Data and Statistics
Last Updated: Dcember 28, 2009
International Financial Statistics:
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International Transactions
Summary statistics on the international transactions of a country are given in lines 70 through 79. A section on external trade statistics (lines 70 through 76) provides data on the values (lines 70 and 71), volumes (lines 72 and 73), unit values (lines 74 and 75), and prices (line 76) for exports and imports. A section follows on balance of payments statistics (lines 78 through 79).
External Trade
Merchandise Exports f.o.b. (line 70) and Imports c.i.f. (line 71) are, in general, customs statistics reported under the general trade system, in accordance with the recommendations of the UN International Merchandise Trade Statistics: Concepts and Definitions, 1998. For some countries, data relate to the special trade system. The difference between general and special trade lies mainly in the treatment of the recording of the movement of goods through customs-bonded storage areas (warehouses, free areas, etc.).
Many countries use customs data on exports and imports as the primary source for the recording of exports and imports of goods in the balance of payments. However, customs data and the entries for goods in the balance of payments may not be equal, owing to differences in definition. These differences may relate to the following:
- the coverage of transactions (e.g., the goods item in the balance of payments often includes adjustments for certain goods transactions that may not be recorded by customs authorities, e.g., parcel post),
- the time of recording of transactions (e.g., in the balance of payments, transactions are to be recorded when change of ownership occurs, rather than the moment goods cross the customs border, which generally determines when goods are recorded in customs based trade statistics), and
- some classification differences (e.g., in the balance of payments, repair on goods is part of goods transactions).
The data for Merchandise Imports f.o.b. (line 71.v) are obtained directly from statistical authorities.
Details of commodity exports are presented for commodities that are traded in the international markets and have an impact on world market prices.
Data for petroleum exports are presented only for 12 oil exporting countries. For a number of these countries, data estimated by Fund staff are derived from available data for the volume of production. They are also derived from estimates for prices that are, in part, taken from Petroleum Intelligence Weekly and other international sources. The country table notes in the monthly issues provide details of these estimates.
For a number of countries where data are uncurrent or unavailable, additional lines show data, converted from U.S. dollars to national currency, from the Fund’s Direction of Trade Statistics quarterly publication (DOTS). Exports and imports data published in DOTS include reported data, updated where necessary with estimates for the current periods. The introduction of DOTS gives a description of the nature of the estimates.
Indices for Volume of Exports (line 72) and Volume of Imports (line 73) are either Laspeyres or Paasche. For nine countries, as indicated in the country notes, export volume indices are calculated from reported volume data for individual commodities weighted by reported values.
Indices for Unit Value of Exports (line 74) and Unit Value of Imports (line 75) are Laspeyres, with weights derived from the data for transactions. For about seven countries, also as indicated in the country notes, export unit values are calculated from reported value and volume data for individual commodities. The country indices are unit value indices, except for a few, which are components of wholesale price indices or based on specific price quotations.
Indices for export and import prices are compiled from survey data for wholesale prices or directly from the exporter or importer (called “direct pricing”). They are shown in line 76, where available. Indices based on direct pricing are generally considered preferable to unit value indices, because problems of unit value bias are reduced.
A more detailed presentation of trade statistics is presented in the IFS Supplement on Trade Statistics, No. 15 (1988).
The balance of payments lines are presented on the basis of the methodology and presentation of the fifth edition of the Balance of Payments Manual (BPM5). Published by the IMF in 1993, the BPM5 was supplemented and amended by the Financial Derivatives, a Supplement to the Fifth Edition (1993) of the Balance of Payments Manual, published in 2000. Before 1995, issues of the IFS Yearbook presented balance of payments data based on the fourth edition of the manual (BPM4).
In IFS, balance of payments data are shown in an analytic presentation (i.e., the components are classified into five major data categories, which the Fund regards as useful for analyzing balance of payments developments in a uniform manner). In the analytic presentation, the components are arrayed to highlight the financing items (the reserves and related items). The standard presentation, as described in the BPM5, provides structural framework within which balance of payments statistics are compiled. Both analytic and standard presentations are published in the Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook.
Current Account, n.i.e. (line 78ald) is the sum of the balance on goods, services and income (line 78aid), plus current transfers, n.i.e.: credit (line 78ajd), plus current transfers: debit (line 78akd) (i.e., line 78aid, plus line 78ajd, plus line 78akd).
