United Kingdom: Current account, percent of GDP

* indicates monthly or quarterly data series
 United Kingdom

Current account balance as percent of GDP

 Latest value -3.30
 Year 2023
 Measure percent
 Data availability 1960 - 2023
 Average -1.42
 Min - Max -5.40 - 1.80
 Source Office for National Statistics
The latest value from 2023 is -3.3 percent, a decline from -3.1 percent in 2022. In comparison, the world average is -1.48 percent, based on data from 125 countries. Historically, the average for the United Kingdom from 1960 to 2023 is -1.42 percent. The minimum value, -5.4 percent, was reached in 2016 while the maximum of 1.8 percent was recorded in 1971. See the global rankings for that indicator or use the country comparator to compare trends over time.
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* indicates monthly or quarterly data series


Recent data
United Kingdom - Current account, percent of GDP - Recent values chart

Historical series
United Kingdom - Current account, percent of GDP - historical chart - 1960-2023




The current account of the United Kingdom and other countries has three components: 1) the exports of goods and services minus the imports of goods and services; 2) the difference of incomes that countries pay to each other; and 3) the difference in transfers that countries make to each other. Current account deficits are reported with a minus sign and surpluses are reported with a plus sign.

A current account deficit means that the country needs to find financing for its imports. The foreign currencies it receives from selling products abroad are not enough to pay for the products it wants to buy from other countries. The needed amounts of foreign currencies can be obtained by, for example, borrowing. For instance, in the last several years the U.S. has been borrowing money from China in order to buy Chinese products.

This is not necessarily a problem. The current account deficit starts to be a problem if it exceeds 3-4 percent of GDP for many years. Over that time, the country accumulates a significant amount of foreign debt that eventually has to be repaid.
Definition: Current account balance is the sum of net exports of goods and services, net primary income, and net secondary income.

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 Related indicators Latest Reference Measure
 Terms of trade 95.19 2021 percent
 Trade openness 65.59 2023 percent
 Financial openness 2.299 2021 index points
 Exports, percent of GDP 32.17 2023 percent
 Exports, billion dollars 1,074.58 2023 billion U.S. dollars
 Growth of exports -0.51 2023 percent
 Imports, percent of GDP 33.41 2023 percent
 Imports, billion dollars 1,116.06 2023 billion U.S. dollars
 Foreign Direct Investment, percent of GDP -1.44 2023 percent
 Foreign Direct Investment, billion dollars 44.90 2022 billion U.S. dollars
 Portfolio investment inflows, equities -7,151.12 2023 million dollars (current)
 Current account, percent of GDP -3.30 2023 percent
 Current account, in dollars -110.39 2023 billion U.S. dollars
 Trade balance, percent of GDP -1.24 2023 percent
 Trade balance, in dollars -41.64 2023 billion U.S. dollars
 Reserves 177.92 2023 billion U.S. dollars
 Remittances, percent of GDP 0.12 2023 percent
 Remittances 3,933.15 2023 million U.S. dollars
 Net errors and omissions 25,116.91 2023 million USD
 Foreign exchange reserves 226.85 9/2024 billion
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