United Kingdom vs United States: Government debt by instrument coverage — Maastricht debt
Government debt by instrument coverage — Maastricht debt over time
- United Kingdom
- United States
How they compare
United States currently reports 117.18 Percentage of GDP against 102.72 Percentage of GDP in United Kingdom, a difference of 14.46 Percentage of GDP.
That makes United States's figure about 1.1 times United Kingdom's.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 32 shared years of data; in 1995 it was United States ahead.
United Kingdom ranks 7th and United States ranks 5th of 23 countries.
United States has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | United Kingdom | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 43.48 Percentage of GDP | 62.31 Percentage of GDP | 18.83 Percentage of GDP | United States |
| 2000s | 40.83 Percentage of GDP | 56.94 Percentage of GDP | 16.11 Percentage of GDP | United States |
| 2010s | 85.94 Percentage of GDP | 94.74 Percentage of GDP | 8.8 Percentage of GDP | United States |
| 2020s | 104.25 Percentage of GDP | 112.83 Percentage of GDP | 8.58 Percentage of GDP | United States |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher government debt by instrument coverage — maastricht debt, United Kingdom or United States?
- United States, at 117.18 Percentage of GDP against 102.72 Percentage of GDP in United Kingdom as of 2026.
- What is the difference in government debt by instrument coverage — maastricht debt between United Kingdom and United States?
- 14.46 Percentage of GDP, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for United Kingdom and United States?
- 32 years are reported by both, from 1995 to 2026.
- How do United Kingdom and United States rank globally for government debt by instrument coverage — maastricht debt?
- United Kingdom ranks 7th and United States ranks 5th of 23 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as Government debt by instrument coverage — Maastricht debt (currency and deposits, debt securities and loans). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
The magnitude of government debt and debt-to-GDP ratios varies depending on which measure of debt is used. To promote international comparability, the IMF, the OECD and the World Bank have agreed on a set of standard debt measures, which are defined in the Public Sector Debt Statistics Guide for Compilers and Users and the Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014. Government gross debt is shown in four categories: D1 to D4. D1 is the narrowest measure, comprising only two financial instruments: debt securities and loans. D4 (‘total gross debt’) is the broadest measure and includes debt securities, loans, Special Drawing Rights, currency and deposits, other accounts payable and insurance, pensions and standardised guarantees. The D1 to D3 measures are comparable between OECD countries. D4 is the preferred measure of debt in the international accounting standards (System of National Accounts or SNA) but cross-country comparability is more difficult for D4 because countries have different approaches to recording unfunded pension liabilities for government employees. For more information, please see the document: Measuring Government Debt: D1-D4