Dataset description and subject
overview
Balance of payment data record of the flows of goods, services and finance between an economy and the rest of the world. As one of the primary functions of the IMF is to prevent financial crises and assist countries in balance of payment difficulties, the collection of standardised, comparable balance of payment data is seen as a core task.
The Balance of Payments (BOP) is a statistical statement that summarizes, for a specific period (typically a year or quarter), the economic transactions of an economy with the rest of the world. It covers:
- all the goods, services, factor income and current transfers an economy receives from or provides to the rest of the world
- capital transfers and changes in an economy's external financial claims and liabilities
Transactions are generally between residents and non-residents. The exceptions are the exchange of transferable foreign financial assets between residents and transferable foreign financial liabilities between non-residents. For the purposes of the Balance of Payments, residency relates to the economic territory of a country, not nationality. An international unit is resident unit when it has a centre of economic interest in the economic territory of a country.
The Balance of Payments methodology uses a double-entry accounting system. This means that every recorded item should have a debit and a credit, and there should be a net balance of zero.
In practice, the figures rarely balance to the point where they cancel each other out. This is the result of errors or omissions in the compilation of statements. A separate balancing item is used to offset the credit or debit.
Balance of Payments credits denote a reduction in assets or an increase in liabilities; debits denote an increase in assets or a reduction of liabilities, summarized in the table below:
Balance of Payments credit and debit table
| Credit |
Debit |
Exports of goods and services
Income receivable from abroad
Transfers from abroad
Increases in external liabilities
Decreases in external assets |
Imports of goods and services
Income payable abroad
Transfers to abroad
Decreases in external liabilities
Increases in external assets |
International Investment Positions
The International Investment Position (IIP) is the balance sheet of the stock of external financial assets and liabilities. Data for standard IIP components are also included where available in the database. The financial items included are: claims on non-residents, liabilities to non-residents, monetary gold and SDRs (special drawing rights). The Balance of Payments Statistics provide the IIP as part of the individual country data. The basic presentation divides the data between assets and liabilities. The sub-classifications are by function (as with the BOP financial account). Assets are divided into direct investment, portfolio investment, other investment and reserve assets. Liabilities are divided into direct investment, portfolio investment and other investment.
IIP data reflect a country’s position at the end of the reporting period, as opposed to transactions during the period shown in the standard presentation. Together, the International Investment Position and Balance of Payments transactions constitute the set of international accounts for an economy.
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Balance of Payments Methodology
Balance of payments data are presented in accordance with the standard components of the fifth edition of the Balance of Payments Manual, BPM5, which the Fund published in September 1993. Similarly, international investment position (IIP) data also are presented in the BPM5 format. The BPM5 introduced a number of methodological changes in the compilation of balance of payments data. These changes are described in detail in Chapter I of the BPM5.
Data conversion work undertaken by the Fund staff has made possible the presentation in the BPM5 format of both historical data from the Fund’s database and more recent statistics reported by those member countries who are still compiling their data in the format of the fourth edition of the Balance of Payments Manual (BPM4). In 1995, the Fund staff developed formulas to transform reported balance of payments data for each country in the Fund’s database to approximate the BPM5 methodology and presentation. Converted data for each reporting country were sent to the respective authorities for review, and their comments were incorporated in the new BPM5 database. In l996, the Fund staff, in collaboration with country authorities, completed a similar conversion of the BPM4 IIP data into the BPM5 presentation. In principle, the IIP of a country is a balance sheet of its stock of external financial assets and liabilities.
All Balance of Payment data is expressed in US dollars. If the country reports to the Fund in national currencies or SDR’s, these data also included in the database in addition to the dollar equivalents. Conversion rates are normally the average exchange rates for the relevant period as reported in the IMF International Finance Statistics. For more information about currency conversion, see The Balance of Payments Statistics Methodology.
Missing data are estimated for countries by Fund staff. The estimation procedure is based largely on the use of the Fund’s World Economic Outlook database.
The IMF provides contact details for specific queries relating to the data in the Balance of Payments Statistics:
Write Statistics Department
International Monetary Fund
Washington, D.C. 20431 U.S.A.
Facsimile +1 (202) 623-6460
Telephone +1 (202) 623-6180
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Explanation of the BOPS series code on the Beyond 20/20 WDS interface
Each series name on the Beyond 20/20 WDS interface has a unique identifier known as a series code, i.e. a 10 character code in square brackets [ ]. For example, Capital Transfers Net | CAPITAL TRANSFERS: NET [1124400..9] (Units: US Dollars; Billions; 2 d.p. )
Breakdown of Balance of Payments Series code
| 1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
. |
. |
9 |
| Country area code |
Section of the balance of payments |
balance of payments components |
special features about specific data components |
Source/currency code |
| Subject Code |
Country/area code = Characters 1-3
Example: [1124400..9] where 112 = United Kingdom.
