External balance on goods and services as a percent of GDP in Netherlands
Netherlands: External balance on goods and services as a percent of GDP was 11.2% in 2025. ▲ Rising
External balance on goods and services as a percent of GDP in Netherlands, 1969–2025
Source: National statistical organizations and central banks, OECD national accounts, and World Bank staff estimates (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Netherlands recorded 11.2% for external balance on goods and services as a percent of gdp in 2025. That is the highest value across all 57 years on record.
The figure is up 1.6% on the previous year and up 46.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, external balance on goods and services as a percent of gdp in Netherlands peaked at 11.2% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.5%, in 1970.
Netherlands ranks 22nd of 191 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 57 years of available data.
External balance on goods and services as a percent of GDP in Netherlands, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 | 1.8% | — |
| 1970 | 0.5% | -71.5% |
| 1971 | 2.1% | +311.1% |
| 1972 | 4.7% | +122.3% |
| 1973 | 5.3% | +14.1% |
| 1974 | 5.5% | +2.5% |
| 1975 | 5.2% | -4.4% |
| 1976 | 5.1% | -3.4% |
| 1977 | 2.9% | -42.4% |
| 1978 | 2.0% | -32.4% |
| 1979 | 1.9% | -3.0% |
| 1980 | 1.8% | -6.3% |
| 1981 | 5.7% | +220.1% |
| 1982 | 6.1% | +6.7% |
| 1983 | 5.2% | -15.2% |
| 1984 | 7.1% | +37.3% |
| 1985 | 6.2% | -12.6% |
| 1986 | 5.2% | -16.4% |
| 1987 | 4.0% | -23.5% |
| 1988 | 4.3% | +7.4% |
| 1989 | 4.9% | +13.7% |
| 1990 | 5.6% | +15.6% |
| 1991 | 5.9% | +5.7% |
| 1992 | 5.6% | -6.4% |
| 1993 | 7.1% | +27.2% |
| 1994 | 7.3% | +3.8% |
| 1995 | 7.5% | +1.9% |
| 1996 | 6.9% | -7.2% |
| 1997 | 7.2% | +4.4% |
| 1998 | 6.9% | -4.0% |
| 1999 | 6.3% | -9.8% |
| 2000 | 7.2% | +15.2% |
| 2001 | 7.3% | +0.7% |
| 2002 | 7.5% | +2.6% |
| 2003 | 7.2% | -3.8% |
| 2004 | 8.2% | +14.8% |
| 2005 | 8.9% | +8.3% |
| 2006 | 9.1% | +2.0% |
| 2007 | 7.6% | -16.2% |
| 2008 | 9.1% | +18.9% |
| 2009 | 8.1% | -10.7% |
| 2010 | 8.5% | +4.9% |
| 2011 | 8.6% | +1.2% |
| 2012 | 9.8% | +13.6% |
| 2013 | 10.1% | +3.4% |
| 2014 | 11.0% | +9.5% |
| 2015 | 7.7% | -30.7% |
| 2016 | 10.9% | +41.7% |
| 2017 | 10.7% | -1.3% |
| 2018 | 10.6% | -1.5% |
| 2019 | 10.0% | -5.6% |
| 2020 | 10.2% | +2.9% |
| 2021 | 9.7% | -4.9% |
| 2022 | 8.8% | -9.9% |
| 2023 | 9.9% | +13.2% |
| 2024 | 11.0% | +11.0% |
| 2025 | 11.2% | +1.6% |
Netherlands compared with similar countries
- Netherlands's 11.2% is above the median for high income countries, which is 2.2%, 5.0× the median. (72 countries reporting)
- Netherlands's 11.2% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.8%, 14.5× the median. (51 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where External balance on goods and services as a percent of GDP in Netherlands changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | +311.1% | 0.5% | 2.1% |
| 1981 | +220.1% | 1.8% | 5.7% |
| 1972 | +122.3% | 2.1% | 4.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.8% | 1.8% | 1.8% | 1 |
| 1970s | 3.5% | 0.5% | 5.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 5.0% | 1.8% | 7.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.6% | 5.6% | 7.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 8.0% | 7.2% | 9.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.8% | 7.7% | 11.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.2% | 8.8% | 11.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Netherlands
More economy & growth data for Netherlands
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, annual growth rate 5.44 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0141 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, per capita 1,040 units per person (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, annual growth rate 0.4115 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, per unit of GDP 0.0103 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, per capita 759.51 units per person (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, annual growth rate 2.51 % change on previous year (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0066 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, per capita 487.58 units per person (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, SDR, annual growth rate -2.38 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is external balance on goods and services as a percent of gdp in Netherlands?
- External balance on goods and services as a percent of gdp in Netherlands was 11.2% in 2025, according to National statistical organizations and central banks, OECD national accounts, and World Bank staff estimates (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest external balance on goods and services as a percent of gdp recorded in Netherlands?
- The highest recorded value was 11.2% in 2025.
- What is the lowest external balance on goods and services as a percent of gdp recorded in Netherlands?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5% in 1970.
- How does Netherlands rank for external balance on goods and services as a percent of gdp?
- Netherlands ranks 22nd out of 191 countries with data for 2025.
- Is external balance on goods and services as a percent of gdp rising or falling in Netherlands?
- Over the last ten years it is up 46.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Netherlands data come from?
- The figures come from National statistical organizations and central banks, OECD national accounts, and World Bank staff estimates (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of External balance on goods and services as a percent of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 57 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Exports of goods and services minus imports of goods and services divided by gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.