Public Finances in Modern History

The Public Finances in Modern History Database documents two-hundred years of the history of budget deficits and government debts. The current version covers 151 countries over the period 1800 - 2023, subject to data availability. These data were assembled from a wide array of historical sources, which are documented in the Appendix of Data Sources. The initial database, which covered 55 countries, was analyzed in "A Modern History of Fiscal Prudence and Profligacy", Journal of Monetary Economics, 2015, Vol. 76, pp. 55 - 70, by Paolo Mauro, Rafael Romeu, Ariel Binder, and Asad Zaman.

A distinguishing feature of the database is the presence of primary balance data, which is the difference between a government's revenues and its non-interest expenditures, alongside the corresponding government debt data. The primary balance is the most accurate reflection of government fiscal policy decisions. We invite you to explore these data through the interactive graphs below and take in a glimpse of the history of deficits and debts around the world.

We welcome citations to the source of the data and comments on the data to historicalpubfin@imf.org.

PUBLIC FINANCES IN MODERN HISTORY 8 Indicators, 1800 - 2023

Government revenue, percent of GDP % of GDP

Government expenditure, percent of GDP % of GDP

Government primary expenditure, percent of GDP % of GDP

Interest paid on public debt, percent of GDP % of GDP

Government primary balance, percent of GDP % of GDP

Gross public debt, percent of GDP % of GDP

Real GDP growth rate, percent

Real long term government bond yield, percent