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$69 Trillion of World Debt in One Infographic
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$69 Trillion of World Debt in One Infographic
Two decades ago, total government debt was estimated to sit at $20 trillion.
Since then, according to the latest figures by the IMF, the number has ballooned to $69.3 trillion with a debt to GDP ratio of 82% — the highest totals in human history.
Which countries owe the most money, and how do these figures compare?
The Regional Breakdown
Let’s start by looking at the continental level, to get an idea of how world debt is divided from a geographical perspective:
Region | Debt to GDP | Gross Debt (Billions of USD) | % of Total World Debt |
---|---|---|---|
Asia and Pacific | 79.8% | $24,120 | 34.8% |
North America | 100.4% | $23,710 | 34.2% |
Europe | 74.2% | $16,225 | 23.4% |
South America | 75.0% | $2,699 | 3.9% |
Africa | 56.9% | $1,313 | 1.9% |
Other | 37.1% | $1,231 | 1.8% |
World | 81.8% | $69,298 | 100.0% |
In absolute terms, over 90% of global debt is concentrated in North America, Asia Pacific, and Europe — meanwhile, regions like Africa, South America, and other account for less than 10%.
This is not surprising, since advanced economies hold most of the world’s debt (about 75.4%), while emerging or developing economies hold the rest.
World Debt by Country
Now let’s look at individual countries, according to data released by the IMF in October 2019.
It’s worth mentioning that the following numbers are representative of 2018 data, and that for a tiny subset of countries (i.e. Syria) we used the latest available numbers as an estimate.
Rank | Country | Debt to GDP | Gross Debt ($B) | % of World Total |
---|---|---|---|---|
#1 | 🇺🇸 United States | 104.3% | $21,465 | 31.0% |
#2 | 🇯🇵 Japan | 237.1% | $11,788 | 17.0% |
#3 | 🇨🇳 China, People's Republic of | 50.6% | $6,764 | 9.8% |
#4 | 🇮🇹 Italy | 132.2% | $2,744 | 4.0% |
#5 | 🇫🇷 France | 98.4% | $2,736 | 3.9% |
#6 | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 86.8% | $2,455 | 3.5% |
#7 | 🇩🇪 Germany | 61.7% | $2,438 | 3.5% |
#8 | 🇮🇳 India | 68.1% | $1,851 | 2.7% |
#9 | 🇧🇷 Brazil | 87.9% | $1,642 | 2.4% |
#10 | 🇨🇦 Canada | 89.9% | $1,540 | 2.2% |
#11 | 🇪🇸 Spain | 97.1% | $1,386 | 2.0% |
#12 | 🇲🇽 Mexico | 53.6% | $655 | 0.9% |
#13 | 🇰🇷 Korea, Republic of | 37.9% | $652 | 0.9% |
#14 | 🇦🇺 Australia | 41.4% | $588 | 0.8% |
#15 | 🇧🇪 Belgium | 102.0% | $543 | 0.8% |
#16 | Netherlands | 52.4% | $479 | 0.7% |
#17 | Argentina | 86.1% | $447 | 0.6% |
#18 | Singapore | 113.6% | $414 | 0.6% |
#19 | Greece | 184.9% | $404 | 0.6% |
#20 | Austria | 73.8% | $337 | 0.5% |
#21 | Indonesia | 30.1% | $308 | 0.4% |
#22 | Portugal | 120.1% | $289 | 0.4% |
#23 | Poland | 48.9% | $286 | 0.4% |
#24 | Switzerland | 40.5% | $286 | 0.4% |
#25 | Ireland | 63.7% | $244 | 0.4% |
#26 | Russian Federation | 14.6% | $242 | 0.3% |
#27 | Turkey | 30.2% | $233 | 0.3% |
