Debt

Ranked: Government Debt by Country, in Advanced Economies

Published

5 months ago

December 11, 2023

Marcus Lu

Article/Editing:

Bruno Venditti

Graphics/Design:

Bhabna Banerjee

government debt by country in advanced economies

Government Debt by Country, in Advanced Economies

The amount of debt a government holds is a crucial indicator for the sustainability of its finances.

If the debt is excessively high—especially as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP)—it may signal challenges in meeting financial obligations, potentially leading to economic instability.

This graphic ranks government debt by country for advanced economies, using their gross debt-to-GDP ratio. The ranking is based on IMF Outlook from October 2023.

Debt-to-GDP Ratio for Advanced Economies in 2023

From 20 economies analyzed, 11 have a debt-to-GDP ratio of over 100%.

At the top is Japan, whose national debt has remained above 100% of its GDP for two decades, reaching 255% in 2023.

Economy by Gross Debt	% of GDP (2023)
🇯🇵 Japan	255%
🇬🇷 Greece	168%
🇸🇬 Singapore	168%
🇮🇹 Italy	144%
🇺🇸 United States*	123%
🇫🇷 France	110%
🇵🇹 Portugal	108%
🇪🇸 Spain	107%
🇨🇦 Canada*	106%
🇧🇪 Belgium	106%
🇬🇧 United Kingdom	104%
🇨🇾 Cyprus	79%
🇦🇹 Austria	75%
🇫🇮 Finland	74%
🇸🇮 Slovenia	69%
🇩🇪 Germany	66%
🇭🇷 Croatia	64%
🇮🇸 Iceland	61%
🇮🇱 Israel	58%
🇸🇰 Slovak Republic	57%
🌎 G7 Average	128%

*For the U.S. and Canada, gross debt levels were adjusted to exclude unfunded pension liabilities of government employees’ defined-benefit pension plans.

Japan has indeed been borrowing heavily, though mainly in the form of intergovernmental holdings with interest rates around 0%. However, with the country experiencing a rapidly aging population, an increasing burden of social security expenses could lead to an even larger fiscal deficit in the future.

The U.S. national debt hit $32 trillion in 2023, making up 123% of the country’s GDP. To put it in perspective, two decades ago, the U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio was less than half of what it is today. Nonetheless, it remains below the G7 average of 128%.

Germany’s ratio of 66% is the lowest in the G7, though it climbed following the COVID-19 pandemic. All EU member states attempt to keep their ratios below 60% for stability. Otherwise, when debt grows beyond what countries can pay, emergency bailouts and defaults lead to economies crashing, as seen in the European debt crisis from 2009 to 2014.

However, a high gross debt-to-GDP ratio (over 100%) is not always a cause for concern. Net ratios that take intergovernmental holdings into account can indicate exposure to debt better in the short-term, as does comparing liabilities and assets. The question is, where are debt ratios heading in the future?

Related Topics:eu economic strength debt by gdp U.S.by GDP G7 singapore uk canada government debt global debt greece united kingdom united states japan

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Debt

How Debt-to-GDP Ratios Have Changed Since 2000

See how much the debt-to-GDP ratios of advanced economies have grown (or shrank) since the year 2000.

Published

1 week ago

April 18, 2024

Marcus Lu

How Debt-to-GDP Ratios Have Changed Since 2000

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on Apple or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Government debt levels have grown in most parts of the world since the 2008 financial crisis, and even more so after the COVID-19 pandemic.

To gain perspective on this long-term trend, we’ve visualized the debt-to-GDP ratios of advanced economies, as of 2000 and 2024 (estimated). All figures were sourced from the IMF’s World Economic Outlook.

Data and Highlights

The data we used to create this graphic is listed in the table below. “Government gross debt” consists of all liabilities that require payment(s) of interest and/or principal in the future.

Country	2000 (%)	2024 (%)	Change (pp)
🇯🇵 Japan	135.6	251.9	+116.3
🇸🇬 Singapore	82.3	168.3	+86.0
🇺🇸 United States	55.6	126.9	+71.3
🇬🇧 United Kingdom	36.6	105.9	+69.3
🇬🇷 Greece	104.9	160.2	+55.3
🇫🇷 France	58.9	110.5	+51.6
🇵🇹 Portugal	54.2	104.0	+49.8
🇪🇸 Spain	57.8	104.7	+46.9
🇸🇮 Slovenia	25.9	66.5	+40.6
🇫🇮 Finland	42.4	76.5	+34.1
🇭🇷 Croatia	35.4	61.8	+26.4
🇨🇦 Canada	80.4	103.3	+22.9
🇨🇾 Cyprus	56.0	70.9	+14.9
🇦🇹 Austria	65.7	74.0	+8.3
🇸🇰 Slovak Republic	50.5	56.5	+6.0
🇩🇪 Germany	59.3	64.0	+4.7
🇧🇪 Belgium	109.6	106.8	-2.8
🇮🇱 Israel	77.4	56.8	-20.6
🇮🇸 Iceland	75.8	54.6	-21.2

The debt-to-GDP ratio indicates how much a country owes compared to the size of its economy, reflecting its ability to manage and repay debts. Percentage point (pp) changes shown above indicate the increase or decrease of these ratios.

Countries with the Biggest Increases

Japan (+116 pp), Singapore (+86 pp), and the U.S. (+71 pp) have grown their debt as a percentage of GDP the most since the year 2000.

All three of these countries have stable, well-developed economies, so it’s unlikely that any of them will default on their growing debts. With that said, higher government debt leads to increased interest payments, which in turn can diminish available funds for future government budgets.

This is a rising issue in the U.S., where annual interest payments on the national debt have surpassed $1 trillion for the first time ever.

Only 3 Countries Saw Declines

Among this list of advanced economies, Belgium (-2.8 pp), Iceland (-21.2 pp), and Israel (-20.6 pp) were the only countries that decreased their debt-to-GDP ratio since the year 2000.

According to Fitch Ratings, Iceland’s debt ratio has decreased due to strong GDP growth and the use of its cash deposits to pay down upcoming maturities.