Discover how current and capital accounts differ within the balance of payments, helping you understand international trade finance and economic transactions.

Learn how current transfers work in international transactions. Explore the different types, their significance, and how they impact the current account balance.

Blog posts represent the views of CFR fellows and staff and not those of CFR, which takes no institutional positions. In the second quarter of 2024, China reported a customs surplus of $250 Billion, a ...

On March 14, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that the U.S. current account deficit for 2006 increased from the previous year to over 6% of GDP. This deficit reflects the difference between ...

Global current account balances widened by a sizable 0.6 percentage points of world GDP in 2024. When adjusted to account for the volatility around the pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...

Nigeria posted a current account surplus of $3.42 billion in the third quarter of 2025, down 41.14% from the $5.81 ...

IMF data for 2025 shows China as the world’s largest surplus economy. Its surplus jumped from $293 billion in 2015 to $641 ...

Pakistan’s economy continues to demonstrate signs of stabilization and, in some cases, has even surpassed foreign currency reserves-related financial targets agreed with international lenders, ...