International trade and investment flows are the primary drivers of globalisation. Measured in the balance of payments, current accounts encompass exports and imports of goods and services, along with all types of income generated by international investment. The three categories of international investment are: portfolio investment, direct investment and other investment. Because of their particular nature, flows involving derivative instruments are dealt with separately.

Since 2003, Germany has been the OECD’s leading exporter of goods, and the United States has been the foremost importer. In recent years some non-OECD countries also show strong trade performance in goods, becoming large exporters as well importers of goods.

While OECD economies are increasingly geared towards services (in many, services account for twothirds of GDP), trade in services remains quite limited. Many service activities require a local presence and do not lend themselves to being traded internationally. Moreover, services that can be exported or imported are still subject to numerous restrictions, as the Doha Round accords of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) have yet to be ratified.

Portfolio investment is quite volatile, but it accounts on average for a third of the aggregate value of all investment categories.

Since the latter half of the 1980s, foreign direct investment has played a fundamental role in international economic integration. Worldwide it has been the most dynamic factor in industrial restructuring.

Between 2005 and 2008, other investment flows took on greater importance than at the beginning of the 2000s. Their average value is now close to that of portfolio investment and nearly twice that of direct investment.

Investment income relates to all three categories of investment: portfolio investment, direct investment and other investment. Since 1997, the United States has generated the largest net income (credits minus debits) in absolute value. The bulk of US income stems from direct investment and, to a lesser extent, from other investment, whereas net income from portfolio investment is negative.

Following the double-entry accounting rules for establishing the balance of payments, the sum of the current account and the capital and financial account is theoretically equal to zero. As a result, the current balance and the balance of the financial account are theoretically symmetrical. Nevertheless, because data are in many cases compiled independently from different sources, this may not be the case.