Within Beyond 20/20 WDS, each BOPS table contains data on a separate country so there is no need to know the country codes.
Subject code = Characters 4-9
Example: [1124400..9] where 4400 = Net Capital Transfers
Six digits/characters from position 4-9 make up the subject code within the BOPS series code. The first digit of the subject code identifies the section of the balance of payments:
1 = Stock at the beginning of the period
2 = CREDIT
3 = DEBIT
4 = NET (the difference between credit and debit)
5 = price valuation adjustment
6 = exchange rate valuation adjustment
7 = other adjustments
8 = stock at the end of the period
0 = other
The next three digits are used to classify balance of payments components. For example, capital transfers is coded 400. Other examples include - the current account coded 993, the capital account 994 and the financial account 995. See the IMF's:
The fifth and sixth digits/characters of the subject code denote special features about specific data components. For example Z indicates that the component excludes exceptional financing, W is used to show where exceptional financing and use of Fund credit and loans from the Fund are excluded.
Source/currency code: Character 10
Example: [1124400..9] where 9 = US Dollars.
Some series may be annotated "Euros" (seen in the Units bracket) if the Source/currency Code has a value of 6. This is to highlight the difference between series in National Currency units before and after introduction of the Euro
User Documentation
The IMF’s Balance of Payments: Selected Publications page provides links to additional supporting documentation including a compilation guide and the IMF’s Balance of Payments Textbook.
The data in the Balance of Payments Statistics are compiled and presented in accordance with the standard components of the fifth edition of the Balance of Payments Manual, BPM5, which the Fund published in September 1993.
The IMF also provides a Balance of Payments Methodology. The discussion of methodology in this file make specific reference to the tables and access features of the IMF’s CD ROM product, although the general discussion will be of interest to all users of BOPS data.
Descriptions of individual country methodologies, compilation practices, and data sources are provided in the Balance of Payments Country Notes. The general section provides an overview of a country’s major data sources and the key methods (surveys, exchange records, international transaction reporting systems, and others) it uses to collect balance of payments data and, where appropriate, international investment position statistics. The section also discusses major government agencies and other institutions responsible for and involved in the compilation activities. In addition, it states whether the data are compiled under the methodology set forth in the fourth edition of the Balance of Payments Manual (BPM4) or the fifth edition (BPM5); and in most cases, it provides information on the country’s methods of disseminating the data.
The specific sections are organized under the standard components of the BPM5 for balance of payments and international investment positions. For each of the standard components, the reviews generally describe data sources, how the data are compiled, the extent of the data coverage, and other data limitations. The descriptions of methodology, for the most part, contain only statements of deviations from the BPM4 or BPM5 methodology primarily used by the country (as stated in the general section). Thus, where no definitions or classification details are given, it may be assumed that the compilation of the item is consistent with the methodology described in the appropriate section of the Balance of Payments Manual.
The IMF also produces an annual print version of the database, the Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook. The yearbook contains recent time series data from the database. Part 1 presents Balance of Payments and International Investment Position data, Part 2 contains regional and world totals for major components of the Balance of Payments, and Part 3 provides technical descriptions of selected reporting countries. It also includes a section describing essential features of the tables.
The IMF BOPS hosted by ESDS International are delivered via Beyond 20/20 WDS.
Note: You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader software to read documents in pdf format. You can download it free of charge from the Adobe website.
Accessing the IMF Balance of Payments Statistics (BOPS)
To access the ESDS International macro-economic datasets you must be a user from a UK higher or further education institution. We cannot provide data to users outside of this community due to the data re-distribution license agreements we have with our data providers. If you are a member of a UK higher or further education institution access to the macro-economic datasets is provided free of charge.
Access to data requires ESDS registration and uses the federated access management authentication system. Registration is a simple online process - go to the How to Register web page at www.esds.ac.uk/aandp/access/access.asp to begin the process.
Once you have registered with ESDS and attempt to access one of the macro-economic datasets, you will automatically be prompted to agree to additional dataset specific conditions if they apply.
Countries in the IMF Balance of Payments Statistics (BOPS)
The IMF BOBS database contains over 200 countries and regional groups, the following file lists them by country code number, and alphabetically:
Periodicity and Time Range
The IMF Balance of Payments Statistics contains over 100,000 quarterly and annual time series data. When the data are available, the annual entries generally begin in 1967 and quarterly entries begin in 1970. The period for which data are available varies from country to country, but most countries’ data extend from the mid-1970s to the present.
- Annual data starts in 1967 and runs until the latest available year (with a small number from 1948)
- Quarterly data starts in 1970 and runs until the latest available quarter (with a small number from early 1960's)
- Data in international investment positions available for selected countries from 1981 onwards.
The IMF BOPS at ESDS International is updated once a month. See the new data page for the latest update information. |
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