The balance of payments records all economic transactions between residents and non-residents within a given time period and thus shows a country’s complex economics links with the rest of the world.

Current data and changes compared with the previous month

Further information

100 years of the German balance of payments: 1924 to 2024

To mark the anniversary, we would like to take a look back. We will take you on a short journey through history and show you where the balance of payments in 1924 and 2024 are still very similar and where they differ (significantly).
 

The first international framework for the balance of payments

The League of Nations used to send empty tables along with explanatory notes to countries on a regular basis in order to compile the results of the national balances of payments. The notes were around 12 pages long and were intended to make it as easy as possible to compare the results reported by the individual countries. This could therefore be considered the first international framework for the balance of payments. In many ways, the procedure was already very similar to the International Monetary Fund’s current conceptual requirements:

• Imports were to be recorded at cost, insurance and freight (c.i.f.) values, i.e. as valued at the border of the exporting country. The effects on the transport account were already explained. The c.i.f. valuation of imports was to undergo a critical review in the new edition of the Balance of Payments Manual but would remain unchanged until further notice.
• In the goods account, the necessary adjustments to foreign trade, which are still carried out in the same way today, were explained.
• The services listed already overlapped very closely with today’s services account – with the exception of IT services.
• The effects of migration on the balance of payments were dealt with extensively. These effects have been treated differently since 2009 (no transaction).
• The financial account distinguished between short and long-term transactions. It did not focus on today’s functional categories. However, back then, it was already specified that, for repayments, a distinction was to be made between payments of interest and payments of principal, and that fluctuations in value were not part of the balance of payments.

United Nations Archives at Geneva