Balance of payments of the Republic of Lithuania for Q1 2026

the surplus on the current account balance (CAB) decreased, compared to the fourth quarter of 2025, from €585.5 million to €324.3 million, accounting for 1.6% of the gross domestic product (GDP). This development was mainly influenced by the increased deficit on the primary income balance and decreased surplus on the balance of services. Imports of goods which grew slower than exports in value terms (€134.6 million and €7.8 million respectively) pushed foreign trade balance down by 8.9% to €1.5 billion. Compared to the previous quarter, exports of goods which grew faster than imports (6.9 and 1.3% respectively) reduced (15.8%) surplus on the balance of services to €2.2 billion;

the deficit on the primary income balance went up by 15.3% to €566.1 million largely due to the 3.5-fold drop in the surplus on other primary income balance to €134.3 million;

the surplus on the secondary income balance went up from €9.3 million to €102.8 million. It was due to higher inflows of financial aid from the European Union (EU) and a fall in current transfers abroad.

For comparison: a year ago, the CAB was also in deficit and stood at €46.8 million, or -0.3% of GDP at current prices (see Chart 1);

the surplus on the capital account balance narrowed by a factor of 2.5 quarter on quarter to €234.3 million. The decline was due to lower EU financial assistance received to fund investment projects;

in the first quarter of 2026, the net flow of the financial account investment fell significantly quarter on quarter but remained positive at €39.5 million, or 0.2% of GDP. This was driven by a positive net flow of other investments (€717.0 million) and an increase in the official international reserves (€117.0 million), which were not offset by negative net flows of direct and portfolio investments (€558.1 and €253.3 million respectively).

For comparison: in the first quarter of 2025, the net flow of financial account investment was negative and amounted to €771.7 million, or -4.1% of GDP at current prices (see Chart 2);

the net international investment position was negative and amounted to €5.1 billion, or -6.0% of GDP, at the end of the first quarter of 2026, while it stood at €740.7 million, or -0.9% of GDP at current prices, a year earlier;

at the end of the reporting period, Lithuania’s gross external debt stood at €88.6 billion, or 103.8% of GDP, while the net external debt amounted to -€9.3 billion, or -10.9% of GDP, i.e. Lithuania’s assets abroad exceeded foreign liabilities.

For comparison: a year ago, Lithuania’s gross external debt stood at €66.3 billion, or 82.7% of GDP, while the net external debt amounted to -€10.6 billion, or -13.2% of GDP.

Chart 1. CAB and its composite flows as a percentage of GDP

Chart 2. Net financial account investment flows as a percentage of GDP

Detailed data on the balance of payments and international investment position as well as external debt is available on Lietuvos bankas’ website (under External statistics).

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Statistics, External statistics