The current account consists of four sub accounts:

–Merchandise trade consists of all raw materials and manufactured goods bought or sold. Since early 1990s, the merchandise trade account has been combined with services to determine the «balance of trade».

– Services include tourism, transportation, engineering, and business services, such as law, management consulting, and accounting. Fees from patents and copyrights on new technology, software, books, and movies also are recorded in the service category.

–Income receipts record investment incomes made up of interest and dividend payments and earnings of domestic owned firms operating abroad.

–Unilateral transfers are payments that do not correspond to the purchase of any good, service or asset. These usually take the form of international aid, gifts, or worker remittances from abroad.