Fiscal balance, percent of GDP - Country rankings
* indicates monthly or quarterly data series
Fiscal balance, percent of GDP, 2022:
The average for 2022 based on 40 countries was -3.81 percent. The highest value was in Equatorial Guinea: 11.9 percent and the lowest value was in Ghana: -11.8 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.Measure: percent; Source:
Select indicator
* indicates monthly or quarterly data series
| Countries | Fiscal balance, percent of GDP, 2022 | Global rank | Available data |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eq. Guinea | 11.9 | 1 | 2018 - 2023 |
| R. of Congo | 8.9 | 2 | 1989 - 2023 |
| Chad | 5.4 | 3 | 1995 - 2023 |
| Gabon | 1.4 | 4 | 1990 - 2023 |
| Angola | 0.7 | 5 | 1996 - 2023 |
| Somalia | 0 | 6 | 2018 - 2023 |
| Guinea | -0.8 | 7 | 1990 - 2023 |
| Botswana | -1 | 8 | 2000 - 2022 |
| Cameroon | -1.1 | 9 | 2007 - 2023 |
| Eritrea | -1.3 | 10 | 2008 - 2023 |
| Sudan | -1.7 | 11 | 1990 - 2023 |
| Zimbabwe | -2.1 | 12 | 2018 - 2023 |
| Ethiopia | -3.4 | 13 | 1990 - 2022 |
| Tanzania | -3.4 | 14 | 2018 - 2022 |
| Mauritania | -3.6 | 15 | 2007 - 2023 |
| Swaziland | -3.77 | 16 | 1980 - 2023 |
| Cape Verde | -4.6 | 17 | 1994 - 2023 |
| Gambia | -4.9 | 18 | 2005 - 2023 |
| Burundi | -5 | 19 | 2018 - 2023 |
| Mali | -5 | 20 | 2008 - 2023 |
| Mozambique | -5.1 | 21 | 2018 - 2023 |
| Namibia | -5.1 | 22 | 2018 - 2023 |
| C.A. Republic | -5.4 | 23 | 1988 - 2023 |
| Nigeria | -5.4 | 24 | 1990 - 2023 |
| Benin | -5.5 | 25 | 2008 - 2023 |
| Mauritius | -6.1 | 26 | 1983 - 2023 |
| Senegal | -6.1 | 27 | 2008 - 2023 |
| S.T.&Principe | -6.2 | 28 | 2018 - 2023 |
| Kenya | -6.3 | 29 | 1982 - 2023 |
| G.-Bissau | -6.5 | 30 | 1991 - 2023 |
| Liberia | -6.5 | 31 | 2000 - 2023 |
| Madagascar | -6.8 | 32 | 1980 - 2022 |
| Malawi | -6.8 | 33 | 2005 - 2023 |
| Niger | -6.8 | 34 | 2008 - 2023 |
| Uganda | -7.4 | 35 | 1997 - 2023 |
| Zambia | -8.2 | 36 | 2002 - 2023 |
| Togo | -8.5 | 37 | 2008 - 2022 |
| Burkina Faso | -8.9 | 38 | 2009 - 2023 |
| Sierra Leone | -9.6 | 39 | 2000 - 2023 |
| Ghana | -11.8 | 40 | 2004 - 2023 |
Definition: The fiscal (budget) balance is the difference between government revenue and government expenditure. We express the value as percent of GDP to relate it to the size of the economy.
Selected articles from our guide:
The unholy trinity of international finance
Most commonly used measures of corruption
All articles
11.90
8.90
5.40
1.40
0.70
0.00
-0.80
-1.00
-1.10
-1.30
-1.70
-2.10
-3.40
-3.40
-3.60
-3.77
-4.60
-4.90
-5.00
-5.00
-5.10
-5.10
-5.40
-5.40
-5.50
-6.10
-6.10
-6.20
-6.30
-6.50
-6.50
-6.80
-6.80
-6.80
-7.40
-8.20
-8.50
-8.90
-9.60
-11.80
-11.8
-5.9
0.1
6
11.9
Fiscal balance, percent of GDP around the world Fiscal balance, percent of GDP in Europe Fiscal balance, percent of GDP in Asia Fiscal balance, percent of GDP in Africa Fiscal balance, percent of GDP in North America Fiscal balance, percent of GDP in South America Fiscal balance, percent of GDP in Australia/Oceania Fiscal balance, percent of GDP in the European union Fiscal balance, percent of GDP in MENA Fiscal balance, percent of GDP in South East Asia Fiscal balance, percent of GDP in Latin America