Countries by government balance as a share of GDP
Denmark had the highest government balance as a share of GDP of 41 countries in 2020, at 0.4% of GDP. The United States had the lowest, at -15% of GDP. The median was -7.3% of GDP. Source: the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
All countries, 2020
Full ranking
| Rank | Countries | 2020 | Change on 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denmark | 0.4 | -3.9 pts |
| 2 | South Korea | -2.6 | -3.5 pts |
| 3 | Norway | -2.6 | -8.9 pts |
| 4 | Switzerland | -2.6 | -3.8 pts |
| 5 | Luxembourg | -3.2 | -5.8 pts |
| 6 | Sweden | -3.2 | -3.6 pts |
| 7 | Netherlands | -3.7 | -5.6 pts |
| 8 | Latvia | -4.1 | -3.9 pts |
| 9 | Germany | -4.4 | -5.7 pts |
| 10 | Ireland | -4.9 | -5.3 pts |
| 11 | Slovakia | -5.3 | -4.1 pts |
| 12 | Costa Rica | -5.3 | -2.2 pts |
| 13 | Estonia | -5.4 | -5.3 pts |
| 14 | Finland | -5.5 | -4.6 pts |
| 15 | Czechia | -5.6 | -5.9 pts |
| 16 | Portugal | -5.8 | -5.9 pts |
| 17 | Indonesia | -5.8 | -4.2 pts |
| 18 | Lithuania | -6.4 | -6.8 pts |
| 19 | Mexico | -6.5 | -1.2 pts |
| 20 | Poland | -6.9 | -6.1 pts |
| 21 | Chile | -7.3 | -3.9 pts |
| 22 | China | -7.5 | -3.8 pts |
| 23 | Hungary | -7.5 | -5.5 pts |
| 24 | Slovenia | -7.7 | -8.4 pts |
| 25 | New Zealand | -7.7 | -7.3 pts |
| 26 | Australia | -8.1 | -1.4 pts |
| 27 | Austria | -8.2 | -8.7 pts |
| 28 | Colombia | -8.8 | -4.7 pts |
| 29 | Iceland | -8.8 | -7.4 pts |
| 30 | France | -8.9 | -6.5 pts |
| 31 | Belgium | -9 | -7 pts |
| 32 | Japan | -9 | -6 pts |
| 33 | Italy | -9.4 | -7.9 pts |
| 34 | Greece | -9.9 | -10.7 pts |
| 35 | Spain | -9.9 | -6.8 pts |
| 36 | South Africa | -10.5 | -5.4 pts |
| 37 | Israel | -10.7 | -6.9 pts |
| 38 | Canada | -10.9 | -10.9 pts |
| 39 | Brazil | -12.1 | -7.1 pts |
| 40 | United Kingdom | -12.9 | -10.5 pts |
| 41 | United States | -15 | -8.3 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. 6 countries with data in other periods have no value for 2020 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?
Denmark, with 0.4% of GDP in 2020, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Which country has the lowest government balance as a share of GDP?
The United States, with -15% of GDP in 2020.
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. 6 countries have no value for 2020 and are not ranked.