#28 | Egypt | 92.7% | $231 | 0.3% |
#29 | Pakistan | 71.7% | $226 | 0.3% |
#30 | Israel | 60.8% | $225 | 0.3% |
#31 | Sweden | 38.5% | $214 | 0.3% |
#32 | Thailand | 42.1% | $213 | 0.3% |
#33 | South Africa | 56.7% | $209 | 0.3% |
#34 | Taiwan Province of China | 35.1% | $207 | 0.3% |
#35 | Malaysia | 55.6% | $199 | 0.3% |
#36 | Venezuela | 182.4% | $180 | 0.3% |
#37 | Norway | 40.0% | $174 | 0.3% |
#38 | Colombia | 52.2% | $173 | 0.2% |
#39 | Finland | 59.3% | $163 | 0.2% |
#40 | Saudi Arabia | 19.0% | $149 | 0.2% |
#41 | Iran | 32.2% | $144 | 0.2% |
#42 | Vietnam | 55.6% | $134 | 0.2% |
#43 | Philippines | 38.9% | $129 | 0.2% |
#44 | Denmark | 34.3% | $121 | 0.2% |
#45 | Hungary | 70.8% | $114 | 0.2% |
#46 | Iraq | 49.3% | $111 | 0.2% |
#47 | Nigeria | 27.3% | $109 | 0.2% |
#48 | Bangladesh | 34.0% | $98.1 | 0.14% |
#49 | Angola | 89.0% | $94.3 | 0.14% |
#50 | Qatar | 48.6% | $93.0 | 0.13% |
#51 | Romania | 36.7% | $87.9 | 0.13% |
#52 | Lebanon | 151.0% | $85.1 | 0.12% |
#53 | Czech Republic | 32.6% | $79.9 | 0.12% |
#54 | United Arab Emirates | 19.1% | $79.1 | 0.11% |
#55 | Ukraine | 60.2% | $78.8 | 0.11% |
#56 | Morocco | 65.0% | $77.0 | 0.11% |
#57 | Chile | 25.6% | $76.3 | 0.11% |
#58 | Sri Lanka | 83.3% | $74.1 | 0.11% |
#59 | Sudan | 212.1% | $72.7 | 0.10% |
#60 | Algeria | 38.3% | $66.5 | 0.10% |
#61 | New Zealand | 29.8% | $60.5 | 0.09% |
#62 | Peru | 26.1% | $58.8 | 0.08% |
#63 | Puerto Rico | 55.5% | $56.1 | 0.08% |
#64 | Kenya | 60.1% | $52.8 | 0.08% |
#65 | Slovak Republic | 48.9% | $52.1 | 0.08% |
#66 | Ecuador | 45.8% | $49.6 | 0.07% |
#67 | Ethiopia | 61.0% | $49.0 | 0.07% |
#68 | Croatia | 74.6% | $45.4 | 0.07% |
#69 | Dominican Republic | 50.5% | $43.2 | 0.06% |
#70 | Oman | 53.4% | $42.3 | 0.06% |
#71 | Jordan | 94.4% | $39.9 | 0.06% |
#72 | Ghana | 59.3% | $38.9 | 0.06% |
#73 | Slovenia | 70.4% | $38.1 | 0.05% |
#74 | Uruguay | 63.5% | $37.9 | 0.05% |
#75 | Kazakhstan | 21.0% | $36.3 | 0.05% |
#76 | Bahrain | 94.7% | $35.7 | 0.05% |
#77 | Costa Rica | 53.5% | $32.3 | 0.05% |
#78 | Tunisia | 77.0% | $30.7 | 0.04% |
#79 | Belarus | 47.8% | $28.5 | 0.04% |
#80 | Serbia | 54.5% | $27.5 | 0.04% |
#81 | Myanmar | 38.2% | $26.2 | 0.04% |
#82 | Panama | 39.5% | $25.7 | 0.04% |
#83 | Cyprus | 102.5% | $25.1 | 0.04% |
#84 | Côte d'Ivoire | 53.2% | $22.9 | 0.03% |
#85 | Bolivia | 53.8% | $21.8 | 0.03% |
#86 | Tanzania | 37.3% | $21.2 | 0.03% |
#87 | Zambia | 78.1% | $20.9 | 0.03% |
#88 | Kuwait | 14.7% | $20.8 | 0.03% |
#89 | Guatemala | 24.7% | $19.4 | 0.03% |
#90 | Lithuania | 34.2% | $18.2 | 0.03% |
#91 | Syria | 30.0% | $18.0 | 0.03% |
#92 | Yemen | 64.8% | $17.9 | 0.03% |
#93 | El Salvador | 67.1% | $17.5 | 0.03% |
#94 | Cameroon | 39.1% | $15.1 | 0.02% |
#95 | Luxembourg | 21.4% | $14.9 | 0.02% |
#96 | Jamaica | 94.4% | $14.6 | 0.02% |
#97 | Senegal | 61.6% | $14.5 | 0.02% |
#98 | Mozambique | 99.8% | $14.4 | 0.02% |
#99 | Bulgaria | 20.4% | $13.3 | 0.02% |
