Basic Items

The basic categories of transactions included in the Balance of Payments relate to goods (trade), services, income, current transfers, capital transfers, and the financial account.

The aggregate (receipts minus payments) of the trade, services, income and current transfers balances constitutes the Current Account Balance, which, if positive, reflects the country’s net investment abroad, and if negative, reflects foreign net investment in the country. The absolute value of the combined Current Account and Capital Transfers Balance must be equal to the absolute value of the Financial Account.

When the combined Current Account and Capital Transfers Balance is in deficit or surplus, it is always counterbalanced by a positive or negative Financial Account, so that the Balance of Payments accounts are always offset. However, in reality this is not the case, as the recording of Balance of Payments transactions is neither complete nor accurate, hence the ‘Errors and Omissions’ account, which always equilibrates the above two balances.

Balance of Payments: annual data

Balance of Payments: monthly data