Central government debt, total (% of GDP) by country
Debt is the entire stock of direct government fixed-term contractual obligations to others outstanding on a particular date. It includes domestic and foreign liabilities such as currency and money deposits, securities other than shares, and loans. It is the gross amount of government liabilities reduced by the...
What the numbers show
Central government debt, total (% of GDP) is currently reported for 83 countries. The highest value is 167.8% in Singapore; the lowest is 3.0% in Lesotho.
The median across all reporting countries is 53.7%, and the mean is 57.6%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 56.
Over the past decade 51 countries rose and 25 fell. The largest increase was in Zambia (up 295.6%), and the largest decrease in Namibia (down 96.0%).
Central government debt, total: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Singapore | 167.8% | 2024 | up 68.5% | rising |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 130.7% | 2024 | down 12.6% | rising |
| 3 | Barbados | 125.0% | 2016 | up 100.5% | rising |
| 4 | United States | 115.8% | 2024 | up 21.1% | rising |
| 5 | Bahrain | 111.6% | 2020 | up 283.9% | volatile |
| 6 | Bhutan | 111.0% | 2020 | up 118.0% | rising |
| 7 | El Salvador | 107.3% | 2024 | up 111.0% | rising |
| 8 | Spain | 105.6% | 2024 | up 0.7% | volatile |
| 9 | San Marino | 99.9% | 2023 | up 84.9% | rising |
| 10 | Jamaica | 97.9% | 2020 | down 28.2% | falling |
| 11 | Jordan | 93.6% | 2023 | up 39.6% | falling |
| 12 | Israel | 88.3% | 1999 | down 33.2% | falling |
| 13 | Palau | 85.2% | 2019 | up 244.8% | volatile |
| 14 | South Africa | 82.8% | 2024 | up 57.2% | rising |
| 15 | Hungary | 82.0% | 2024 | down 18.1% | rising |
| 16 | Brazil | 81.9% | 2024 | up 40.0% | rising |
| 17 | Iceland | 80.1% | 2023 | down 42.8% | rising |
| 18 | Cameroon | 79.5% | 1999 | up 122.8% | rising |
| 19 | Sri Lanka | 73.5% | 2015 | down 18.9% | falling |
| 20 | Mozambique | 71.8% | 2024 | down 22.2% | falling |
| 21 | Bahamas | 71.5% | 2024 | up 54.3% | rising |
| 22 | Zambia | 71.4% | 2021 | up 295.6% | volatile |
| 23 | Colombia | 71.2% | 2024 | up 48.4% | rising |
| 24 | Bolivia | 68.3% | 2001 | up 15.5% | rising |
| 25 | Vanuatu | 67.9% | 2023 | — | volatile |
| 26 | Uruguay | 65.3% | 2024 | up 58.2% | rising |
| 27 | Malaysia | 64.6% | 2024 | up 22.6% | flat |
| 28 | Burkina Faso | 64.2% | 2024 | up 40.8% | rising |
| 29 | Canada | 64.1% | 2024 | up 24.6% | falling |
| 30 | Thailand | 61.9% | 2024 | up 74.8% | volatile |
| 31 | Malawi | 61.8% | 2023 | up 148.1% | rising |
| 32 | Belize | 61.0% | 2014 | down 22.3% | rising |
| 33 | Ukraine | 58.7% | 2020 | up 103.4% | rising |
| 34 | Finland | 58.3% | 1994 | — | volatile |
| 35 | Australia | 57.9% | 2022 | up 47.2% | volatile |
| 36 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 57.7% | 2014 | down 36.5% | falling |
| 37 | Maldives | 57.3% | 2011 | up 83.5% | flat |
| 38 | Mauritius | 57.1% | 2019 | up 58.6% | rising |
| 39 | Pakistan | 55.0% | 2000 | down 30.1% | falling |
| 40 | Uganda | 54.4% | 2024 | up 57.0% | rising |
| 41 | Netherlands | 54.2% | 1994 | — | flat |
| 42 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 53.7% | 2009 | up 3.4% | rising |
