The balance of payments (BOP) is a record of all international transactions that a country has with the rest of the world during a particular time period. It is an accounting system that keeps track of all the financial transactions that a country has with other countries, including imports and exports of goods and services, foreign investment, and financial flows such as loans and investments.

The balance of trade (BOT), on the other hand, is a subset of the balance of payments that only tracks the imports and exports of goods and services between a country and its trading partners. In other words, it only accounts for the difference between the value of a country’s exports and the value of its imports during a particular time period.

While the balance of trade is a component of the balance of payments, it is important to note that they are not the same thing. The balance of payments takes into account all international financial transactions, including those related to trade in goods and services, as well as capital flows and other financial transactions. The balance of trade, on the other hand, is only concerned with the difference between the value of a country’s imports and exports.