Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Debt
Debt to GDP Ratio by Country 2026
Country | Debt to GDP Ratio 2024 (% of GDP)↓ | Central Government Debt 2024 (% of GDP) | General Government Debt 2024 (% of GDP) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Sudan | 272% | 272% | |
 | Japan | 237% | 201% | 237% |
 | Singapore | 173% | 177% | |
 | Venezuela | 164% | 164% | |
 | Lebanon | 164% | 164% | |
 | Eritrea | 164% | ||
 | Greece | 154% | 170% | 151% |
 | Italy | 135% | 133% | 135% |
 | Bahrain | 134% | 134% | |
 | United States | 124% | 103% | 121% |
 | France | 113% | 94.34% | 113% |
 | Canada | 111% | 52% | 111% |
 | Cape Verde | 109% | 114% | |
 | Bhutan | 108% | 108% | |
 | Belgium | 104% | 85.43% | 104% |
 | Spain | 102% | 93.57% | 102% |
 | Sri Lanka | 96.1% | 99.43% | |
 | Republic of the Congo | 95.4% | 95.44% | |
 | Bolivia | 95% | 101% | |
 | United Kingdom | 93.6% | 101% | 101% |
 | Portugal | 93.6% | 102% | 94.93% |
 | Jordan | 90.2% | 95.9% | |
 | Ukraine | 89.8% | 89.84% | |
 | China | 88.3% | 88.33% | |
 | Malawi | 87.7% | 74.38% | |
 | Suriname | 87.2% | 87.22% | |
 | Zimbabwe | 87% | 94.59% | |
 | Argentina | 83.2% | 85.33% | |
 | Egypt | 82.9% | 90.93% | |
 | Finland | 82.1% | 82.05% | 82.53% |
 | Mauritius | 82.1% | 91.36% | |
 | India | 81.92% | 53.82% | 81.29% |
 | Austria | 81.8% | 62.12% | 81.21% |
 | Bahamas | 81.5% | 77.79% | |
 | Guinea-Bissau | 80.3% | 82.29% | |
 | Pakistan | 80% | 70.07% | |
 | Tunisia | 79.8% | 83.13% | |
 | Fiji | 78.3% | 76.95% | |
 | South Africa | 76.9% | 76.36% | |
 | Mozambique | 76.9% | 96.63% | |
 | Brazil | 76.5% | 83.48% | 87.28% |
 | Costa Rica | 74.18% | 59.78% | 60.17% |
 | Hungary | 73.5% | 74.49% | 73.45% |
 | Gabon | 73.4% | 73.4% | |
 | Gambia | 72% | 73.49% | |
 | Yemen | 70.9% | 70.94% | 70.94% |
 | Ghana | 70.5% | 70.51% | |
 | Malaysia | 70.4% | 62.62% | 70.39% |
 | Uruguay | 70.3% | 58.33% | |
 | Morocco | 70% | 70.03% | |
 | Zambia | 69.6% | 11,494% | |
 | Togo | 69% | 70.62% | |
 | Israel | 69% | 66.46% | 67.85% |
 | Laos | 68.71% | 96.45% | |
 | Jamaica | 67.9% | 69.92% | |
 | Rwanda | 67.2% | 67.24% | |
 | Slovenia | 67% | 61.59% | 67.04% |
 | Kenya | 65.5% | 65.59% | |
 | Namibia | 65.3% | 67.7% | |
 | Thailand | 63.7% | 56.57% | 57.17% |
 | Cyprus | 62.8% | 100% | 65.32% |
 | Maldives | 62.4% | 134% | |
 | Germany | 62.2% | 43.97% | 63.89% |
 | Myanmar | 61.3% | 61.3% | |
 | Colombia | 61.3% | 61.28% | |
 | El Salvador | 61.13% | 56.19% | 87.58% |
 | Seychelles | 61% | 57.8% | |
 | Philippines | 60.7% | 57.06% | |
 | Central African Republic | 60.7% | 60.67% | |
 | Lesotho | 60% | 59.75% | |
 | Slovakia | 59.7% | 64.04% | 58.02% |
 | Iceland | 59.3% | 59.94% | 59.08% |
 | Trinidad and Tobago | 58.36% | 64.48% | |
 | Angola | 58.2% | 62.5% | |
 | Croatia | 57.7% | 56.52% | 57.65% |
 | Panama | 56.6% | 56.62% | |
 | Poland | 55.1% | 45.04% | 55.28% |
 | Norway | 55.1% | 14.88% | 42.72% |
 | Liberia | 54.9% | 56.47% | |
 | Romania | 54.8% | 54.73% | 54.58% |
 | Albania | 54.7% | 59.23% | 55.65% |
 | North Macedonia | 53.8% | 60.67% | 54.83% |
 | Nigeria | 52.9% | 49.66% | 52.9% |
 | Burkina Faso | 52.7% | 52.69% | |
 | Uganda | 51.8% | 51.83% | |
 | Papua New Guinea | 51.1% | 53.7% | |
 | Ecuador | 50.6% | ||
 | Armenia | 50.3% | 50.3% | |
 | Mexico | 49.7% | 45.45% | |
 | Tanzania | 48.2% | 48.21% | |
 | Serbia | 47.2% | 47.2% | 44.48% |
