Data / Rankings / Government balance / Countries

Countries by government balance as a share of GDP

Norway had the highest government balance as a share of GDP of 42 countries in 2014, at 8.3% of GDP. Portugal had the lowest, at -7.4% of GDP. The median was -2.2% of GDP. Source: the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Highest8.3Norway
Lowest-7.4Portugal
Median-2.242 countries

All countries, 2014

Norway: 8.3 % of GDPNorway8.3Denmark: 1.4 % of GDPDenmark1.4Luxembourg: 1.3 % of GDPLuxembourg1.3South Korea: 1.1 % of GDPSouth Korea1.1Estonia: 0.9 % of GDPEstonia0.9Germany: 0.7 % of GDPGermany0.7Iceland: 0.6 % of GDPIceland0.6New Zealand: 0.2 % of GDPNew Zealand0.2Canada: 0.2 % of GDPCanada0.2Switzerland: -0.2 % of GDPSwitzerland-0.2China: -0.5 % of GDPChina-0.5Costa Rica: -1.4 % of GDPCosta Rica-1.4Indonesia: -1.7 % of GDPIndonesia-1.7Latvia: -1.7 % of GDPLatvia-1.7Chile: -1.8 % of GDPChile-1.8Lithuania: -1.8 % of GDPLithuania-1.8Sweden: -1.9 % of GDPSweden-1.9Austria: -1.9 % of GDPAustria-1.9Czechia: -2.1 % of GDPCzechia-2.1Netherlands: -2.2 % of GDPNetherlands-2.2Australia: -2.2 % of GDPAustralia-2.2Russia: -2.2 % of GDPRussia-2.2Israel: -2.3 % of GDPIsrael-2.3Hungary: -2.8 % of GDPHungary-2.8Italy: -2.8 % of GDPItaly-2.8Finland: -3 % of GDPFinland-3Colombia: -3.1 % of GDPColombia-3.1Belgium: -3.2 % of GDPBelgium-3.2Slovakia: -3.2 % of GDPSlovakia-3.2Ireland: -3.5 % of GDPIreland-3.5Poland: -3.7 % of GDPPoland-3.7Greece: -3.8 % of GDPGreece-3.8South Africa: -4 % of GDPSouth Africa-4Slovenia: -4.5 % of GDPSlovenia-4.5France: -4.6 % of GDPFrance-4.6Mexico: -5.1 % of GDPMexico-5.1United States: -5.2 % of GDPUnited States-5.2United Kingdom: -5.5 % of GDPUnited Kingdom-5.5Japan: -5.6 % of GDPJapan-5.6Brazil: -5.9 % of GDPBrazil-5.9Spain: -6 % of GDPSpain-6Portugal: -7.4 % of GDPPortugal-7.4
% of GDP. Source: OECD, OECD National Accounts at a Glance: net lending (+) or net borrowing (-) of general government, percentage of GDP (DSD_NAAG_VI@DF_NAAG_VI, B9S13). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCountries2014
% of GDP		Change on 2013
1Norway8.3-2 pts
2Denmark1.4+2.4 pts
3Luxembourg1.3+0.5 pts
4South Korea1.1-0.1 pts
5Estonia0.9+1.1 pts
6Germany0.7+0.6 pts
7Iceland0.6+1.5 pts
8New Zealand0.2+1.1 pts
9Canada0.2+1.7 pts
10Switzerland-0.2+0.2 pts
11China-0.5+0.1 pts
12Costa Rica-1.4+1.2 pts
13Indonesia-1.7+0.2 pts
14Latvia-1.7-0.4 pts
15Chile Estimated-1.8-1.2 pts
16Lithuania-1.8+0.9 pts
17Sweden-1.9-0.2 pts
18Austria-1.9+0.1 pts
19Czechia-2.1-0.8 pts
20Netherlands-2.2+0.7 pts
21Australia-2.2+0.5 pts
22Russia-2.2-1.7 pts
23Israel-2.3+1.8 pts
24Hungary-2.8-0.2 pts
25Italy-2.8+0.1 pts
26Finland-3-0.5 pts
27Colombia-3.1-1.6 pts
28Belgium-3.2-0 pts
29Slovakia-3.2-0.4 pts
30Ireland-3.5+2.8 pts
31Poland-3.7+0.6 pts
32Greece-3.8+9.8 pts
33South Africa-4-0.3 pts
34Slovenia-4.5+6.7 pts
35France-4.6+0.4 pts
36Mexico-5.1-1.6 pts
37United States-5.2+0.7 pts
38United Kingdom-5.5-0.2 pts
39Japan-5.6+2 pts
40Brazil-5.9-2.6 pts
41Spain-6+1.5 pts
42Portugal-7.4-2.1 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

