International accounts summarize transactions between residents of an economy and the rest of the world (non-residents), and represent an integrated framework for the analysis of international economic relations. They cover the following statistical statements: (i) the Balance of Payments, which summarizes economic transactions between residents and non-residents over a given period; and (ii) the International Investment Position.

The Balance of Payments summarizes the economic transactions between residents and non-residents during a given period. The accounts that compose the Balance of Payments are organized according to the nature of the provided and received economic resources. The current account shows transactions in goods, services, primary income (revenue) and secondary income (current transfers); the capital account reflects associated transactions in non-produced non-financial assets and capital transfers between residents and non-residents. The financial account displays the net acquisition and disposal of financial assets and liabilities by type of investment: foreign direct investment; portfolio investment; derivative financial instruments; other investment and reserve assets.

The International Investment Position reflects, at a specific point in time, the value of the financial assets of the residents of an economy that constitute claims on non-residents, and the liabilities of the residents of that economy to non-residents, which constitute foreign obligations. Changes in the International Investment Position from one period to another are explained by transactions in the Balance of Payments along with other valuation changes, which are in turn explained by economic phenomena other than transactions (price, exchange rate, among others). The structure of the International Investment Position is the same as that of the financial account of the Balance of Payments.