Latin America and Caribbean Compared by Economy > Budget surplus > + or deficit > -

DEFINITION: This entry records the difference between national government revenues and expenditures, expressed as a percent of GDP. A positive (+) number indicates that revenues exceeded expenditures (a budget surplus), while a negative (-) number indicates the reverse (a budget deficit). Normalizing the data, by dividing the budget balance by GDP, enables easy comparisons across countries and indicates whether a national government saves or borrows money. Countries with high budget deficits (relative to their GDPs) generally have more difficulty raising funds to finance expenditures, than those with lower deficits.

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#	COUNTRY	AMOUNT	DATE
1	Saint Kitts and Nevis	3.6% of GDP	2012
2	Brazil	2.4% of GDP	2012
3	Peru	2.2% of GDP	2012
4	Bolivia	1.8% of GDP	2012
=5	Colombia	0.5% of GDP	2012
=5	Chile	0.5% of GDP	2012
7	Nicaragua	-0.2% of GDP	2012
8	Antigua and Barbuda	-0.8% of GDP	2012
9	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	-1% of GDP	2012
10	Belize	0.0	2012
=11	Ecuador	-1.1% of GDP	2012
=11	Trinidad and Tobago	-1.1% of GDP	2012
13	Paraguay	-1.7% of GDP	2012
14	Panama	-2.1% of GDP	2012
=15	Guatemala	-2.4% of GDP	2012
=15	Suriname	-2.4% of GDP	2010
17	Bermuda	-2.5% of GDP	2012
18	Argentina	-2.6% of GDP	2012
=19	Mexico	-2.7% of GDP	2012
=19	Cayman Islands	-2.7% of GDP	2012
=21	Uruguay	-2.8% of GDP	2012
=21	Saint Lucia	-2.8% of GDP	2011
23	El Salvador	-3.5% of GDP	2012
24	Cuba	-3.7% of GDP	2012
25	Jamaica	-4.2% of GDP	2012
26	Costa Rica	-4.5% of GDP	2012
27	Guyana	-5% of GDP	2012
28	Grenada	-5.2% of GDP	2009
=29	Haiti	-6% of GDP	2012
=29	Honduras	-6% of GDP	2012
31	The Bahamas	-6.2% of GDP	2012
32	Dominican Republic	-6.6% of GDP	2012
33	Barbados	-8.1% of GDP	2012
34	Aruba	-9.8% of GDP	2012
35	Dominica	-12.4% of GDP	2012
36	Venezuela	-14.8% of GDP	2012

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