Fiscal Monitor (FM)
The Fiscal Monitor surveys and analyzes the latest public finance developments. It updates fiscal implications of the crisis and medium-term fiscal projections, and assesses policies to put public finances on a sustainable footing.
Country-specific data and projections for key fiscal variables are based on the April 2024 World Economic Outlook database, unless indicated otherwise, and compiled by the IMF staff. Historical data and projections are based on the information gathered by IMF country desk officers in the context of their missions and through their ongoing analysis of the evolving situation in each country. They are updated on a continual basis as more information becomes available. Structural breaks in data may be adjusted to produce smooth series through splicing and other techniques. IMF staff estimates serve as proxies when complete information is unavailable. As a result, Fiscal Monitor data can differ from official data in other sources, including the IMF’s International Financial Statistics.
The country classification in the Fiscal Monitor divides the world into three major groups: 41 advanced economies, 96 emerging market and middle-income economies, and 58 low-income developing countries. Country groupings have been revised to broaden country coverage. The seven largest advanced economies in terms of GDP (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States) constitute the subgroup of major advanced economies, often referred to as the Group of Seven (G7). The members of the euro area are also distinguished as a subgroup. Composite data shown in the tables for the euro area cover the current members for all years, even though the membership has increased over time. The low-income developing countries are countries that were designated Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT)–eligible in the 2013 PRGT-eligible review and had a level of per capita gross national income with less than the PRGT income graduation threshold for non-small states—that is, twice the International Development Association operational threshold, or $2,390 in 2011, as measured by the World Bank’s Atlas method, Zimbabwe is included in the group. The emerging market and middle-income economies include all those that are not classified as advanced economies or LIDCs. See “Economy Groupings” for more details.
All fiscal data refer to the general government where available and to calendar years, except for Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bhutan, Botswana, Dominica, Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji, Haiti, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, India, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Jamaica, Lesotho, Malawi, the Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Pakistan, Palau, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, St. Lucia, Samoa, Singapore, Thailand, Tonga, and Trinidad and Tobago, for which they refer to the fiscal year.
Composite data for country groups are weighted averages of individual-country data, unless otherwise specified. Data are weighted by annual nominal GDP converted to U.S. dollars at average market exchange rates as a share of the group GDP.
For most countries, fiscal data follow the IMF’s Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014. The overall fiscal balance refers to net lending (+)/borrowing (–) of the general government. In some cases, however, the overall balance refers to total revenue and grants minus total expenditure and net lending.
