National Economies With The Best Trade Account Balances

The Balance of Trade (BOT) is the value of goods exported minus the value of imported goods. A trade surplus occurs if its exports are higher than its imports while a trade deficit occurs vice-versa. A country’s balance of trade forms a significant part of its balance of payments. All international trade and financial transactions in a time period between the country of origin and partner countries is called its balance of payments (BoP). The following list of countries is in order of the best trade account balance in the world in 2015.

China

China tops the list with the best trade account balance of $330.6 billion USD in 2015. According to the General Administration of Customs, China has been attaining a uniform trade surplus since 1995 that increased 10 times from 2004 to 2009. Although 2015 saw exports drop by 8% and a 14.1% drop in imports occurred.

Germany

Germany is second with a trade account balance of $285.4 billion USD in 2015. Its exports to the EU in 2015 rose by 7.0% and imports rose by 4.5%. The year 2015 saw a 1.6% drop in both its exports and imports. Its 2015 foreign trade balance was 247.8 billion euros, highest ever.

Japan

Japan is third with a trade account balance of $135.6 billion USD in 2015. The year 2015 saw a 77.9% drop in its trade gap. A ¥1.88 trillion trade surplus was posted by the Finance Ministry in 2015. Exports fell by 0.1% while imports fell by 10.3%.

South Korea

South Korea is fourth with a trade account balance of $105.9 billion USD in 2015. The Central Bank of Korea posted a current account surplus of over $100 billion USD record high in 2015. Exports dropped by 10.5% while imports dropped by 18.2%.

Switzerland

Switzerland is fifth with a trade account balance of $75.9 billion USD in 2015. The year 2015 saw a current account surplus of around $75 billion USD. Increase over the previous year was due to investment income. Exports in 2015 was up by 23.5% which accounts for 86.1% of its total world shipments.

Russia

Russia is sixth with a trade account balance of $69.6 billion USD in 2015. The weakened oil and gas prices has affected the Russian economy lately. Many see its economy stay that way as it has been involved in international conflicts as well. The year 2015 saw a negative GDP.

The Netherlands

The Netherlands is seventh with a trade account balance of $68.8 billion USD in 2015. The year 2015 saw exports dropped by 3% while imports dropped by 5%. International investments increased from EUR 135 billion to EUR 708 billion. Low interest rates have made foreign bonds an attractive choice.

Singapore

Singapore is eighth with a trade account balance of $57.9 billion USD in 2015. Its current account was 19.6% of its GDP in 2015. Figures for June 2015 showed a 4.7% increase in exports in electronic and non-electronic products. The volume of oil domestic exports increased by 10.6% in 2015.

Italy

Italy is ninth with a trade account balance of $39.5 billion USD in 2015.Italy’s exports have maintained an annualized rate of 5.4%for the last five years. Refined petroleum and packaged medicaments lead its exports. Its imports have also maintained an annualized rate of 3%. Petroleum and cars make up its imports.

Norway

Norway is tenth with a trade account balance of $35.3 billion USD in 2015. Its exports declined by 7% while imports increased by 10%. The EU accounts for 80% of its exports and 60% of its imports. Oil and gas account for 67% of its total exports and represents 22% of its GDP.