## 2021 External Sector Report: Divergent Recoveries and Global Imbalances ## Source details **Canonical URL:** [2021 External Sector Report: Divergent Recoveries and Global Imbalances](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/esr/issues/2021/08/02/2021-external-sector-report) ## Other formats - [Markdown version](/en/publications/esr/issues/2021/08/02/2021-external-sector-report/index.md) - [Structured JSON version](/en/publications/esr/issues/2021/08/02/2021-external-sector-report/index.json) - [Bundle manifest](/en/publications/esr/issues/2021/08/02/2021-external-sector-report/bundle-manifest.json) ## Bibliographic details - Published: August 2, 2021 --- ### Key Highlights - Overall current account deficits and surpluses widened in 2020 to 3.2 percent of world GDP. - The IMF’s multilateral approach suggests that global excessive imbalances were broadly unchanged in 2020 at about 1.2 percent of world GDP. - The external outlook for 2021 is highly uncertain given the divergent economic prospects across countries. - Unprecedented government borrowing to finance health care and economic support has had uneven effects on current account balances. - The impact on the current account balances depends on a country’s relative fiscal policy stance compared with that of its trading partners. - The outlook for global current account balances is a gradual narrowing during 2022–26, mainly reflecting a narrowing of the US deficit and China’s surplus to below pre-pandemic levels. - Over the medium term, collective action is needed to reduce global imbalances in a growth-friendly manner. ### External Positions and Policies (Overview chapter) - Presents the evolution and outlook for and risks stemming from global external positions. - Summarizes the 2020 external assessments for a globally representative set of economies. - Details of individual assessments are in Chapter 3, “2020 Individual Economy Assessments.” ### Fiscal Policy and External Adjustment - Fiscal support in response to the COVID-19 crisis has been unprecedented. - The chapter analyzes how such support has affected external positions at the individual country and global level. - The chapter examines the expected effects of the withdrawal of fiscal support over the medium term. ### 2020 Individual Economy Assessments - Individual economy assessments use a wide range of methods to form an integrated and multilaterally consistent view of economies’ external sector positions. - Results are detailed in Chapter 3, “2020 Individual Economy Assessments.” ### Report Components and Access Points - External Sector Report: Divergent Recoveries and Global Imbalances — August 2021. - Full Report, Executive Summary, Blog, Workshop: December 2021. - Chapter materials include chapter 1 data, online annexes, chapter 2 data, online annex, and chapter 3 assessments. *Source: 2021 External Sector Report: Divergent Recoveries and Global Imbalances — IMF web landing page (https://www.imf.org/en/publications/esr/issues/2021/08/02/2021-external-sector-report).* --- ## Content in this bundle - **Microsoft Word - Workshop Program - Divergent Recoveries and Global Imbalances .docx** - [Microsoft Word - Workshop Program - Divergent Recoveries and Global Imbalances .docx (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/conferences/2021/esr-workshop/esr-workshop-121021.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [Microsoft Word - Workshop Program - Divergent Recoveries and Global Imbalances .docx (PDF)](/-/media/files/conferences/2021/esr-workshop/esr-workshop-121021.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **Chapter 1** - [Chapter 1 (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/esr/2021/english/ch1.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [Chapter 1 (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/esr/2021/english/ch1.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **Chapter 2** - [Chapter 2 (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/esr/2021/english/ch2.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [Chapter 2 (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/esr/2021/english/ch2.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **Chapter 3** - [Chapter 3 (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/esr/2021/english/ch3.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [Chapter 3 (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/esr/2021/english/ch3.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **2021 External Sector Report — Chapter 1** - [2021 External Sector Report — Chapter 1 (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/esr/2021/english/data/esr2021-ch01.xlsx.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [2021 External Sector Report — Chapter 1 (XLSX)](/-/media/files/publications/esr/2021/english/data/esr2021-ch01.xlsx){rel="external" type="application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet"} - **ESR 2021 — Chapter 2 dataset overview** - [ESR 2021 — Chapter 2 dataset overview (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/esr/2021/english/data/esr2021-ch02.xlsx.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [ESR 2021 — Chapter 2 dataset overview (XLSX)](/-/media/files/publications/esr/2021/english/data/esr2021-ch02.xlsx){rel="external" type="application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet"} - **Executive Summary** - [Executive Summary (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/esr/2021/english/execsum.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [Executive Summary (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/esr/2021/english/execsum.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **Online Annex 2.1** - [Online Annex 2.1 (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/esr/2021/english/onlineannex21.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [Online Annex 2.1 (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/esr/2021/english/onlineannex21.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **Onlineannexes11** - [Onlineannexes11 (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/esr/2021/english/onlineannexes11.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [Onlineannexes11 (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/esr/2021/english/onlineannexes11.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **Full Report** - [Full Report (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/esr/2021/english/text.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [Full Report (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/esr/2021/english/text.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} --- ## References - [https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/ranking/BCA_NGDPD@WEO/](https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/ranking/BCA_NGDPD@WEO/) - [Blog](https://blogs.imf.org/2021/08/02/how-the-pandemic-widened-global-current-account-balances/) - [External Balance Assessment](https://www.imf.org/external/np/res/eba/data.htm) - [More about the External Sector Report](https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/SPROLLs/External-Sector-Reports) _Source: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/esr/issues/2021/08/02/2021-external-sector-report_