The Philippines runs a current-account deficit of about 3.3% of GDP — with nearly 7½ months of import cover and external debt still low at 26% of GNI.
Short-term debt is about a fifth of reserves. External debt is not fiscal public debt — keep those panels apart. Malaysia’s IDS debt cells are intentional gaps. Singapore and Brunei carry entrepôt/oil caveats. Myanmar’s CA/months are 2019.
What the comparison shows
The Philippine current-account deficit appears alongside several months of import cover and an external-debt stock measured against GNI. These indicators describe different aspects of external financing: current flows, liquid buffers and accumulated obligations. None can substitute for the others in assessing exposure to a change in external conditions.
Key findings from this pack
- PH has a current-account deficit while Thailand and Vietnam’s supplied observations are surpluses.
- Reserve cover and absolute stocks answer different questions, especially for Singapore’s entrepôt economy.
- External debt is not fiscal public debt, and the locked denominator is GNI.
- Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore have intentional IDS gaps; Myanmar’s older observations require caution.
The evidence: Philippines and peers
Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. Values retain their individual years; missing observations are shown as —.
| Indicator / unit | Philippines | Malaysia | Thailand | Vietnam | Indonesia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current-account balance% of GDP · balance of payments | -3.342025 | 1.692024 | 2.762025 | 6.332024 | -0.112025 |
| Reserve coverMonths of imports | 7.332025 | 4.452024 | 8.032025 | 2.372024 | 5.512025 |
| Reserves including goldUS$ billion · current prices | 110.92025 | 125.62025 | 282.32025 | 85.62025 | 156.52025 |
| External debt stocks% of GNI · IDS external debt | 26.32024 | —No observation | 37.52024 | 28.82024 | 312024 |
| Short-term debt relative to reserves% of reserves · IDS short-term debt | 19.72024 | —No observation | 29.32024 | 44.62024 | 41.82024 |
How to interpret the findings
External debt is not government debt, and GNI is not GDP. Reserve months and reserve dollar values also use different denominators. The missing IDS observations for several economies and Myanmar’s older current-account and reserve-cover data mean the regional picture has explicit coverage limits.
Coverage and context
Read row years and coverage notes; missing observations are not zero.
The table is a comparison of observations, not a combined ranking. The topic guide includes the wider SEA-11 coverage, interactive charts and full methodology.
Open external balance →All sources and observation years
S1 · World Bank WDI BN.CAB.XOKA.GD.ZS (IMF IFS Balance of Payments) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-08
S2 · World Bank WDI FI.RES.TOTL.MO (IMF IFS) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-08
S3 · World Bank WDI FI.RES.TOTL.CD (IMF IFS) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-08
S4 · Pack coverage note · WDI IDS observation unavailable · year unavailable · as_of 2026-09-08
S5 · World Bank WDI BN.CAB.XOKA.GD.ZS (IMF IFS Balance of Payments) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-08
S6 · World Bank WDI FI.RES.TOTL.MO (IMF IFS) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-08
S7 · World Bank WDI FI.RES.TOTL.CD (IMF IFS) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-08
S8 · World Bank WDI DT.DOD.DECT.GN.ZS (International Debt Statistics) · year 2024 · as_of 2026-09-08
S9 · World Bank WDI DT.DOD.DSTC.IR.ZS (International Debt Statistics) · year 2024 · as_of 2026-09-08
S10 · World Bank WDI BN.CAB.XOKA.GD.ZS (IMF IFS Balance of Payments) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-08
S11 · World Bank WDI FI.RES.TOTL.MO (IMF IFS) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-08
S12 · World Bank WDI FI.RES.TOTL.CD (IMF IFS) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-08
