Primary Fiscal Balance

The Primary Fiscal Balance is the difference between total fiscal revenue and primary fiscal expenditure, excluding interest payments on public debt. It signals whether a government generates enough income to cover its non-debt spending, making it a key gauge of fiscal sustainability across Latin America and the Caribbean. This indicator is part of Latin Macro Watch, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) database of comparable macroeconomic series for the region, and is reported across government levels (central government, general government, and the non-financial public sector, where available).

Coverage

The series spans 22 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean at annual, monthly, and quarterly frequency, covering 1990–2026. Values are published in % of GDP, millions of USD, millions of domestic currency, PPP-adjusted, YTD, constant prices (CPI-deflated), seasonally adjusted, and on a fiscal-year (Q4–Q3) basis. Common transformations are also available: moving averages (MA3, MA6, MA12) and month-over-month, quarter-over-quarter, and year-over-year percentage changes.

Sources

Data are compiled from national finance and economy ministries and central banks, including the Tesouro Nacional do Brasil, the Ministerio de Hacienda de Mexico, the Banco de la República de Colombia, the Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas de Perú, and the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service of Jamaica, then harmonized by the IDB for cross-country comparison.

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Format	CSV
Language	en
Country	Argentina Bahamas Trinidad & Tobago Belize Costa Rica Dominican Republic Ecuador Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia El Salvador Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Guatemala Guyana Haiti Honduras Panama Uruguay Venezuela Barbados Paraguay Peru Suriname
Data notes	What does the Primary Fiscal Balance measure? It measures the difference between total fiscal revenue and primary fiscal expenditure, excluding interest payments on public debt. It shows whether a government covers its non-debt spending and is a key gauge of fiscal sustainability. How many countries and which frequencies and period are covered? The indicator covers 22 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean at annual, monthly, and quarterly frequency, over the period 1990–2026. What units and transformations are available? Values are available in % of GDP, millions of USD, millions of domestic currency, PPP-adjusted, YTD, constant prices (CPI-deflated), seasonally adjusted, and on a fiscal-year (Q4–Q3) basis. Transformations include MA3, MA6, MA12 moving averages and MoM, QoQ, and YoY percentage changes. At which government levels is the Primary Fiscal Balance reported? It is reported across government levels — central government, general government, and the non-financial public sector — where available for each country. Where does the data come from? The series is compiled from national finance and economy ministries and central banks — such as the Tesouro Nacional do Brasil, the Ministerio de Hacienda de Mexico, the Banco de la República de Colombia, and the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service of Jamaica — and harmonized by the IDB for cross-country comparison. What is the Primary Fiscal Balance typically used for? Analysts, policymakers, and researchers use it to assess fiscal sustainability, compare public finances across countries, and monitor whether governments can stabilize or reduce public debt over time. How do I cite this indicator? Cite it as: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Latin Macro Watch — "Primary Fiscal Balance". data.iadb.org/dataset/latin-macro-watch-dataset.