 | Niger | 47% | 47.17% | |
 | South Korea | 46.8% | 44.77% | 52.49% |
 | Latvia | 46.6% | 47.39% | 47.36% |
 | Algeria | 46.2% | 46.2% | |
 | Dominican Republic | 46.2% | 46.12% | |
 | Malta | 46.2% | 46.58% | 47.39% |
 | Paraguay | 45.2% | 38.17% | |
 | New Zealand | 45.2% | 51.15% | |
 | Australia | 43.8% | 36.79% | 49.83% |
 | Netherlands | 43.7% | 43.23% | |
 | Czechia | 43.3% | 43.81% | 42.99% |
 | Sierra Leone | 43% | 43% | |
 | Iraq | 42.9% | 42.91% | |
 | Cameroon | 42.7% | 39.54% | |
 | Nepal | 42.6% | 47.87% | |
 | Belize | 42.6% | 60.95% | |
 | Chile | 41.7% | 41.65% | 41.98% |
 | Qatar | 40.8% | 40.84% | |
 | Mauritania | 40.3% | 44.92% | |
 | Honduras | 39.8% | 47.87% | 41.14% |
 | Nicaragua | 39.1% | 39.12% | 39.12% |
 | Indonesia | 38.8% | 39.21% | 40.19% |
 | Madagascar | 38.8% | 50.41% | |
 | Ireland | 38.8% | 44.79% | 41.11% |
 | Lithuania | 38% | 37.65% | 38.22% |
 | Moldova | 37.8% | 37.57% | 38.13% |
 | Switzerland | 37.6% | 13.65% | 37.58% |
 | Iran | 36.8% | 36.85% | |
 | Equatorial Guinea | 36.2% | 36.2% | |
 | Georgia | 36.1% | 37.87% | |
 | Oman | 35.5% | 35.51% | |
 | Uzbekistan | 35% | 32.65% | |
 | Sweden | 34% | 34.43% | 32.64% |
 | Chad | 33.8% | 33.8% | |
 | Mongolia | 33% | 38.95% | 44.36% |
 | Vietnam | 32.9% | 32.86% | |
 | Peru | 32.8% | 30.92% | |
 | Bangladesh | 32.2% | 40.13% | |
 | United Arab Emirates | 32.1% | 32.11% | |
 | Ethiopia | 32% | 32.3% | |
 | Denmark | 31.1% | 20.24% | 27.99% |
 | Palestine | 30.7% | ||
 | Tajikistan | 29.5% | 29.54% | |
 | Comoros | 28.4% | 30.82% | |
 | Guatemala | 27.9% | 28.24% | |
 | Cambodia | 26.6% | 26.62% | |
 | Luxembourg | 26.3% | 25.98% | |
 | Saudi Arabia | 26.2% | 29.87% | |
 | Kyrgyzstan | 25.9% | 36.64% | 36.64% |
 | Botswana | 24.9% | 32.79% | |
 | Turkey | 24.7% | 21.32% | 25.97% |
 | Guyana | 24.3% | 24.27% | |
 | Bulgaria | 24.1% | 23.55% | 24.08% |
 | Kazakhstan | 23.7% | 24.95% | 24.8% |
 | Estonia | 23.5% | 23.06% | 23.62% |
 | Azerbaijan | 20.9% | 20.85% | |
 | DR Congo | 19.3% | 19.31% | |
 | Eswatini | 19.3% | 37.21% | |
 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 16.9% | 32.75% | 32.75% |
 | Russia | 16.4% | 20.3% | |
 | Haiti | 14% | 14.95% | |
 | Burundi | 13.1% | 43.18% | |
 | Hong Kong | 9.3% | ||
 | Cayman Islands | 6.4% | ||
 | Turkmenistan | 4.6% | 4.62% | 4.62% |
 | Kuwait | 3% | 3.04% | |
 | Brunei | 2.3% | 2.29% | |
 | Ivory Coast | 59.25% | ||
 | Mali | 51.83% | ||
 | Taiwan | 245% | 26.17% | |
 | Senegal | 114% | ||
 | Guinea | 47.84% | ||
 | South Sudan | 54.32% | ||
 | Belarus | 44.38% | ||
 | Vanuatu | 44.6% | ||
 | Barbados | 104% | ||
 | Sao Tome and Principe | 43.46% | ||
 | Samoa | 27.71% | ||
 | Saint Lucia | 74.77% | ||
 | Kiribati | 9.92% | 9.92% | |
 | Grenada | 73.18% | ||
 | Micronesia | 10.92% | ||
 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 91.61% | 92.69% | |
 | Antigua and Barbuda | 67.06% | ||
 | Dominica | 104% | ||
 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 52.19% | ||
 | Marshall Islands | 16.68% | ||
 | San Marino | 65.19% | ||
 | Nauru | 17.59% |
- Central government debt refers to debt incurred by a country’s federal/central government only. A surplus on the state or municipal level will have no impact on this indicator.
- General government debt refers to overall debt, including that of states and municipalities. A surplus in one area could offset a shortfall in another. For example, if the central government debt is high but state finances show a surplus, the general government debt could decrease.
