2011 est.)
Burma -4.3% of GDP (2011 est.)
Burundi -2.9% of GDP (2011 est.)
Cambodia -5.1% of GDP (2011 est.)
Cameroon -1.1% of GDP (2011 est.)
Canada -5% of GDP (2011 est.)
Cape Verde -10.1% of GDP (2011 est.)
Cayman Islands -2.8% of GDP (2011 est.)
Central African Republic -1.2% of GDP (2011 est.)
Chad -10.5% of GDP (2011 est.)
Chile 1.5% of GDP (2011 est.)
China -1.1% of GDP (2011 est.)
Colombia -2.4% of GDP (2011 est.)
Comoros -1.4% of GDP (2011 est.)
Congo, Democratic Republic of the -7.3% of GDP (2011 est.)
Congo, Republic of the 23% of GDP (2011 est.)
Cook Islands 1% of GDP (FY05/06)
Costa Rica -5.6% of GDP (2011 est.)
Cote d'Ivoire -7.8% of GDP (2011 est.)
Croatia 6% of GDP (2011 est.)
Cuba -4.5% of GDP (2011 est.)
Curacao -0.9% of GDP (2011 est.)
Cyprus -6.5% of GDP (2011 est.)
Czech Republic -3.7% of GDP (2011 est.)
Denmark -2.8% of GDP (2011 est.)
Djibouti -2% of GDP (2011 est.)
Dominica 7.6% of GDP (2011 est.)
Dominican Republic -2.6% of GDP (2011 est.)
Ecuador -5.6% of GDP (2011 est.)
Egypt -9.8% of GDP (2011 est.)
El Salvador -4% of GDP (2011 est.)
Equatorial Guinea 1.7% of GDP (2011 est.)
Eritrea -11.7% of GDP (2011 est.)
Estonia -0.7% of GDP (2011 est.)
Ethiopia -2% of GDP (2011 est.)
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) -5% of GDP (FY09/10)
Faroe Islands -3.6% of GDP (2010)
Fiji -3.1% of GDP (2011 est.)
Finland -0.5% of GDP (2011 est.)
France -5.4% of GDP (2011 est.)
French Polynesia 3.6% of GDP (1999)
Gabon 6.7% of GDP (2011 est.)
Gambia, The -4.5% of GDP (2011 est.)
Georgia -4.6% of GDP (2011 est.)
Germany -1% of GDP (2011 est.)
Ghana -4.3% of GDP (2011 est.)
Gibraltar 2.1% of GDP (2008 est.)
Greece -9.6% of GDP (2011 est.)
Greenland 0% of GDP (2010)
Grenada -4.9% of GDP (2009 est.)
Guam -3.9% of GDP (2002 est.)
Guatemala -2.8% of GDP (2011 est.)
Guernsey 1.2% of GDP (2005)
Guinea -4.7% of GDP (2011 est.)
Guinea-Bissau -2% of GDP (2011 est.)
Guyana -3% of GDP (2011 est.)
Haiti -2.3% of GDP (2011 est.)
Honduras -3.9% of GDP (2011 est.)
Hong Kong 3.5% of GDP (2011 est.)
Hungary 4.2% 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 launched an 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 (2011 est.)
Iceland -4.4% of GDP (2011 est.)
India -6.7% of GDP (2011 est.)
Indonesia -1.2% of GDP (2011 est.)
Iran 8% of GDP (2011 est.)
Iraq -11.6% of GDP (2011 est.)
Ireland -10.1% of GDP (2011 est.)
Isle of Man 0.8% of GDP (FY05/06 est.)
Israel -3.3% of GDP (2011 est.)
Italy -3.9% of GDP (2011 est.)
Jamaica -6% of GDP (2011 est.)
Japan -8.9% of GDP (2011 est.)
Jersey -0.4% of GDP (2005)
Jordan -12.6% of GDP (2011 est.)
Kazakhstan -2.2% of GDP (2011 est.)
Kenya -5.1% of GDP (2011 est.)
Kiribati -2.5% of GDP (FY05)
Korea, North -0.4% of GDP (2007 est.)
Korea, South 2.3% of GDP (2011 est.)
Kosovo -5% of GDP (2011 est.)
Kuwait 28.4% of GDP (2011 est.)
Kyrgyzstan -4.9% of GDP (2011 est.)
Laos -2.5% of GDP (2011 est.)
Latvia -4% of GDP (2011 est.)
Lebanon -6% of GDP (2011 est.)
Lesotho -12.4% of GDP (2011 est.)
Liberia -1% of GDP (2011 est.)
Libya -37.6% of GDP (2011 est.)
Liechtenstein 2.7% of GDP (2008 est.)
Lithuania -4.9% of GDP (2011 est.)
Luxembourg -0.7% of GDP (2011 est.)
Macau 43% of GDP (2011 est.)
Macedonia -2.5% of GDP (2011 est.)
Madagascar -0.8% of GDP (2011 est.)
Malawi -1% of GDP (2011 est.)
