We use cookies to personalise content and ads. You can change your cookie settings at any time. More info
CompareEconomy.com Comparison of world economies

External balance on goods and services (% of GDP)

Table of Contents

External balance (% of GDP) by country

Lack of map.
A map of the world, with colours to highlight the external balance (% of GDP) of each country. Numbers on the legend are percent.

List of all countries

Flag Position Country Number
1 Ireland 39.38
2 Gabon 38.95
3 Luxembourg 34.75
4 Singapore 31.36
5 Angola 28.08
6 Timor-Leste 27.61
7 Qatar 24.78
8 Congo 21.3
9 Zambia 18.16
10 Azerbaijan 16.75
11 Malta 13.81
12 Iraq 13.47
13 Brunei Darussalam 13.21
14 Norway 12.26
15 Switzerland 11.89
16 Oman 11.14
17 Saudi Arabia 10.42
18 Netherlands 10.26
19 Kazakhstan 9.55
20 Russia 9.54
21 Panama 9.43
22 Equatorial Guinea 8.88
23 Maldives 7.51
24 Denmark 7.14
25 Malaysia 7.11
26 Slovenia 6.34
27 South Africa 6.17
28 Uruguay 6.16
29 Belarus 5.48
30 Germany 5.32
31 Lithuania 4.52
32 Sweden 4.3
33 Australia 4.28
34 Israel 3.96
35 South Korea 3.58
36 Myanmar 3.48
37 Poland 3.38
38 Argentina 3.09
39 Czechia 2.96
40 Cyprus 2.92
41 Indonesia 2.7
42 Peru 2.67
43 China 2.61
44 Italy 2.36
45 Bulgaria 1.68
46 Costa Rica 1.66
47 Spain 1.49
48 Ghana 1.39
49 Iran 1.3
50 Paraguay 1.16
51 Belgium 1.05
52 Brazil 1.02
53 Ecuador 0.99
54 Austria 0.58
55 Sudan 0.38
56 Hungary 0.3
57 Democratic Republic of the Congo 0.29
58 Finland 0.23
59 Algeria 0.2
60 Ivory Coast 0.2
61 Vietnam 0.12
62 Canada 0.1
63 Slovakia -0.22
64 Turkey -0.23
65 Thailand -0.24
66 Estonia -0.36
67 Japan -0.52
68 Chile -0.65
69 United Kingdom -0.77
70 Eswatini -0.86
71 Nigeria -1.1
72 Ukraine -1.12
73 Croatia -1.47
74 Mexico -1.51
75 Iceland -1.79
76 France -1.94
77 Mongolia -2
78 India -2.49
79 Tanzania -2.72
80 Portugal -2.98
81 Cambodia -3.01
82 Bolivia -3.37
83 Latvia -3.43
84 Belize -3.63
85 Cameroon -3.65
86 United States of America (USA) -3.7
87 Guinea -3.75
88 New Zealand -4.03
89 Botswana -5.25
90 Chad -5.48
91 Zimbabwe -5.49
92 Romania -5.66
93 Benin -5.83
94 Bangladesh -6.4
95 Sri Lanka -7.36
96 Greece -7.71
97 Serbia -7.8
98 Colombia -8.03
99 Seychelles -8.12
100 Madagascar -8.37
101 Armenia -8.49
102 Pakistan -8.93
103 Ethiopia -9.07
104 Morocco -9.09
105 Egypt -9.18
106 Dominican Republic -9.23
107 Mauritius -9.71
108 Barbados -10.1
109 Tunisia -10.1
110 Cuba -10.24
111 Mali -10.63
112 Togo -10.91
113 Bosnia and Herzegovina -11.9
114 Philippines -12.02
115 Nicaragua -12.55
116 Solomon Islands -12.62
117 Albania -13.29
118 Guatemala -14.28
119 Bahamas -14.64
120 Rwanda -15.72
121 North Macedonia -16.04
122 Namibia -16.25
123 Central African Republic -16.31
124 Uzbekistan -16.4
125 Georgia -16.45
126 Niger -16.94
127 Jamaica -18.2
128 Senegal -18.63
129 Burundi -18.82
130 Montenegro -19.36
131 Comoros -20.66
132 Jordan -20.83
133 Bhutan -20.91
134 Mauritania -21.49
135 Haiti -22.82
136 Marshall Islands -23.06
137 Honduras -23.45
138 Sierra Leone -24.53
139 El Salvador -25.27
140 Lebanon -26.78
141 Fiji -27.27
142 Moldova -27.37
143 Gambia -29.15
144 Kyrgyzstan -29.76
145 Cabo Verde -33.39
146 Nepal -33.39
147 Vanuatu -33.48
148 Mozambique -37.45
149 Samoa -37.52
150 Lesotho -45.61
151 Micronesia -45.84
152 Tonga -48.32
153 Nauru -65.55
154 Somalia -65.71
155 Kiribati -83.09

Bar chart

World external balance by year (% of GDP)

World external balance by year (% of GDP).

Table

Year Number
1970 0.02
1971 0.12
1972 0.2
1973 0.33
1974 -0.1
1975 -0.01
1976 -0.18
1977 -0.35
1978 -0.23
1979 -0.34
1980 -0.45
1981 -0.53
1982 -0.74
1983 -0.58
1984 -0.52
1985 -0.52
1986 -0.41
1987 -0.25
1988 -0.28
1989 -0.37
1990 -0.29
1991 0.04
1992 0.4
1993 0.42
1994 0.42
1995 0.42
1996 0.36
1997 0.49
1998 0.39
1999 0.26
2000 0.09
2001 -0.04
2002 0.2
2003 0.17
2004 0.27
2005 0.35
2006 0.59
2007 0.67
2008 0.59
2009 0.58
2010 0.83
2011 0.87
2012 0.96
2013 0.94
2014 0.76
2015 0.71
2016 0.68
2017 0.71
2018 0.63
2019 0.51
2020 0.78
2021 0.96

Largest economies by external balance (% of GDP)

Top 10 countries by external balance (% of GDP)

External balance on goods and services (percent of GDP)

If you want to find out which country earned or lost on trade with foreigners, then the best way to do it is to compare the value of export and import, and then see the difference. If the export was larger, then the country has earned on trade. If; however, the import was larger, then we are dealing with negative external balance.

Obviously, the numbers themselves may not represent the real balance between one country and another. For example, hundreds of millions may be quite a lot for small countries such as Oman or Puerto Rico. However, the same number for such giants as China or the United States make slight or no difference at all. This is why it is a good idea to look at external balance on goods and services based on the % of GDP of a given country.

The most significant earnings - which countries?

If we take into account the total GDP of a country, then we can notice that the first three regions that earned the most are Macao SAR in China, Luxembourg, and, surprisingly, Gabon. The presented data come from information collected in 2019.

Macao SAR, an administrative region with completely different regulations and laws, had a positive balance equal to 50% of the total GDP. In numbers, it was $27 billion. Luxembourg, the second position in our ranking, had earnings at around 36%, which was $25.5 billion. Interestingly, Gabon earned approximately $5 billion, but due to its small GDP, it was 29%.

What about the biggest losers?

In 2019, Somalia lost $4.3 billion, which was -88% of their total GDP. The second place belongs to Liberia with the loss of -70% of their total GDP. It was around $2 billion. Nauru is closing the ranking with the balance of -60%. Interestingly, it was “only” $70 million.