Current Account Balance Across EU Member States
Trade and income flows with rest of world
The current account balance records a country's transactions with the rest of the world, encompassing trade in goods and services, income flows, and transfers. A surplus means the country earns more from abroad than it spends overseas, typically reflecting strong export competitiveness. Large and persistent imbalances — both surpluses and deficits — are monitored by the EU under its Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure.
All 27 EU Member States Ranked
↑ HIGHER IS BETTER| Rank | Country | Value (% of GDP) | vs EU Average | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇩🇰 Denmark | 11.0 | ↑ 900.0% | 2023 |
| 2 | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 9.4 | ↑ 754.5% | 2023 |
| 3 | 🇮🇪 Ireland | 7.0 | ↑ 536.4% | 2023 |
| 4 | 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | 6.8 | ↑ 518.2% | 2023 |
| 5 | 🇲🇹 Malta | 6.5 | ↑ 490.9% | 2023 |
| 6 | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 6.2 | ↑ 463.6% | 2023 |
| 7 | 🇩🇪 Germany | 5.5 | ↑ 400.0% | 2023 |
| 8 | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | 4.8 | ↑ 336.4% | 2023 |
| 9 | 🇪🇸 Spain | 2.7 | ↑ 145.5% | 2023 |
| 10 | 🇦🇹 Austria | 1.6 | ↑ 45.5% | 2023 |
| 11 | 🇵🇱 Poland | 1.6 | ↑ 45.5% | 2023 |
| 12 | 🇱🇹 Lithuania | 1.1 | ↓ 0.0% | 2023 |
| 13 | 🇵🇹 Portugal | 0.5 | ↓ 54.5% | 2023 |
| 14 | 🇧🇪 Belgium | 0.2 | ↓ 81.8% | 2023 |
| 15 | 🇮🇹 Italy | 0.2 | ↓ 81.8% | 2023 |
| 16 | 🇭🇷 Croatia | 0.1 | ↓ 90.9% | 2023 |
| 17 | 🇭🇺 Hungary | 0.0 | ↓ 100.0% | 2023 |
| 18 | 🇨🇿 Czechia | -0.1 | ↓ 109.1% | 2023 |
| 19 | 🇫🇮 Finland | -0.9 | ↓ 181.8% | 2023 |
| 20 | 🇫🇷 France | -1.0 | ↓ 190.9% | 2023 |
| 21 | 🇪🇪 Estonia | -1.2 | ↓ 209.1% | 2023 |
| 22 | 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | -2.3 | ↓ 309.1% | 2023 |
| 23 | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | -3.0 | ↓ 372.7% | 2023 |
| 24 | 🇱🇻 Latvia | -3.8 | ↓ 445.5% | 2023 |
| 25 | 🇷🇴 Romania | -6.7 | ↓ 709.1% | 2023 |
| 26 | 🇬🇷 Greece | -6.8 | ↓ 718.2% | 2023 |
| 27 | 🇨🇾 Cyprus | -9.7 | ↓ 981.8% | 2023 |
Leaders and Laggards
Top 5 Performers
What This Indicator Means
Current account surpluses reflect economies that save more than they invest domestically — often large manufacturing exporters like Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark. Persistent surpluses have attracted criticism because they imply underinvestment at home, suppressing domestic demand and contributing to global imbalances. The EU monitors large surpluses as potential macroeconomic imbalances.
Current account deficits are common in smaller, less developed member states that import capital to fund infrastructure and business investment. So long as deficits are financed by productive FDI rather than short-term portfolio flows, they are generally considered benign. The 2010–2012 crisis highlighted how quickly capital flow reversals can turn deficits into acute funding crises.
For businesses, a sustained current account deficit may signal a weak domestic competitive position or strong import dependency. For investors, persistent surpluses often correlate with sound fiscal positions and stable currencies, making them attractive bases for long-term capital allocation.