Switzerland: Primary income payments (BoP, current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Switzerland's primary income payments (BoP, current US$) rose 3.1% on 2024 (from US$252.75 billion to US$260.54 billion).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +10.5% and a typical year strayed about 19.8% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 58.4% in 1978 and the biggest yearly fall was 30.4% in 2009. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is upward, about US$10.48 billion a year. A straight line explains 80% of the movement over 10 observed years.

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

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about US$286.62 billion for 2028. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2023 to 2025 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was US$16.28 billion, against US$42.3 billion for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2025, Switzerland had the 10th highest value of the 136 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Switzerland in the 2025 ranking

• France — 7th of 136: US$353.26 billion
• Singapore — 8th of 136: US$321.53 billion
• Germany — 9th of 136: US$284.85 billion
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 11th of 136: US$245.04 billion
• Canada — 12th of 136: US$196.83 billion
• Japan — 13th of 136: US$176.57 billion

What this measures

Primary income payments refer to employee compensation paid to nonresident workers and investment income (payments on direct investment, portfolio investment, other investments).This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This indicator is expressed in United States dollars.

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

All 49 values

Primary income payments (BoP, current US$) in nearby economies

• Albania — US$1.25 billion (2025)
• Armenia — US$1.82 billion (2025)
• Austria — US$49.77 billion (2025)
• Azerbaijan — US$4.89 billion (2025)
• Belarus — US$3.87 billion (2025)
• Belgium — US$105.04 billion (2025)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — US$1.67 billion (2025)
• Bulgaria — US$11.11 billion (2025)
• Croatia — US$8.17 billion (2025)
• Cyprus — US$28.55 billion (2025)

More economic policy & debt data for Switzerland

• Total reserves, including gold (current US$) — US$1.08 trillion (2025)
• Total reserves, excluding gold (current US$) — US$929.64 billion (2025)
• GDP (current US$) — US$1.04 trillion (2025)
• GDP (current LCU) — 867.55 billion (2025)
• GDP (constant 2015 US$) — US$848.58 billion (2025)
• GDP (constant LCU) — 808.09 billion (2025)
• GDP per capita (current US$) — US$114,769 (2025)
• GDP per capita (current LCU) — 95,414 (2025)
• GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$) — US$93,328 (2025)
• GDP per capita (constant LCU) — 88,875 (2025)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Switzerland's primary income payments (BoP, current US$)?

US$260.54 billion in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1977?

It is up 10,706% from US$2.41 billion in 1977 (10.25% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$260.54 billion in 2025 and the lowest US$2.41 billion in 1977.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator BM.GSR.FCTY.CD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Balance of Payments 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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