#100 | Latvia | 35.9% | $12.5 | 0.02% |
#101 | Turkmenistan | 29.1% | $11.9 | 0.02% |
#102 | Uganda | 41.4% | $11.6 | 0.02% |
#103 | Albania | 69.9% | $10.5 | 0.02% |
#104 | Uzbekistan | 20.6% | $10.4 | 0.02% |
#105 | Lao P.D.R. | 57.2% | $10.4 | 0.01% |
#106 | Gabon | 60.7% | $10.2 | 0.01% |
#107 | Congo, Republic of | 87.8% | $10.2 | 0.01% |
#108 | Trinidad and Tobago | 45.1% | $10.2 | 0.01% |
#109 | Iceland | 37.6% | $9.8 | 0.01% |
#110 | Honduras | 40.2% | $9.6 | 0.01% |
#111 | Mauritius | 66.2% | $9.4 | 0.01% |
#112 | Paraguay | 21.5% | $9.0 | 0.01% |
#113 | Azerbaijan | 18.8% | $8.8 | 0.01% |
#114 | Nepal | 30.2% | $8.8 | 0.01% |
#115 | Papua New Guinea | 35.5% | $8.2 | 0.01% |
#116 | Bahamas, The | 63.3% | $7.9 | 0.01% |
#117 | Zimbabwe | 37.1% | $7.8 | 0.01% |
#118 | Georgia | 44.9% | $7.3 | 0.01% |
#119 | Congo, Dem. Rep. of the | 15.3% | $7.2 | 0.01% |
#120 | Cambodia | 28.6% | $7.0 | 0.01% |
#121 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 34.3% | $6.9 | 0.01% |
#122 | Namibia | 45.8% | $6.6 | 0.01% |
#123 | Malta | 45.2% | $6.6 | 0.01% |
#124 | Mali | 37.3% | $6.4 | 0.01% |
#125 | Barbados | 125.7% | $6.4 | 0.01% |
#126 | Armenia | 51.3% | $6.4 | 0.01% |
#127 | Burkina Faso | 42.9% | $6.1 | 0.01% |
#128 | Equatorial Guinea | 43.3% | $5.9 | 0.01% |
#129 | Benin | 41.0% | $5.9 | 0.01% |
#130 | Madagascar | 45.7% | $5.5 | 0.01% |
#131 | Chad | 48.3% | $5.3 | 0.01% |
#132 | North Macedonia | 40.5% | $5.1 | 0.01% |
#133 | Niger | 53.8% | $5.0 | 0.01% |
#134 | Nicaragua | 37.2% | $4.9 | 0.01% |
#135 | Guinea | 38.2% | $4.6 | 0.01% |
#136 | Kyrgyz Republic | 56.0% | $4.5 | 0.01% |
#137 | Mauritania | 82.9% | $4.3 | 0.01% |
#138 | Malawi | 62.9% | $4.3 | 0.01% |
#139 | Togo | 76.2% | $4.1 | 0.01% |
#140 | Montenegro | 72.6% | $4.0 | 0.01% |
#141 | Rwanda | 40.7% | $3.9 | 0.01% |
#142 | Maldives | 68.0% | $3.6 | 0.01% |
#143 | Tajikistan | 47.9% | $3.6 | 0.01% |
#144 | Eritrea | 174.3% | $3.5 | 0.01% |
#145 | Moldova | 29.7% | $3.4 | 0.00% |
#146 | Haiti | 33.3% | $3.2 | 0.00% |
#147 | Bhutan | 102.4% | $2.6 | 0.00% |
#148 | Sierra Leone | 63.0% | $2.6 | 0.00% |
#149 | Estonia | 8.3% | $2.6 | 0.00% |
#150 | Fiji | 46.2% | $2.6 | 0.00% |
#151 | Suriname | 72.8% | $2.5 | 0.00% |
#152 | Cabo Verde | 124.5% | $2.5 | 0.00% |
#153 | Aruba | 84.5% | $2.4 | 0.00% |
#154 | Botswana | 12.1% | $2.3 | 0.00% |
#155 | Guyana | 52.9% | $2.1 | 0.00% |
#156 | Burundi | 58.4% | $2.0 | 0.00% |
#157 | South Sudan, Republic of | 42.2% | $1.9 | 0.00% |
#158 | Belize | 95.2% | $1.8 | 0.00% |
#159 | Eswatini | 35.2% | $1.7 | 0.00% |
#160 | Antigua and Barbuda | 89.5% | $1.4 | 0.00% |
#161 | Gambia, The | 86.6% | $1.4 | 0.00% |
#162 | Djibouti | 48.0% | $1.4 | 0.00% |
#163 | Afghanistan | 6.9% | $1.4 | 0.00% |
#164 | Kosovo | 17.0% | $1.4 | 0.00% |
#165 | Liberia | 39.9% | $1.3 | 0.00% |
#166 | San Marino | 77.9% | $1.3 | 0.00% |
#167 | Saint Lucia | 64.3% | $1.2 | 0.00% |
#168 | Lesotho | 44.5% | $1.2 | 0.00% |