Goods: Exports f.o.b. (line 78aad) and Goods: Imports f.o.b. (line 78abd) are both measured on the "free-on-board” (f.o.b.) basis—that is, by the value of the goods at the border of the exporting economy. For imports, this excludes the cost of freight and insurance incurred beyond the border of the exporting economy. The goods item covers general merchandise, goods for processing, repairs on goods, goods procured in ports by carriers, and nonmonetary gold.
Trade Balance (line 78acd) is the balance of exports f.o.b. and imports f.o.b. (line 78aad plus line 78abd). A positive trade balance shows that merchandise exports are larger than merchandise imports, whereas a negative trade balance shows that merchandise imports are larger than merchandise exports.
Services: Credit (line 78add) and Services: Debit (line 78aed) comprise services in transportation, travel, communication, construction, insurance, finance, computer and information, royalties and license fees, other business, personal, cultural and recreational, and government, n.i.e.
Balance on Goods and Services (line 78afd) is the sum of the balance on goods (line 78acd), plus services: credit (line 78add), plus services: debit (line 78aed) (i.e., line 78acd, plus line 78add, plus line 78aed).
Income: Credit (line 78agd) and Income: Debit (line 78ahd) comprise (1) investment income (consisting of direct investment income, portfolio investment income, and other investment income), and (2) compensation of employees.
Balance on Gds., Serv., & Inc. (i.e., Balance on Goods, Services, and Income) (line 78aid) is the sum of the balance on goods and services (line 78afd), plus income: credit (line 78agd), plus income: debit (line 78ahd) (i.e., line 78afd, plus line 78agd, plus line 78ahd).
Current Transfers, n.i.e.: Credit (line 78ajd) comprise all current transfers received by the reporting economy, except those made to the economy to finance its “overall balance” (see line 78cbd description below); therefore, the label “n.i.e.” The latter are included in Exceptional Financing (line 79ded) (see below). (Note: Some of the capital and financial account lines shown below are also labeled “n.i.e.” This means that Exceptional Financing items have been excluded from specific capital and financial account components.) Current transfers comprise (1) general government transfers and (2) other sector transfers, including workers’ remittances.
Current Transfers: Debit (line 78akd) comprise all current transfers paid by the reporting economy.
Capital Account, n.i.e. (line 78bcd) is the balance on the capital account (capital account, n.i.e.: credit, plus capital account: debit). Capital account, n.i.e.: credit (line 78bad) covers (1) transfers linked to the acquisition of a fixed asset and (2) the disposal of nonproduced, nonfinancial assets. It does not include debt forgiveness, which is classified under Exceptional Financing. Capital account: debit (line 78bbd) covers (1) transfers linked to the disposal of fixed assets, and (2) acquisition of nonproduced, nonfinancial assets.
Financial Account, n.i.e. (line 78bjd) is the net sum of direct investment (line 78bdd plus line 78bed), portfolio investment (line 78bfd plus line 78bgd), financial derivatives (line 78bwd plus line 78bxd), and other investment (line 78bhd plus line 78bid).
Direct Investment Abroad (line 78bdd) and Direct Investment in Rep. Econ., n.i.e. (Direct Investment in the Reporting Economy, n.i.e.) (line 78bed) represent the flows of direct investment capital out of the reporting economy and those into the reporting economy, respectively. Direct investment includes equity capital, reinvested earnings, other capital, and financial derivatives associated with various intercompany transactions between affiliated enterprises. Excluded are flows of direct investment capital into the reporting economy for exceptional financing, such as debt-for-equity swaps. Direct investment abroad is usually shown with a negative figure, reflecting an increase in net outward investment by residents, with a corresponding net payment outflow from the reporting economy. Direct investment in the reporting economy is generally shown with a positive figure, reflecting an increase in net inward investment by nonresidents, with a corresponding net payment inflow into the reporting economy.
Portfolio Investment Assets (line 78bfd) and Portfolio Investment Liab., n.i.e. (Portfolio Investment Liabilities) (line 78bgd) include transactions with nonresidents in financial securities of any maturity (such as corporate securities, bonds, notes, and money market instruments) other than those included in direct investment, exceptional financing, and reserve assets.
