Bhutan: Net incurrence of liabilities, total (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2020, Bhutan's net incurrence of liabilities, total (% of GDP) rose 5.49 percentage points on 2019 (from 0.94% to 6.43%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1990 to 2019), the average change was −0.33 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 5.53 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.1 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 12.76 percentage points in 2015 and the biggest yearly fall was 11.2 percentage points in 2004. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2011 to 2020 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 12% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

Closest to Bhutan in the 2020 ranking

• Palau — 1st of 8: 20.29%
• Cabo Verde — 2nd of 8: 9.31%
• Bahrain — 3rd of 8: 8.49%
• Mali — 5th of 8: 4.37%
• Micronesia, Fed. Sts. — 6th of 8: 1.5%
• Marshall Islands — 7th of 8: -0.1%

What this measures

Net incurrence of government liabilities includes foreign financing (obtained from nonresidents) and domestic financing (obtained from residents), or the means by which a government provides financial resources to cover a budget deficit or allocates financial resources arising from a budget surplus. The net incurrence of liabilities should be offset by the net acquisition of financial assets. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.

Limitations: For most countries central government finance data have been consolidated into one account, but for others only budgetary central government accounts are available. Countries reporting budgetary data are noted in the country metadata. Because budgetary accounts may not include all central government units (such as social security funds), they usually provide an incomplete picture. In federal states the central government accounts provide an incomplete view of total public finance. Data on government revenue and expense are collected by the IMF through questionnaires to member countries and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 38 values

Net incurrence of liabilities, total (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Bangladesh — 4.28% (2021)
• India — 6.75% (2022)
• Maldives — 14.91% (2021)
• Nepal — 6.96% (2021)
• Sri Lanka — 10.07% (2023)

More public sector data for Bhutan

• Net incurrence of liabilities, total (current LCU) — 11.71 billion (2020)
• Grants and other revenue (current LCU) — 32.2 billion (2020)
• Taxes on goods and services (current LCU) — 9.84 billion (2020)
• Taxes on goods and services (% of industry and services value added) — 6.61% (2020)
• Customs and other import duties (current LCU) — 468 million (2020)
• Customs and other import duties (% of tax revenue) — 2.09% (2020)
• Taxes on international trade (current LCU) — 1.58 billion (2020)
• Tax revenue (current LCU) — 22.37 billion (2020)
• Tax revenue (% of GDP) — 12.28% (2020)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Bhutan's net incurrence of liabilities, total (% of GDP)?

6.43% in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1982?

It is up 5.19 percentage points from 1.24% in 1982. The highest value was 18.07% in 2016 and the lowest -4.52% in 1993.

Is the latest change in net incurrence of liabilities, total (% of GDP) unusual for Bhutan?

In 2020, Bhutan's net incurrence of liabilities, total (% of GDP) rose 5.49 percentage points on 2019 (from 0.94% to 6.43%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1990 to 2019), the average change was −0.33 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 5.53 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.1 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.LBL.TOTL.GD.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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