Malaysia -5% of GDP (2011 est.)
Maldives -14.5% of GDP (2010 est.)
Mali -4.3% of GDP (2011 est.)
Malta 12.7% of GDP (2011 est.)
Marshall Islands NA% of GDP (2008)
Mauritania -1.3% of GDP (2011 est.)
Mauritius -4.2% of GDP (2011 est.)
Mexico -2.5% of GDP (2011 est.)
Micronesia, Federated States of 5.6% of GDP (FY07 est.)
Moldova -0.3% of GDP (2011 est.)
Monaco -1.9% of GDP (2010 est.)
Mongolia -0.7% of GDP (2011 est.)
Montenegro -4.4% of GDP (2011 est.)
Morocco -5.7% of GDP (2011 est.)
Mozambique -3.5% of GDP (2011 est.)
Namibia -9.9% of GDP (2011 est.)
Nepal -7.5% of GDP (FY11)
Netherlands -4.7% of GDP (2011 est.)
New Caledonia -2.3% of GDP (2001 est.)
New Zealand -8.5% of GDP (2011 est.)
Nicaragua -3.3% of GDP (2011 est.)
Niger -2.8% of GDP (2011 est.)
Nigeria -3.4% of GDP (2011 est.)
Niue -12.6% of GDP (FY04/05)
Northern Mariana Islands -4.7% of GDP (FY91/92)
Norway 14.7% of GDP (2011 est.)
Oman 10% of GDP (2011 est.)
Pakistan -6.6% of GDP (2011 est.)
Palau 9.3% of GDP (2008 est.)
Panama -2.3% of GDP (2011 est.)
Papua New Guinea -0.2% of GDP (2011 est.)
Paraguay 0.5% of GDP (2011 est.)
Peru 1.8% of GDP (2011 est.)
Philippines -2.1% of GDP (2011 est.)
Poland -1.6% of GDP (2011 est.)
Portugal -4% of GDP (2011 est.)
Puerto Rico -3.1% of GDP (FY99/00)
Qatar 13.3% of GDP (2011 est.)
Romania -4.1% of GDP (2011 est.)
Russia 0.4% of GDP (2011 est.)
Rwanda -3.3% of GDP (2011 est.)
Saint Kitts and Nevis -5.2% of GDP (2011 est.)
Saint Lucia -3% of GDP (2011 est.)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines -10.7% of GDP (2011 est.)
Samoa -6.8% of GDP (2011 est.)
San Marino -3.6% of GDP (2009)
Sao Tome and Principe -17.4% of GDP (2011 est.)
Saudi Arabia 14.1% of GDP (2011 est.)
Senegal -6.7% of GDP (2011 est.)
Serbia -4.4% of GDP (2011 est.)
Seychelles 1.6% of GDP (2011 est.)
Sierra Leone -3.9% of GDP (2011 est.)
Singapore 1.3% of GDP (2011 est.)
Slovakia -5.5% of GDP (2011 est.)
Slovenia -4.5% of GDP (2011 est.)
Solomon Islands 6.2% of GDP (2011 est.)
South Africa -3.8% of GDP (2011 est.)
Spain -8.5% of GDP (2011 est.)
Sri Lanka -7% of GDP (2011 est.)
Sudan -4.5% of GDP (2011 est.)
Suriname -3% of GDP (2010 est.)
Svalbard NA% of GDP
Swaziland -12.2% of GDP (2011 est.)
Sweden 0.1% of GDP (2011 est.)
Switzerland 0.5% of GDP (2011 est.)
Syria -9.5% of GDP (2011 est.)
Taiwan -3.3% of GDP (2011 est.)
Tajikistan 0.7% of GDP (2011 est.)
Tanzania -6.5% of GDP (2011 est.)
Thailand -1.2% of GDP (2011 est.)
Timor-Leste 30.1% of GDP (2011 est.)
Togo -4% of GDP (2011 est.)
Tonga 0% of GDP (2011 est.)
Trinidad and Tobago -3.6% of GDP (2011 est.)
Tunisia -5.8% of GDP (2011 est.)
Turkey -1.3% of GDP (2011 est.)
Turkmenistan 0.4% of GDP (2011 est.)
Tuvalu -4.3% of GDP (2006)
Uganda -5.9% of GDP (2011 est.)
Ukraine -3.9% of GDP (2011 est.)
United Arab Emirates 5% of GDP (2011 est.)
United Kingdom -8.3% of GDP (2011 est.)
United States -8.6% of GDP (2011 est.)
Uruguay -0.8% of GDP (2011 est.)
Uzbekistan 0.4% of GDP (2011 est.)
Vanuatu 1.4% of GDP (2011 est.)
Venezuela -4.9% of GDP (2011 est.)
Vietnam -2.4% of GDP (2011 est.)
West Bank -16.3% of GDP (2011 est.)
World -4% of GDP (2011 est.)
Yemen -9.9% of GDP (2011 est.)
Zambia -4% of GDP (2011 est.)
Zimbabwe NA% of GDP (2010 est.)