- Both of these measures are given as a percentage of GDP.
- All % of GDP data were parsed on December of the corresponding year except for Sao Tome and Principe, whose 2023 value was taken form June 2023.
- All percentages have been rounded to the nearest hundredth of a percent.
Snapshot
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Debt-to-GDP ratios vary widely across countries, ranging from more than 270% in the most indebted economies to under 5% in the lowest-debt countries.
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In the most recent 2024 data, Sudan (272%), Japan (237%), and Singapore (173%) report the highest debt-to-GDP ratios in the dataset.
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Several countries maintain very low debt burdens, including Brunei (2.3%), Kuwait (3.0%), and Turkmenistan (4.6%), where government debt remains a small share of GDP.
Debt-to-GDP ratio is an economic metric that compares a country’s government debt to its gross domestic product (GDP) (which represents the value of all goods and services produced by the country). Typically used to determine the stability and health of a nation’s economy, debt-to-GDP ratio is expressed as a percentage and offers an at-a-glance estimate of a country’s ability to pay back its current debts. It is typically evaluated alongside related metrics such as GDP per capita, GDP growth, GNP, and GNI per capita.
Nations with a low debt-to-GDP ratio are more likely to be able to repay their debts with relative ease. Nations whose economies struggle to produce income or which have an oversized debt tend to have a high debt-to-GDP ratio. Debt-to-GDP ratios above 77% can hinder economic growth and (in some cases) place a country at risk of defaulting on its debts, which could wreak havoc on its economy and financial markets.
Countries with the Highest Debt-to-GDP Ratios (%)
Debt-to-GDP ratios can climb quickly when governments borrow heavily, when GDP contracts, or when both happen at once. According to 2024 data (the most recent available as of early 2026), Sudan (272%) and Japan (237%) sit at the top of the rankings, followed by Singapore (173%). A cluster of countries—including Venezuela (164%), Lebanon (164%), and Eritrea (164%)—also report very high ratios, reflecting a mix of fiscal strain, economic contraction, and long-running structural challenges.
Countries with the Lowest Debt-to-GDP Ratios (%)
A low debt-to-GDP ratio can indicate limited government borrowing, strong revenue from natural resources, or a conservative fiscal approach. In the most recent 2024 data, several countries report very low ratios, including Brunei (2.3%), Kuwait (3.0%), and Turkmenistan (4.6%). These countries carry relatively small debt burdens compared with the size of their economies, which can provide greater fiscal flexibility during economic downturns or external shocks.
Sources
- Central Government Debt - IMF
- General Government Debt - IMF
- Country List Government Debt to GDP - Trading Economics
- Factors Impacting the Federal Budget Deficit - The Balance
- Why US Deficit Spending Is Out of Control - The Balance
- Debt to GDP ratio - Wiki
- Venezuela Sinks Further into Oblivion - Forbes
- The Strange Case of Venezuela's National Debt - Venezuelanalysis
