Economy · Current account balance · Senegal
Senegal’s current account balance was −19.8% of GDP in 2023.
−19.8% of GDP
2023
Up 0.17 pp from 2022.
Stale — last updated 8 Oct 2026
In plain words
−19.8% of GDP
What it is. The current account balance adds up everything a country earns from the rest of the world and subtracts everything it pays out. It covers trade in goods and services, income from investment and work abroad, and transfers such as money sent home by migrants. The result is divided by GDP so that economies of different sizes can be compared. It leaves out borrowing, foreign investment and other capital flows, which show how any shortfall is paid for.
Higher is better. A higher balance is better because a surplus or a smaller deficit means the country relies less on foreign money to cover its spending. Senegal's latest figure, for 2023, is −19.8% of GDP, against −19.9% a year earlier, an improvement of 0.17 percentage points. Since 2014 the range runs from −19.9% of GDP in 2022 to −4.2% of GDP in 2016. The 2023 reading therefore sits close to the bottom of that range, far from the best year.
Why it matters. A deficit this large means Senegal pays abroad much more than it receives, so the difference has to be met by foreign investment, loans or aid. Households feel this through the price of imported goods and any pressure on the currency arrangements behind them. Firms and the state depend on steady access to outside financing, and the figure in the next release will show whether the small improvement continues.
| Period | Current account balance · Senegal |
|---|---|
| 2014 | −6.8% of GDP |
| 2015 | −5.3% of GDP |
| 2016 | −4.2% of GDP |
| 2017 | −7.3% of GDP |
| 2018 | −9.6% of GDP |
| 2019 | −8.1% of GDP |
| 2020 | −10.9% of GDP |
| 2021 | −12.1% of GDP |
| 2022 | −19.9% of GDP |
| 2023 | −19.8% of GDP |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0) · Licence: CC BY 4.0
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Strata-AF™ Data, Current account balance, Senegal, 2023; source World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0), retrieved 8 Oct 2026; https://data.strata-af.com/economy/current-account-balance/senegal
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Methodology
Current account balance as a share of GDP. Unit: % of GDP. A negative value is a deficit.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (series BN.CAB.XOKA.GD.ZS), retrieved through the World Bank API and published under CC BY 4.0. Updated annually; the World Bank's own source notes apply.