Countries by government balance as a share of GDP
Norway had the highest government balance as a share of GDP of 42 countries in 2019, at 6.3% of GDP. Australia had the lowest, at -6.8% of GDP. The median was -0.8% of GDP. Source: the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
All countries, 2019
Full ranking
| Rank | Countries | 2019 | Change on 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norway | 6.3 | -1.2 pts |
| 2 | Denmark | 4.3 | +3.5 pts |
| 3 | Russia | 3.7 | +0.2 pts |
| 4 | Luxembourg | 2.7 | -0.5 pts |
| 5 | Netherlands | 1.9 | +0.4 pts |
| 6 | Germany | 1.3 | -0.6 pts |
| 7 | Switzerland | 1.1 | -0.1 pts |
| 8 | South Korea | 0.9 | -1.9 pts |
| 9 | Greece | 0.8 | -0.1 pts |
| 10 | Slovenia | 0.7 | -0.2 pts |
| 11 | Austria | 0.5 | +0.3 pts |
| 12 | Sweden | 0.4 | -0.2 pts |
| 13 | Lithuania | 0.4 | -0.1 pts |
| 14 | Ireland | 0.4 | +0.3 pts |
| 15 | Czechia | 0.3 | -0.6 pts |
| 16 | Portugal | 0.1 | +0.5 pts |
| 17 | Canada | -0 | -0.4 pts |
| 18 | Estonia | -0.1 | +0.5 pts |
| 19 | Latvia | -0.2 | +1.2 pts |
| 20 | New Zealand | -0.4 | -1.1 pts |
| 21 | Poland | -0.7 | -0.5 pts |
| 22 | Finland | -0.9 | -0.1 pts |
| 23 | Slovakia | -1.2 | -0.2 pts |
| 24 | Iceland | -1.4 | -2.5 pts |
| 25 | Italy | -1.5 | +0.7 pts |
| 26 | Indonesia | -1.6 | -0.4 pts |
| 27 | Hungary | -2 | 0 pts |
| 28 | Belgium | -2 | -1 pts |
| 29 | United Kingdom | -2.4 | -0.1 pts |
| 30 | France | -2.4 | -0.1 pts |
| 31 | Japan | -3 | -0.6 pts |
| 32 | Spain | -3.1 | -0.5 pts |
| 33 | Costa Rica | -3.1 | -0.2 pts |
| 34 | Chile | -3.4 | -2.2 pts |
| 35 | China | -3.7 | -0.6 pts |
| 36 | Israel | -3.8 | -0.2 pts |
| 37 | Colombia | -4.1 | +1.2 pts |
| 38 | Brazil | -5 | +1.1 pts |
| 39 | South Africa | -5.1 | -1.4 pts |
| 40 | Mexico | -5.3 | -0.7 pts |
| 41 | United States | -6.7 | -0.6 pts |
| 42 | Australia | -6.8 | -5.4 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 2019 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 6.3% of GDP in 2019, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Which country has the lowest government balance as a share of GDP?
Australia, with -6.8% of GDP in 2019.
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 2019 and are not ranked.