S13 · World Bank WDI DT.DOD.DECT.GN.ZS (International Debt Statistics) · year 2024 · as_of 2026-09-08
S14 · World Bank WDI DT.DOD.DSTC.IR.ZS (International Debt Statistics) · year 2024 · as_of 2026-09-08
S15 · World Bank WDI BN.CAB.XOKA.GD.ZS (IMF IFS Balance of Payments) · year 2024 · as_of 2026-09-08
S16 · World Bank WDI FI.RES.TOTL.MO (IMF IFS) · year 2024 · as_of 2026-09-08
S17 · World Bank WDI FI.RES.TOTL.CD (IMF IFS) · year 2024 · as_of 2026-09-08
S18 · World Bank WDI DT.DOD.DECT.GN.ZS (International Debt Statistics) · year 2024 · as_of 2026-09-08
S19 · World Bank WDI DT.DOD.DSTC.IR.ZS (International Debt Statistics) · year 2024 · as_of 2026-09-08
S20 · World Bank WDI BN.CAB.XOKA.GD.ZS (IMF IFS Balance of Payments) · year 2024 · as_of 2026-09-08
S21 · World Bank WDI FI.RES.TOTL.MO (IMF IFS) · year 2024 · as_of 2026-09-08
S22 · World Bank WDI FI.RES.TOTL.CD (IMF IFS) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-08
S23 · World Bank WDI BN.CAB.XOKA.GD.ZS (IMF IFS Balance of Payments) · year 2019 · as_of 2026-09-08
S24 · World Bank WDI FI.RES.TOTL.MO (IMF IFS) · year 2019 · as_of 2026-09-08
S25 · World Bank WDI FI.RES.TOTL.CD (IMF IFS) · year 2023 · as_of 2026-09-08
S26 · World Bank WDI DT.DOD.DECT.GN.ZS (International Debt Statistics) · year 2024 · as_of 2026-09-08
S27 · World Bank WDI DT.DOD.DSTC.IR.ZS (International Debt Statistics) · year 2023 · as_of 2026-09-08
S28 · World Bank WDI BN.CAB.XOKA.GD.ZS (IMF IFS Balance of Payments) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-08
S29 · World Bank WDI FI.RES.TOTL.MO (IMF IFS) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-08
S30 · World Bank WDI FI.RES.TOTL.CD (IMF IFS) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-08
S31 · World Bank WDI DT.DOD.DECT.GN.ZS (International Debt Statistics) · year 2024 · as_of 2026-09-08
S32 · World Bank WDI DT.DOD.DSTC.IR.ZS (International Debt Statistics) · year 2024 · as_of 2026-09-08
S33 · World Bank WDI BN.CAB.XOKA.GD.ZS (IMF IFS Balance of Payments) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-08
S34 · World Bank WDI FI.RES.TOTL.MO (IMF IFS) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-08
S35 · World Bank WDI FI.RES.TOTL.CD (IMF IFS) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-08
S36 · World Bank WDI BN.CAB.XOKA.GD.ZS (IMF IFS Balance of Payments) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-08
S37 · World Bank WDI FI.RES.TOTL.MO (IMF IFS) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-08
S38 · World Bank WDI FI.RES.TOTL.CD (IMF IFS) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-08
S39 · World Bank WDI DT.DOD.DECT.GN.ZS (International Debt Statistics) · year 2024 · as_of 2026-09-08
S40 · World Bank WDI DT.DOD.DSTC.IR.ZS (International Debt Statistics) · year 2024 · as_of 2026-09-08
S41 · World Bank WDI BN.CAB.XOKA.GD.ZS (IMF IFS Balance of Payments) · year 2024 · as_of 2026-09-08
S42 · World Bank WDI FI.RES.TOTL.MO (IMF IFS) · year 2024 · as_of 2026-09-08
S43 · World Bank WDI FI.RES.TOTL.CD (IMF IFS) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-08
S44 · World Bank WDI DT.DOD.DECT.GN.ZS (International Debt Statistics) · year 2024 · as_of 2026-09-08
S45 · World Bank WDI DT.DOD.DSTC.IR.ZS (International Debt Statistics) · year 2024 · as_of 2026-09-08
S46 · World Bank WDI BN.CAB.XOKA.GD.ZS (IMF IFS Balance of Payments) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-08
S47 · World Bank WDI FI.RES.TOTL.MO (IMF IFS) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-08
S48 · World Bank WDI FI.RES.TOTL.CD (IMF IFS) · year 2025 · as_of 2026-09-08
S49 · World Bank WDI DT.DOD.DECT.GN.ZS (International Debt Statistics) · year 2024 · as_of 2026-09-08
S50 · World Bank WDI DT.DOD.DSTC.IR.ZS (International Debt Statistics) · year 2024 · as_of 2026-09-08
Cite this page
ASEAN in Data (2026). The Philippines runs a current-account deficit of about 3.3% of GDP — with nearly 7½ months of import cover and external debt still low at 26% of GNI. /insights/external-balance