#169 | Central African Republic | 49.9% | $1.1 | 0.00% |
#170 | Guinea-Bissau | 64.3% | $0.9 | 0.00% |
#171 | Seychelles | 56.9% | $0.9 | 0.00% |
#172 | Grenada | 63.5% | $0.8 | 0.00% |
#173 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 74.5% | $0.6 | 0.00% |
#174 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 60.5% | $0.6 | 0.00% |
#175 | Vanuatu | 51.4% | $0.5 | 0.00% |
#176 | Samoa | 50.3% | $0.4 | 0.00% |
#177 | Dominica | 74.1% | $0.4 | 0.00% |
#178 | Hong Kong SAR | 0.1% | $0.4 | 0.00% |
#179 | Brunei Darussalam | 2.6% | $0.4 | 0.00% |
#180 | São Tomé and Príncipe | 74.5% | $0.3 | 0.00% |
#181 | Comoros | 21.0% | $0.2 | 0.00% |
#182 | Timor-Leste | 6.1% | $0.2 | 0.00% |
#183 | Solomon Islands | 9.4% | $0.1 | 0.00% |
#184 | Micronesia, Fed. States of | 20.3% | $0.1 | 0.00% |
#185 | Nauru | 58.3% | $0.1 | 0.00% |
#186 | Marshall Islands | 25.2% | $0.1 | 0.00% |
#187 | Kiribati | 20.6% | $0.0 | 0.00% |
#188 | Tuvalu | 28.1% | $0.0 | 0.00% |
In absolute terms, the most indebted nation is the United States, which has a gross debt of $21.5 trillion according to the IMF as of 2018.
If you’re looking for a more precise figure for 2019, the U.S. government’s “Debt to the Penny” dataset puts the amount owing to exactly $23,015,089,744,090.63 as of November 12, 2019.
Of course, the U.S. is also the world’s largest economy in nominal terms, putting the debt to GDP ratio at 104.3%
Other stand outs from the list above include Japan, which has the highest debt to GDP ratio (237.1%), and China , which has increased government debt by almost $2 trillion in just the last two years. Meanwhile, the European economies of Italy and Belgium check the box as other large debtors with ratios topping 100% debt to GDP.
Markets
Ranked: The World’s Top Diamond Mining Countries, by Carats and Value
Who are the leaders in rough diamond production and how much is their diamond output worth?

Ranked: World Diamond Mining By Country, Carat, and Value
Only 22 countries in the world engage in rough diamond production—also known as uncut, raw or natural diamonds—mining for them from deposits within their territories.
This chart, by Sam Parker illustrates the leaders in rough diamond production by weight and value. It uses data from Kimberly Process (an international certification organization) along with estimates by Dr. Ashok Damarupurshad, a precious metals and diamond specialist in South Africa.
Rough Diamond Production, By Weight
Russia takes the top spot as the world’s largest rough diamond producer, mining close to 42 million carats in 2022, well ahead of its peers.
Russia’s large lead over second-place Botswana (24.8 million carats) and third-ranked Canada (16.2 million carats) indicates that the country’s diamond production is circumventing sanctions due to the difficulties in tracing a diamond’s origin.
Here’s a quick breakdown of rough diamond production in the world.