Equity Securities Assets (line 78bkd) and Equity Securities Liabilities (line 78bmd) include shares, stocks, participation, and similar documents (such as American depository receipts) that usually denote ownership of equity.
Debt Securities Assets (line 78bld) and Debt Securities Liabilities (line 78bnd) cover (1) bonds, debentures, notes, etc., and (2) money market or negotiable debt instruments.
Financial Derivatives Assets (line 78bwd) and Financial Derivatives Liabilities (line 78bxd) cover financial instruments that are linked to other specific financial instruments, indicators, or commodities, and through which specific financial risks (such as interest rate risk, foreign exchange risk, equity and commodity price risks, credit risk, etc.) can, in their own right, be traded in financial markets. The IFS presents gross asset and liability information as well as Financial Derivatives, Net. Owing to the unique nature of financial derivatives, and the manner in which some institutions record transactions, some countries can provide only net transactions data. By convention, these net transactions and net positions are generally included under liabilities. In some cases, countries have requested to classify the net transactions only under Financial Derivatives, Net.
Other Investment Assets (line 78bhd) and Other Investment Liabilities, n.i.e. (line 78bid) include all financial transactions not covered in direct investment, portfolio investment, financial derivatives, or reserve assets. Major categories are transactions in currency and deposits, loans, and trade credits. Beginning with the Q3 2009 data, Other Investment Liabilities also include the SDR allocations as other long-term liabilities of Monetary Authorities (value of General and Special Allocations, plus accrued (unsettled) interest on total outstanding allocations). The SDR allocations are recorded above the line in the analytical presentation of balance of payments statistics.
Net Errors and Omissions (line 78cad) is a residual category needed to ensure that all debit and credit entries in the balance of payments statement sum to zero. It reflects statistical inconsistencies in the recording of the credit and debit entries. In the IFS presentation, net errors and omissions is equal to, and opposite in sign to, the total value of the following items: the current account balance (line 78ald), the capital account balance (line 78bcd), the financial account balance (line 78bjd), and reserves and reserve related items (line 79dad). The item is intended as an offset to the overstatement or understatement of the recorded components. Thus, if the balance of those components is a credit, the item for net errors and omissions will be shown as a debit of equal value, and vice versa.
Overall Balance (line 78cbd) is the sum of the balances on the current account (line 78ald), the capital account (line 78bcd), the financial account (line 78bjd), and net errors and omissions (line 78cad) (i.e., line 78ald, plus line 78bcd, plus line 78bjd, plus line 78cad).
Reserves and Related Items (line 79dad) is the sum of transactions in reserve assets (line 79dbd), exceptional financing (line 79ded), and use of Fund credit and loans (line 78dcd) (i.e., line 79dbd, plus line 79ded, plus line 79dcd).
Reserve Assets (line 79dbd) consists of external assets readily available to and controlled by monetary authorities primarily for direct financing of payments imbalances and for indirect regulating of the magnitude of such imbalances through exchange market intervention. Reserve assets comprise monetary gold, special drawing rights, reserve position in the Fund, foreign exchange assets (consisting of currency and deposits and securities), and other claims.
Use of Fund Credit and Loans (line 79dcd) includes purchases and repurchases in the credit tranches of the Fund's General Resource Account, and net borrowings under the Structural Adjustment Facility (SAF), the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF), which was previously named the Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF), and the Trust Fund.
Exceptional Financing (line 79ded) includes any other transactions undertaken by the authorities to finance the "overall balance," as an alternative to, or in conjunction with, the use of reserve assets and the use of Fund credit and loans from the Fund.
A more detailed presentation of balance of payments data for use in cross-country comparisons is published in the Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook.
International Investment Position
The international investment position (IIP) data are presented in lines 79aad through 79ljd. An economy’s IIP is a balance sheet of the stock of external financial assets and liabilities. The coverage of the various components of IIP is similar to that of the corresponding components under the balance of payments. The IIP at the end of a specific period reflects not only the sum of balance of payments transactions over time, but also price changes, exchange rate changes, and other adjustments.
Countries in the early stages of IIP compilation are encouraged to submit partial IIP statements. In general, these partial statements include data on the monetary authorities (including international reserves) and at least one other sector. No totals are shown for partial IIP statements.