| 43 | Cyprus | 53.7% | 1994 | — | rising |
| 44 | Papua New Guinea | 52.0% | 2024 | up 93.4% | falling |
| 45 | New Zealand | 52.0% | 2024 | up 18.4% | rising |
| 46 | Morocco | 51.2% | 2011 | up 5.7% | falling |
| 47 | Mexico | 50.3% | 2024 | up 21.6% | rising |
| 48 | Albania | 50.0% | 2024 | down 31.5% | rising |
| 49 | Armenia | 47.9% | 2024 | down 4.3% | falling |
| 50 | South Korea | 47.8% | 2024 | up 37.3% | volatile |
| 51 | India | 46.5% | 2018 | down 18.8% | flat |
| 52 | Saint Lucia | 45.9% | 2010 | up 48.5% | rising |
| 53 | Philippines | 43.4% | 2014 | down 39.3% | flat |
| 54 | Mongolia | 43.3% | 2024 | down 34.3% | rising |
| 55 | Tonga | 43.1% | 2020 | down 11.9% | falling |
| 56 | Tunisia | 42.5% | 2012 | down 24.0% | falling |
| 57 | Marshall Islands | 41.6% | 2019 | down 42.2% | falling |
| 58 | Georgia | 40.1% | 2024 | up 31.9% | falling |
| 59 | Andorra | 40.0% | 2024 | up 1.1% | flat |
| 60 | Nepal | 39.9% | 2021 | up 17.9% | falling |
| 61 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 39.7% | 2024 | down 25.7% | falling |
| 62 | Costa Rica | 39.3% | 2001 | up 30.7% | rising |
| 63 | Kyrgyzstan | 38.7% | 2024 | down 28.2% | falling |
| 64 | Eswatini | 35.7% | 2021 | up 179.7% | rising |
| 65 | Peru | 35.2% | 2021 | up 70.1% | volatile |
| 66 | Moldova | 34.3% | 2023 | up 72.0% | falling |
| 67 | Belarus | 33.2% | 2019 | up 79.1% | volatile |
| 68 | Ethiopia | 31.4% | 2019 | up 193.0% | falling |
| 69 | Norway | 30.9% | 1994 | — | rising |
| 70 | Indonesia | 30.0% | 2009 | down 33.6% | falling |
| 71 | Malta | 30.0% | 1994 | — | rising |
| 72 | Micronesia (country) | 27.8% | 2020 | up 13.2% | flat |
| 73 | Turkey | 26.6% | 2024 | down 14.5% | flat |
| 74 | Solomon Islands | 26.0% | 2024 | up 198.6% | rising |
| 75 | Guatemala | 25.2% | 2013 | up 19.8% | rising |
| 76 | Switzerland | 22.3% | 2024 | up 10.3% | flat |
| 77 | Kazakhstan | 20.9% | 2023 | up 92.7% | rising |
| 78 | Botswana | 19.7% | 2023 | up 3.8% | rising |
| 79 | Russia | 17.9% | 2024 | up 59.4% | volatile |
| 80 | Democratic Republic of Congo | 14.9% | 2022 | — | falling |
| 81 | Chile | 13.1% | 2000 | down 23.9% | falling |
| 82 | Namibia | 4.7% | 2015 | down 96.0% | volatile |
| 83 | Lesotho | 3.0% | 2020 | down 89.9% | falling |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
About this data
Debt is the entire stock of direct government fixed-term contractual obligations to others outstanding on a particular date. It includes domestic and foreign liabilities such as currency and money deposits, securities other than shares, and loans. It is the gross amount of government liabilities reduced by the amount of equity and financial derivatives held by the government. Because debt is a stock rather than a flow, it is measured as of a given date, usually the last day of the fiscal year. Central government is the part of general government that includes all administrative departments of the national executive, legislative, and judicial functions, other central agencies and those non-market producers controlled by the central government, whose competence extends normally over the whole economic territory. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.