Countries by government balance as a share of GDP
Norway had the highest government balance as a share of GDP of 42 countries in 2018, at 7.5% of GDP. Brazil had the lowest, at -6.1% of GDP. The median was -0.7% of GDP. Source: the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
All countries, 2018
Full ranking
| Rank | Countries | 2018 | Change on 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norway | 7.5 | +2.7 pts |
| 2 | Russia | 3.5 | +4.1 pts |
| 3 | Luxembourg | 3.2 | +1.7 pts |
| 4 | South Korea | 2.9 | +0.4 pts |
| 5 | Germany | 1.9 | +0.5 pts |
| 6 | Netherlands | 1.5 | +0.1 pts |
| 7 | Switzerland | 1.2 | +0.4 pts |
| 8 | Iceland | 1 | -0.2 pts |
| 9 | Greece | 0.9 | +0.2 pts |
| 10 | Slovenia | 0.9 | +0.8 pts |
| 11 | Czechia | 0.9 | -0.6 pts |
| 12 | Denmark | 0.8 | -0.9 pts |
| 13 | New Zealand | 0.7 | -0.8 pts |
| 14 | Sweden | 0.7 | -0.6 pts |
| 15 | Lithuania | 0.5 | +0.2 pts |
| 16 | Canada | 0.4 | +0.5 pts |
| 17 | Austria | 0.2 | +1 pts |
| 18 | Ireland | 0.1 | +0.4 pts |
| 19 | Poland | -0.2 | +1.2 pts |
| 20 | Portugal | -0.4 | +2.6 pts |
| 21 | Estonia | -0.6 | -0.1 pts |
| 22 | Finland | -0.9 | -0.2 pts |
| 23 | Slovakia | -1 | -0 pts |
| 24 | Belgium | -1 | -0.3 pts |
| 25 | Indonesia | -1.2 | +1.1 pts |
| 26 | Chile | -1.3 | +1.7 pts |
| 27 | Australia | -1.3 | -0.2 pts |
| 28 | Latvia | -1.4 | -1.1 pts |
| 29 | Hungary | -2 | +0.4 pts |
| 30 | Italy | -2.2 | +0.3 pts |
| 31 | United Kingdom | -2.2 | +0.3 pts |
| 32 | France | -2.3 | +1 pts |
| 33 | Japan | -2.4 | +0.6 pts |
| 34 | Spain | -2.6 | +0.5 pts |
| 35 | Costa Rica | -2.9 | +0.6 pts |
| 36 | China | -3.1 | -0.8 pts |
| 37 | Israel | -3.6 | -2.4 pts |
| 38 | South Africa | -3.7 | +0.7 pts |
| 39 | Mexico | -4.6 | -0.7 pts |
| 40 | Colombia | -5.2 | -1.4 pts |
| 41 | United States | -6.1 | -1.7 pts |
| 42 | Brazil | -6.1 | +0.9 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 2018 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.htmlUse this data in your AI agent
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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=10Questions
Which country has the highest government balance as a share of GDP?
Norway, with 7.5% of GDP in 2018, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Which country has the lowest government balance as a share of GDP?
Brazil, with -6.1% of GDP in 2018.
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 2018 and are not ranked.