Countries by Secondary income, other sectors, payments (BoP, current US$)

Ranking 2024

Analysis

This metric measures outward secondary income flows from other sectors as recorded in the balance of payments, expressed in current US dollars. Secondary income refers to transfers recorded in the balance of payments whenever an economy provides or receives goods, services, income, or financial items without a quid pro quo. All transfers not considered to be capital are current. This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. The ranking covers 190 countries using World Bank World Development Indicators data (indicator code BM.TRF.PRVT.CD), with 149 of 190 countries (78.4%) reporting data for the latest year 2024 and 183 of 190 (96.3%) having data from within the last seven years. All datapoints are classified as official quality. Twenty extreme outliers were identified at the three standard deviation threshold, and average year-over-year change across the dataset is 23.0%.

The top ten is dominated by large advanced economies and major Gulf states. The United States ranks first at $343.4 billion, with Germany second at $141.6 billion and Switzerland third at $68.2 billion. France (rank 4, $66.5 billion), Japan (rank 5, $63.1 billion), and the United Arab Emirates (rank 6, $58.5 billion) follow closely. Saudi Arabia ranks 7th at $50.7 billion and the United Kingdom 8th at $43.0 billion. Singapore (rank 9, $37.4 billion) and Spain (rank 10, $29.4 billion) round out the top ten. High rankings generally correspond to large resident foreign worker populations, significant financial sector activity, or both.

Notable placements appear further down the distribution. The Cayman Islands ranks 35th at $5.2 billion, placing ahead of much larger economies such as Chile (rank 39, $4.5 billion) and Hong Kong SAR (rank 40, $4.4 billion). Macao SAR ranks 41st at $4.1 billion. Among lower-middle and low-income countries, Cote d'Ivoire (rank 43, $3.4 billion) places above several European nations. At the lower end, countries such as Kenya (rank 184, $4.9 million), Ethiopia (rank 188, $608,239), and Lesotho (rank 189, $382,111) record values that reflect either limited outward transfer activity or incomplete reporting.

Several limitations apply to this metric. The 78.4% consistency rate for the 2024 reference year means a meaningful share of country values may reflect earlier periods rather than true 2024 figures. The range spanning from $4,361 to $343.4 billion produces a spread of over 7.8 trillion percent, making direct cross-country comparisons sensitive to reporting completeness. Because values are in current US dollars with no price adjustment, exchange rate movements can influence rankings independently of actual transfer volumes. Differences in national statistical capacity affect reporting quality, particularly for smaller and lower-income economies. The metric captures outward payments only within the other sectors classification and does not reflect inward secondary income flows or government transfer payments.

Methodology

Data are drawn from the World Bank World Development Indicators, indicator code BM.TRF.PRVT.CD, for the reference year 2024. The metric covers 190 countries. Secondary income refers to transfers recorded in the balance of payments whenever an economy provides or receives goods, services, income, or financial items without a quid pro quo. All transfers not considered to be capital are current. This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. Values are denominated in current US dollars and represent outward payments. Of 190 countries, 149 (78.4%) report data specifically for 2024, and 183 (96.3%) have data from within the last seven years. All datapoints carry official data quality classification. Twenty extreme outliers were flagged at the three standard deviation threshold. Average year-over-year change across the dataset is 23.0%, below the 50% volatility threshold. The value range runs from $4,361 (Sierra Leone, rank 190) to $343,422,000,000 (United States, rank 1).

Sources

• World Bank