BALANCE OF PAYMENTS MANUAL

Like editions issued in 1948, 1950, 1961, and 1977, this 1993 edition of the Balance of Payments Manual (the Manual) serves as an international standard for the
conceptual framework underlying balance of payments statistics. The Manual also functions as a guide for member countries submitting regular balance of payments reports to the International Monetary Fund (the IMF or the Fund). In preparing this fifth edition, the IMF made every effort to ascertain the needs and to reflect the viewpoints of national compilers and various users of balance of payments statistics and international investment position data.
The primary purposes of the Manual are (i) to provide standards for concepts, definitions, classifications, and conventions and (ii) to facilitate the systematic national and international collection, organization, and comparability of balance of payments and international investment position statistics. A companion volume, the Balance of Payments Compilation Guide (the Guide), provides practical guidance to national compilers on the collection, presentation, and systematization of external statistics. The Guide is particularly useful for countries in which statistical systems are in the early stages of development or in transition.