Global Imbalances Tracker

 The colored segments of each column represent the contributions to total deficits and surpluses from different regions, defined in the legend above. You can also hover your mouse over (or tap on) each segment to see the region to which it corresponds, as well as the contribution of that region to the total imbalances.¹

As can be clearly seen, the Index peaks just as the 2008 financial crisis unfurls. Horizontal lines highlight the historically high levels of imbalances in the run-up. Many factors drove the surge in imbalances, with central-bank dollar reserve accumulation in Asia and consumption growth in the United States figuring prominently. Rising imbalances funneled savings into deficit countries, such as the United States. The resulting decline in interest rates fueled borrowing to purchase risky assets. When U.S. house prices began falling in 2007, overleveraged borrowers triggered a cascade of defaults that plunged the economy into recession. Imbalances thereafter receded with, among other things, falling oil prices and rising Chinese domestic investment. Large imbalances re-emerged in 2022, driven by pandemic-related factors and commodity-price rises following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Throughout 2023, the large imbalances of 2022 narrowed as commodity prices and supply chain disruptions moderated. Imbalances widened again in 2024 and early 2025, as U.S. importers rushed to front-run anticipated tariffs—amplifying the U.S. deficit and pulling major exporting economies further into surplus. Despite reduced exports to the U.S., China, the world’s largest exporter, achieved a record surplus in 2025. The rise was fueled by demand for its manufacturing components—particularly its older, lower-cost semiconductors known as “legacy chips.”

The Country Tracker below shows current account imbalances on a country-by-country basis. Shades of red indicate deficits; shades of blue, surpluses. Hover your mouse over (or tap on) a country to see its most recent current account balance and import and export figures. The chart just above the map shows movements in the selected country’s current account through time.²

For developing countries, which typically do much of their trade and debt issuance in U.S. dollars, large current account deficits leave them vulnerable to “sudden stops”—reversals in capital flows from inward to outward. These can damage economies by forcing up inflation, interest rates, and debt-service costs. In episodes such as the 2013 “taper tantrum,” in which fears of U.S. Federal Reserve tightening triggered such reversals, developing countries with current account deficits above 3 percent, such as India, Indonesia, and Turkey, were particularly hard hit. That threshold is indicated for developing countries as a horizontal line on the chart above the map.

Please also visit our Global Monetary Policy Tracker, Global Growth Tracker, Global Trade Tracker, Global Energy Tracker, Sovereign Risk Tracker, and Central Bank Currency Swaps Tracker.