High income OECD countries Compared by Economy > Budget surplus > + or deficit > -
DEFINITION:
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.
CONTENTS
# | COUNTRY | AMOUNT | DATE | GRAPH | HISTORY |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Norway | 14% of GDP | 2012 | ||
2 | South Korea | 1.5% of GDP | 2012 | ||
3 | Chile | 0.5% of GDP | 2012 | ||
=4 | Switzerland | 0.1% of GDP | 2012 | ||
=4 | Germany | 0.1% of GDP | 2012 | ||
6 | Estonia | -0.3% of GDP | 2012 | ||
7 | Sweden | -0.7% of GDP | 2012 | ||
8 | Luxembourg | -0.8% of GDP | 2012 | ||
9 | Austria | -1.4% of GDP | 2012 | ||
10 | Poland | -1.9% of GDP | 2012 | ||
11 | Finland | -2.3% of GDP | 2012 | ||
12 | Italy | -2.9% of GDP | 2012 | ||
13 | Slovenia | -3.2% of GDP | 2012 | ||
14 | Canada | -3.3% of GDP | 2012 | ||
15 | Australia | -3.4% of GDP | 2012 | ||
16 | Iceland | -3.5% of GDP | 2012 | ||
17 | New Zealand | -3.8% of GDP | 2012 | ||
18 | Israel | -4% of GDP | 2012 | ||
=19 | Netherlands | -4.1% of GDP | 2012 | ||
=19 | Denmark | -4.1% of GDP | 2012 | ||
21 | Belgium | -4.2% of GDP | 2012 | ||
22 | Slovakia | -4.4% of GDP | 2012 | ||
23 | Czech Republic | -4.5% of GDP | 2012 | ||
24 | France | -4.9% of GDP | 2012 | ||
25 | Portugal | -6.5% of GDP | 2012 | ||
26 | United States | -6.8% of GDP | 2012 | ||
27 | Ireland | -7.6% of GDP | 2012 | ||
28 | United Kingdom | -8.2% of GDP | 2012 | ||
29 | Japan | -10% of GDP | 2012 | ||
30 | Greece | -10.2% of GDP | 2012 | ||
31 | Spain | -10.9% of GDP | 2012 |