Highlighted below are ten countries with worst budgets in 2009.

Ireland

General Government Deficit or Surplus as % of GDP: -14.2

Ireland’s budget deficit almost doubled in 2009, as compared to the previous year. The country found it difficult to balance things or meet standards set by the EU as revenues started to fall with expenses continuing to go up.

Greece

General Government Deficit or Surplus as % of GDP: -15.8

Greece’s situation continued to worsen with its deficit falling to almost 16%. With growing unemployment, revenues from multiple sources continued to fall.

United States

General Government Deficit or Surplus as % of GDP: -11.6

2009 was a very bad year for the US that could not reduce its expenditure due to its position. It continued to spend heavily on defense and welfare resulting in a huge deficit.

United Kingdom

General Government Deficit or Surplus as % of GDP: -11

UK’s condition worsened as the country started looking for better options. With unemployment hitting all time low, the country started to work on law and order situation and a huge chunk of income was apportioned towards such expenses.

Iceland

General Government Deficit or Surplus as % of GDP: -10

Iceland’s trick paid off as the country improved in comparison to the previous years, falling from number one spot to number 5^th spot, even reducing the overall deficit. The exchange rate stabilized in the last quarter of 2009 helping the country strengthen its position. However, inflation reached a record 18.6%.

Portugal

General Government Deficit or Surplus as % of GDP: -10.2

2009 did not bring any good news for Portugal that found it extremely difficult to balance things and have a surplus budget. The authorities promised to improve the situation in a few years by controlling expenses and finding ways to increase revenue.

Spain

General Government Deficit or Surplus as % of GDP: -11.2

With an increased public deficit, Spain ended up having a huge budget deficit. The government took some major steps to control the alarming rate of unemployment, which resulted in falling revenues and increase expenses.

Poland

General Government Deficit or Surplus as % of GDP: -7.4

The global financial crisis put Poland in a very weak position as its economy continued to fall down in 2009.

Japan

General Government Deficit or Surplus as % of GDP: -8.7

Japan’s economy largely depends on its large-budget exports that fell largely with people not having the power to buy products like vehicles. Additionally, natural disasters that hit the country in the middle of 2009 resulted in huge expenses and the country having a budget deficit.

Slovak Republic

General Government Deficit or Surplus as % of GDP: -8

Slovak Republic did not see favorable news in 2009 as its revenues sharply fell due to the economic crisis. However, the government came up with a strong budget, even though in deficit, to control the situations and promised to even things up within a few years.