General government net lending (+) or net borrowing (-) as a percentage of GDP.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the countries are compared on one definition. 5 countries with data in other periods have no value for 2014 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

OECD. OECD National Accounts at a Glance: net lending (+) or net borrowing (-) of general government, percentage of GDP (DSD_NAAG_VI@DF_NAAG_VI, B9S13). https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_NAAG_VI%40DF_NAAG_VI&df[ag]=OECD.SDD.NAD. Accessed 2026-10-12. Data reuse terms and downstream attribution: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/terms-conditions.html

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2026). OECD National Accounts at a Glance: net lending (+) or net borrowing (-) of general government, percentage of GDP (DSD_NAAG_VI@DF_NAAG_VI, B9S13) (Countries by government balance as a share of GDP, 2014) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_NAAG_VI%40DF_NAAG_VI&df[ag]=OECD.SDD.NAD

MLA 9

OECD National Accounts at a Glance: net lending (+) or net borrowing (-) of general government, percentage of GDP (DSD_NAAG_VI@DF_NAAG_VI, B9S13), Countries by government balance as a share of GDP, 2014. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 12 Oct. 2026, https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_NAAG_VI%40DF_NAAG_VI&df[ag]=OECD.SDD.NAD. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/government-balance/countries?period=2014. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 2026. OECD National Accounts at a Glance: net lending (+) or net borrowing (-) of general government, percentage of GDP (DSD_NAAG_VI@DF_NAAG_VI, B9S13). Countries by government balance as a share of GDP, 2014. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_NAAG_VI%40DF_NAAG_VI&df[ag]=OECD.SDD.NAD. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/government-balance/countries?period=2014.

Harvard

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2026) OECD National Accounts at a Glance: net lending (+) or net borrowing (-) of general government, percentage of GDP (DSD_NAAG_VI@DF_NAAG_VI, B9S13), Countries by government balance as a share of GDP, 2014 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_NAAG_VI%40DF_NAAG_VI&df[ag]=OECD.SDD.NAD, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/government-balance/countries?period=2014 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{organisation_countries_by_government_balance_2014,
  author = {{Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development}},
  title = {{OECD National Accounts at a Glance: net lending (+) or net borrowing (-) of general government, percentage of GDP (DSD\_NAAG\_VI@DF\_NAAG\_VI, B9S13): Countries by government balance as a share of GDP, 2014}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_NAAG_VI%40DF_NAAG_VI&df[ag]=OECD.SDD.NAD},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/government-balance/countries?period=2014. Publisher attribution: OECD. OECD National Accounts at a Glance: net lending (+) or net borrowing (-) of general government, percentage of GDP (DSD\_NAAG\_VI@DF\_NAAG\_VI, B9S13). https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ\&df[id]=DSD\_NAAG\_VI\%40DF\_NAAG\_VI\&df[ag]=OECD.SDD.NAD. Accessed 2026-10-12. Data reuse terms and downstream attribution: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/terms-conditions.html.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
TI  - OECD National Accounts at a Glance: net lending (+) or net borrowing (-) of general government, percentage of GDP (DSD_NAAG_VI@DF_NAAG_VI, B9S13): Countries by government balance as a share of GDP, 2014
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/12
PB  - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_NAAG_VI%40DF_NAAG_VI&df[ag]=OECD.SDD.NAD
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/government-balance/countries?period=2014
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/government-balance/countries?period=2014.
N1  - Publisher attribution: OECD. OECD National Accounts at a Glance: net lending (+) or net borrowing (-) of general government, percentage of GDP (DSD_NAAG_VI@DF_NAAG_VI, B9S13). https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_NAAG_VI%40DF_NAAG_VI&df[ag]=OECD.SDD.NAD. Accessed 2026-10-12. Data reuse terms and downstream attribution: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/terms-conditions.html.
ER  -
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Countries by government balance as a share of GDP using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"government_deficit","level":"country","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=government_deficit&level=country&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which country has the highest government balance as a share of GDP?

Norway, with 8.3% of GDP in 2014, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Which country has the lowest government balance as a share of GDP?

Portugal, with -7.4% of GDP in 2014.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD National Accounts at a Glance: net lending (+) or net borrowing (-) of general government, percentage of GDP (DSD_NAAG_VI@DF_NAAG_VI, B9S13). Retrieved 2026-10-12. 5 countries have no value for 2014 and are not ranked.

Government balance: other rankings

Countries: more rankings