Rank | Country | Rough Diamond Production (Carats) |
---|---|---|
1 | 🇷🇺 Russia | 41,923,910 |
2 | 🇧🇼 Botswana | 24,752,967 |
3 | 🇨🇦 Canada | 16,249,218 |
4 | 🇨🇩 DRC | 9,908,998 |
5 | 🇿🇦 South Africa | 9,660,233 |
6 | 🇦🇴 Angola | 8,763,309 |
7 | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | 4,461,450 |
8 | 🇳🇦 Namibia | 2,054,227 |
9 | 🇱🇸 Lesotho | 727,737 |
10 | 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone | 688,970 |
11 | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | 375,533 |
12 | 🇧🇷 Brazil | 158,420 |
13 | 🇬🇳 Guinea | 128,771 |
14 | 🇨🇫 Central African Republic | 118,044 |
15 | 🇬🇾 Guyana | 83,382 |
16 | 🇬🇭 Ghana | 82,500 |
17 | 🇱🇷 Liberia | 52,165 |
18 | 🇨🇮 Cote D'Ivoire | 3,904 |
19 | 🇨🇬 Republic of Congo | 3,534 |
20 | 🇨🇲 Cameroon | 2,431 |
21 | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | 1,665 |
22 | 🇲🇱 Mali | 92 |
Total | 120,201,460 |
Note: South Africa’s figures are estimated.
As with most other resources, (oil, gold, uranium), rough diamond production is distributed unequally. The top 10 rough diamond producing countries by weight account for 99.2% of all rough diamonds mined in 2022.
Diamond Mining, by Country
However, higher carat mined doesn’t necessarily mean better value for the diamond. Other factors like the cut, color, and clarity also influence a diamond’s value.
Here’s a quick breakdown of diamond production by value (USD) in 2022.
Rank | Country | Rough Diamond Value (USD) |
---|---|---|
1 | 🇧🇼 Botswana | $4,975M |
2 | 🇷🇺 Russia | $3,553M |
3 | 🇦🇴 Angola | $1,965M |
4 | 🇨🇦 Canada | $1,877M |
5 | 🇿🇦 South Africa | $1,538M |
6 | 🇳🇦 Namibia | $1,234M |
7 | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | $424M |
8 | 🇱🇸 Lesotho | $314M |
9 | 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone | $143M |
10 | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | $110M |
11 | 🇨🇩 DRC | $65M |
12 | 🇧🇷 Brazil | $30M |
13 | 🇱🇷 Liberia | $18M |
14 | 🇨🇫 Central African Republic | $15M |
15 | 🇬🇾 Guyana | $14M |
16 | 🇬🇳 Guinea | $6M |
17 | 🇬🇭 Ghana | $3M |
18 | 🇨🇲 Cameroon | $0.25M |
19 | 🇨🇬 Republic of Congo | $0.20M |
20 | 🇨🇮 Cote D'Ivoire | $0.16M |
21 | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | $0.10M |
22 | 🇲🇱 Mali | $0.06M |
Total | $16,290M |
Note: South Africa’s figures are estimated. Furthermore, numbers have been rounded and may not sum to the total.
Thus, even though Botswana only produced 59% of Russia’s diamond weight in 2022, it had a trade value of nearly $5 billion, approximately 1.5 times higher than Russia’s for the same year.
Another example is Angola, which is ranked 6th in diamond production, but 3rd in diamond value.
Both countries (as well as South Africa, Canada, and Namibia) produce gem-quality rough diamonds versus countries like Russia and the DRC whose diamonds are produced mainly for industrial use.
Which Regions Produce the Most Diamonds in 2022?
Unsurprisingly, Africa is the largest rough diamond producing region, accounting for 51% of output by weight, and 66% by value.
Rank | Region | Share of Rough Diamond Production (%) | Share of Rough Diamond Value (%) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Africa | 51.4% | 66.4% |
2 | Europe | 34.9% | 32.9% |
3 | North America | 13.5% | 52.8% |
4 | South America | 0.2% | 2.4% |
However diamond mining in Africa is a relatively recent phenomenon, fewer than 200 years old. Diamonds had been discovered—and prized—as far back as 2,000 years ago in India, later on spreading west to Egyptian pharaohs and the Roman Empire.
By the start of the 20th century, diamond production on a large scale took off: first in South Africa, and decades later in other African countries. In fact between 1889–1959, Africa produced 98% of the world’s diamonds.
And in the latter half of the 20th century, the term blood diamond evolved from diamonds mined in African conflict zones used to finance insurgency or crime.
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