The country’s external accounts recorded a negative balance in 2025, reaching US$68.791 billion, the Central Bank (BC) reported this Monday (26). The value represents 3.02% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP, the sum of goods and services produced in the country), which, according to the BC, is similar to the result of the previous year considering the magnitude of the Brazilian economy.
In 2024, the deficit was US$66.168 billion (3.03% of GDP) in current transactions, which are purchases and sales of goods and services and income transfers with other countries.
According to the head of the BC Statistics Department, Fernando Rocha, current transactions have a very robust scenario and were tending to increase the deficit until February 2025, with the expansion of domestic demand, but stabilized until November, with a reduction in December. It is the biggest deficit for the year since 2014, when it reached US$110.5 billion.
Even so, according to Rocha, the external deficit is financed by long-term capital, mainly by direct investments in the country, which have good quality flows and stocks. Direct investments in the country (IDP) totaled US$77.676 billion in 2025.
“This reaffirms a situation of very solid external accounts”, stated the head of the BC Statistics Department.
Rocha also highlighted that the country’s trade flow increased in 2025, with record exports and imports, which shows the country’s greater integration into the international economy. Therefore, there was a “slight reduction” in the trade surplus, of US$5.9 billion.
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The result was partially offset by a reduction of US$2.2 billion in the services deficit and an increase of US$1 billion in the secondary income surplus. The deficit in primary income (interest payments and company profits and dividends) remained at the level observed in 2024.
Last year’s results were released by the BC with the consolidation of data from December 2025, when current transactions had a negative result of US$3.363 billion, compared to a deficit of US$10.237 billion in December 2024.
It is the lowest result for the months of December 2015, due to the increase in surpluses and reduction in deficits in payment account items. The highlight is the trade balance, which grew by US$4.7 billion.
Trade balance and services
In 2025, exports of goods totaled US$350.899 billion, an increase of 3.2% compared to 2024. Meanwhile, imports totaled US$290.947 billion, an increase of 6.2% year-on-year. With the record results, the trade balance closed with a surplus of US$59.952 billion last year, 8.9% lower than the positive balance of US$65.842 billion in 2024.
The deficit in the services account – international travel, transportation, equipment rental and insurance, among others – totaled US$52.940 billion in 2025, a drop of 4.1% compared to 2024, when the deficit was 55.182 billion.
Among the highlights in the interannual comparison is the reduction of US$5 billion in net expenses for personal cultural and recreational services. According to the BC, since January 2025 legislation has forced bookmakers online (bets) to become resident companies, meaning that betting transactions no longer form part of the external sector’s balance of payments.
Furthermore, there was an increase of US$1.1 billion in net revenues from financial services.
On the other hand, there were increases in net expenses for intellectual property services, by US$2.5 billion, and telecommunications, computing and information services, by US$941 million. These expenses are linked to operations via digital platforms, such as streaming and sale of software.
In the case of international travel, in 2025, the deficit in the account rose, closing at US$ 13.850 billion, the result of US$ 7.865 billion in revenue (which are the expenses of foreigners traveling to Brazil) and US$ 21.715 billion in expenses of Brazilians abroad.
According to Rocha, the value of tourist spending in the country is the record for the historical series that began in 1995..
Lace
In 2025, the deficit in primary income – profits and dividends, interest payments and salaries – reached US$81.347 billion, the same value recorded in 2024. Normally, this account is in deficit, since there are more investments from foreigners in Brazil – and they remit profits outside the country – than from Brazilians abroad.
The secondary income account – generated in one economy and distributed to another, as donations and dollar remittances, without counterpart services or goods – had a positive result of US$5.543 billion last year, against a surplus of US$4.505 billion in 2024.
Financing
Net inflows in direct investments in the country (IDP) rose 4.8% year-on-year. The IDP totaled US$77.676 billion (3.41% of GDP) in 2025, compared to US$74.091 billion in 2024, the result of net inflows of US$62.367 billion in capital participation and US$15.309 billion in intercompany operations.
When the country records a negative balance in current transactions, it needs to cover the deficit with investments or loans abroad. The best form of financing the negative balance is the IDP, because the resources are invested in the productive sector and are usually long-term investments.
Nonetheless, according to Fernando Rocha, in 2025, investments in fixed income securities were also a complementary source of external financing.
Portfolio investments in the domestic market recorded a net inflow of US$15.284 billion last year, made up of net outflows of US$4.945 billion in shares and investment funds and net inflows of US$20.229 billion in debt securities.
The stock of international reserves reached US$358.234 billion at the end of 2025. At the end of 2024, reserves were at US$329.730 billion.
