Data / Rankings / Government balance / Countries

Countries by government balance as a share of GDP

Iceland had the highest government balance as a share of GDP of 42 countries in 2016, at 12.7% of GDP. Brazil had the lowest, at -7.2% of GDP. The median was -1.8% of GDP. Source: the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Highest12.7Iceland
Lowest-7.2Brazil
Median-1.842 countries

All countries, 2016

Iceland: 12.7 % of GDPIceland12.7Norway: 3.9 % of GDPNorway3.9South Korea: 2.1 % of GDPSouth Korea2.1Luxembourg: 2 % of GDPLuxembourg2Germany: 1.1 % of GDPGermany1.1New Zealand: 1 % of GDPNew Zealand1Sweden: 0.8 % of GDPSweden0.8Czechia: 0.7 % of GDPCzechia0.7Switzerland: 0.3 % of GDPSwitzerland0.3Denmark: 0.3 % of GDPDenmark0.3Netherlands: 0.2 % of GDPNetherlands0.2Greece: 0.2 % of GDPGreece0.2Lithuania: 0 % of GDPLithuania0Latvia: -0 % of GDPLatvia-0Estonia: -0.1 % of GDPEstonia-0.1Canada: -0.5 % of GDPCanada-0.5Ireland: -0.8 % of GDPIreland-0.8Austria: -1.5 % of GDPAustria-1.5Australia: -1.6 % of GDPAustralia-1.6Finland: -1.7 % of GDPFinland-1.7China: -1.8 % of GDPChina-1.8Israel: -1.8 % of GDPIsrael-1.8Hungary: -1.8 % of GDPHungary-1.8Portugal: -1.9 % of GDPPortugal-1.9Slovenia: -2 % of GDPSlovenia-2Costa Rica: -2.3 % of GDPCosta Rica-2.3Poland: -2.4 % of GDPPoland-2.4Italy: -2.4 % of GDPItaly-2.4Belgium: -2.4 % of GDPBelgium-2.4Russia: -2.5 % of GDPRussia-2.5Slovakia: -2.6 % of GDPSlovakia-2.6Chile: -2.7 % of GDPChile-2.7Indonesia: -2.9 % of GDPIndonesia-2.9Mexico: -3.3 % of GDPMexico-3.3United Kingdom: -3.3 % of GDPUnited Kingdom-3.3Japan: -3.6 % of GDPJapan-3.6France: -3.8 % of GDPFrance-3.8South Africa: -4 % of GDPSouth Africa-4Spain: -4.2 % of GDPSpain-4.2Colombia: -4.6 % of GDPColombia-4.6United States: -5.4 % of GDPUnited States-5.4Brazil: -7.2 % of GDPBrazil-7.2
% 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

RankCountries2016
% of GDP		Change on 2015
1Iceland12.7+12.8 pts
2Norway3.9-1.9 pts
3South Korea2.1+1 pts
4Luxembourg2+0.7 pts
5Germany1.1+0.2 pts
6New Zealand1+1.1 pts
7Sweden0.8+1.1 pts
8Czechia0.7+1.4 pts
9Switzerland0.3-0.1 pts
10Denmark0.3+1.2 pts
11Netherlands0.2+2.1 pts
12Greece0.2+6.1 pts
13Lithuania0+0.8 pts
14Latvia-0+1.5 pts
15Estonia-0.1-0.3 pts
16Canada-0.5-0.4 pts
17Ireland-0.8+1.2 pts
18Austria-1.5-1 pts
19Australia-1.6+0.6 pts
20Finland-1.7+0.7 pts
21China-1.8-0.2 pts
22Israel-1.8-0.6 pts
23Hungary-1.8+0.2 pts
24Portugal-1.9+2.5 pts
25Slovenia-2+0.8 pts
26Costa Rica-2.3+0.1 pts
27Poland-2.4+0.2 pts
28Italy-2.4+0.1 pts
29Belgium-2.40 pts
30Russia-2.5-1.1 pts
31Slovakia-2.6+0.2 pts
32Chile Estimated-2.7-0.4 pts
33Indonesia-2.9-0.5 pts
34Mexico-3.3+2 pts
35United Kingdom-3.3+1.3 pts
36Japan-3.6+0.1 pts
37France-3.8+0.1 pts
38South Africa-4-0.3 pts
39Spain-4.2+1 pts
40Colombia-4.6-1.2 pts
41United States-5.4-0.8 pts
42Brazil-7.2+0.6 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 2016 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, 2016) [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, 2016. 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=2016. 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, 2016. 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=2016.

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, 2016 [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=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{organisation_countries_by_government_balance_2016,
  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, 2016}},
  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=2016. 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, 2016
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=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/government-balance/countries?period=2016.
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  -
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Questions

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

Iceland, with 12.7% of GDP in 2016, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

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

Brazil, with -7.2% of GDP in 2016.

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 2016 and are not ranked.

Government balance: other rankings

Countries: more rankings