Government Deficits: Which Developed Countries Will Be Spending More Than They Can Afford In 2014? [Infographic]

Here is a sampling of projections by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on how the economies of its member countries will do next year. The expected performance of each listed country’s economy is expressed as a “financial balance,” according to the most recent OECD Economic Outlook, published May 29, 2013.

A country’s financial balance is the ratio of a country’s budget surplus or deficit to its gross domestic product (GDP), expressed as a percentage. For a country with a budget surplus, the ratio is positive; for a country with a budget deficit, the ratio is negative.

For example, for 2014 the OECD expects the Korean government to run a budget surplus that will be equal to 2 percent of its GDP. By contrast, U.S. government spending next year is expected to exceed revenue by an amount that is equal to 5.3 percent of its nation’s expected GDP. Korea’s number is expressed as a positive percentage, while the U.S. number is expressed as a negative percentage.

For the full list of OECD member countries, click here.