Goods and Services Balance (BOP)

The Goods and Services Balance is the net result of cross-border transactions in goods and services between residents and nonresidents, calculated as total exports of goods and services minus total imports. A surplus reflects net external demand for the country's goods and services, while a deficit reflects net domestic demand for foreign goods and services. As a core balance-of-payments (BOP) aggregate, it is widely used to assess external competitiveness and trade performance. This indicator is part of the Latin Macro Watch dataset published by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), which compiles harmonized macroeconomic series for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Coverage

The series covers 16 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean at annual, monthly and quarterly frequency, spanning 1994–2026. Values are reported in millions of USD, as a share of GDP (% of GDP), year-to-date (YTD) and on a fiscal-year (Q4–Q3 aggregation) basis, with moving-average (MA3, MA6, MA12) and month-on-month (MoM %), quarter-on-quarter (QoQ %) and year-on-year (YoY %) transformations available.

Sources

Figures are drawn from central banks and national statistical agencies across the region. Sources include Banco Central do Brasil, Banco de Mexico (Banxico), Banco de la República de Colombia, Banco Central de Reserva del Perú and INDEC - Argentina.

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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 Goods and Services Balance measure? It measures the net result of cross-border transactions in goods and services between residents and nonresidents, calculated as total exports of goods and services minus total imports. What does a surplus or deficit indicate? A surplus reflects net external demand for the country's goods and services, while a deficit reflects net domestic demand for foreign goods and services. How many countries and which frequencies and period does it cover? The series covers 16 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean at annual, monthly and quarterly frequency, spanning 1994–2026. What units and transformations are available? Values are reported in millions of USD, as a percentage of GDP, year-to-date (YTD) and on a fiscal-year (Q4–Q3 aggregation) basis. Moving averages (MA3, MA6, MA12) and month-on-month (MoM %), quarter-on-quarter (QoQ %) and year-on-year (YoY %) transformations are available. Where does the data come from? Data come from central banks and national statistical agencies across the region, including Banco Central do Brasil, Banco de Mexico (Banxico), Banco de la República de Colombia, Banco Central de Reserva del Perú and INDEC - Argentina. How do I cite this indicator? Cite it as: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Latin Macro Watch — "Goods and Services Balance (BOP)". data.iadb.org/dataset/latin-macro-watch-dataset.