China vs Japan: Economic Outlook No 117 — Current account balance as a percentage of
Economic Outlook No 117 — Current account balance as a percentage of over time
- China
- Japan
How they compare
Japan currently reports 4.85 against 3.21 in China, a difference of 1.64.
That makes Japan's figure about 1.5 times China's.
The two have swapped places 11 times across 45 shared years of data; in 1982 it was China ahead.
China ranks 10th and Japan ranks 7th of 39 countries.
Across the 5 decades both report, China averaged higher in 1 and Japan in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | Japan | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | -0.2564 | 2.7 | 2.95 | Japan |
| 1990s | 1.64 | 2.34 | 0.6996 | Japan |
| 2000s | 4.89 | 3.16 | 1.73 | China |
| 2010s | 1.85 | 2.66 | 0.8073 | Japan |
| 2020s | 2.37 | 3.89 | 1.51 | Japan |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher economic outlook no 117 — current account balance as a percentage of, China or Japan?
- Japan, at 4.85 against 3.21 in China as of 2026.
- What is the difference in economic outlook no 117 — current account balance as a percentage of between China and Japan?
- 1.64, with Japan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and Japan?
- 45 years are reported by both, from 1982 to 2026.
- How do China and Japan rank globally for economic outlook no 117 — current account balance as a percentage of?
- China ranks 10th and Japan ranks 7th of 39 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as Economic Outlook No 117 — Current account balance as a percentage of GDP. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
The OECD Economic Outlook presents the OECD’s analysis of the major global economic trends and prospects for the next two years. The Outlook puts forward a consistent set of projections for output, employment, government spending, prices and current balances based on a review of each member country and of the induced effect on each of them on international developments. OECD (2025), OECD Economic Outlook No 117 (Edition 2025/1) EO117 Database documentation EO117 Last historical points gdp inflation cpi population unemployment real gdp gdp per capita employment OECD Economic Outlook website: https://www.oecd.org/economic-outlook/ Contact : eco.outlook@oecd.org Keywords : Outlook, forecasts, forecast, GDP