Germany recorded a Government Debt to GDP of 62.50 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product in 2024. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Germany Government Debt to GDP - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Government Debt in Germany increased to 2523308 EUR Million in the first quarter of 2025 from 2508985 EUR Million in the fourth quarter of 2024. This dataset provides - Germany Government Debt- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

In September 2024, the national debt of the United States had risen up to 35.46 trillion U.S. dollars. The national debt per capita had risen to 85,552 U.S. dollars in 2021. As represented by the statistic above, the public debt of the United States has been continuously rising. U.S. public debt Public debt, also known as national and governmental debt, is the debt owed by a nations’ central government. In the case of the U.S., national debt is owed by the federal government to Treasury security holders. Generally speaking, government debt increases with government spending, and can be decreased through taxes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. government increased spending significantly to finance virus infrastructure, aid, and various forms of economic relief. International public debt Venezuela leads the global ranking of the 20 countries with the highest public debt in 2021. In relation to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Venezuela's public debt amounted to around 306.95 percent of GDP. Eritrea was ranked fifth, with an estimated debt of 170 percent of the Gross Domestic Product. The national debt of the United Kingdom is forecasted to grow from 87 percent in 2022 to 70 percent in 2027, in relation to the Gross Domestic Product. These figures include England, Wales, Scotland as well as Northern Ireland. Greece had the highest national debt among EU countries as of the 4th quarter of 2020 in relation to the Gross Domestic Product. Germany ranked 13th in the EU, with its national debt amounting to 69 percent of GDP in the same time period. Tuvalu was one of the 20 countries with the lowest national debt in 2021 in relation to the GDP, while Macao had an estimated level of national debt of zero percent, the lowest of any country. The data refer to the debts of the entire state, including the central government, the provinces, municipalities, local authorities and social insurance.

The ratio of national debt to gross domestic product (GDP) of Germany amounted to about 63.89 percent in 2024. Between 1991 and 2024, the ratio rose by approximately 24.40 percentage points, though the increase followed an uneven trajectory rather than a consistent upward trend. The ratio will steadily rise by around 10.96 percentage points over the period from 2024 to 2030, reflecting a clear upward trend.The general government gross debt consists of all liabilities that require payment or payments of interest and/or principal by the debtor to the creditor at a date or dates in the future. Here it is depicted in relation to the country's GDP, which refers to the total value of goods and services produced during a year.

The national debt of Germany stood at about ************* U.S. dollars in 2024. Between 1991 and 2024, the national debt rose by approximately ************* U.S. dollars, though the increase followed an uneven trajectory rather than a consistent upward trend. The national debt will steadily rise by around ************* U.S. dollars over the period from 2024 to 2030, reflecting a clear upward trend.

Germany recorded a Government Budget deficit equal to 2.80 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product in 2024. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Germany Government Budget - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

This dataset provides values for GOVERNMENT DEBT TO GDP reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

In the third quarter of 2024, Greece's national debt was the highest in all the European Union, amounting to 158 percent of Greece's gross domestic product. In spite of Greece's total being high by EU standards, it marks a substantial decrease from the historical high point reached by the country's national debt of 207 percent of GDP in 2020. Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, and Portugal also all have government debt worth over one year's production of their economies, while the small Baltic country of Estonia has the smallest national debt when compared with GDP, at only 24 percent. In debitum incrementum?A country’s national debt, also known as government debt or public debt, is defined as all borrowings owed by the government of a country. It usually comprises internal debt – owed to other governmental departments – and external debt, which is held by the public and is owed to government bond owners. National debt can be caused by a struggling economy in general, or by low tax income, which usually leads to money being borrowed from other governments for support, which in turn cannot be paid back right away. At first glance, a high national debt is not always a sign of a struggling economy – but since increasing debt can slow down economic growth significantly, it is imperative for the respective government to seek a steady reduction in the long run.

This statistic shows the national debt in the member states of the European Union in the second quarter of 2024. The data refer to the entire state and are comprised of the debts of central government, provinces, municipalities, local authorities and social security. In the second quarter of 2024, Greece's national debt amounted to about 369.4 billion euros. National debt in the EU member states National or government debt is the debt owed by a central government. No country in the European Union is debt-free, although some are able to manage their debts better than others. Debt is influenced by the economic situation of a country, factors such as unemployment, the rate of inflation or the trade figures have a significant impact on its extent, and are, in turn, influenced by the national debt. The economic crisis has hit some EU countries harder than others; Spain, Ireland and Greece especially have been struggling economically since 2008. Greece’s national debt has skyrocketed over the past few years, and the same can be said about Spain and Ireland. Other EU countries, like France and the United Kingdom have been affected as well, albeit not as severely. The national debt of a country can be reduced by applying several measures: money can be borrowed (for example in the form of rescue packages), austerity programs can be enforced, taxes can be increased or central banks can inject liquidity into the economy through the implementation of quantitative easing policies. Some critics of the policy claim that this could lead to a higher level of inflation, which, if severe enough, could have a detrimental impact on living standards.

The researcher made in this study an attempt to give a recapitulatory description of the financing of both World Wars. Therefore according to a given definition of war expenditures only those expenditures were taken into account which arose during the war and which were accounted for in the national budget of the German Empire (Reichshaushalt). The so called post-war burdens, which arose after the respective ceasefire, were not taken into account. By comparing the financing methods of both wars, an insight into the background and the respective characteristics (caused by the different economic systems and economic conditions) shall be enabled.

List of data tables (time series data) in the search and download system HISTAT (www.histat.gesis.org):

A. The development of military spending in Germany

A.1 Total and military expenditure of the German Reich in million marks (1910-1919) A.2 The monthly war expenditure in million marks (1914-1919) A.3 Total expenditure and military expenditure of the German Empire (1933-1945) A.4 Expenditure in the national budget in billions of RM (ordinary and special accounts) (1937/38-1944/45) A.5 total expenditure and expenditure on debt servicing (1914-1919, 1938-45)

B. The funding in both wars through tax policies

B.1 The most important tax revenue in million marks (1913-1918) B.2 The development of the customs revenue in Germany, England and France in millions of currency units of each country (1913-1918) B.3 The main groups of ordinary income (1913-1918) B.4 The total expenditure, the ordinary revenues, the need for extraordinary covering funds and the borrowing in million marks (1914-1918) B.5 actual revenue of the empire from taxes and customs duties in million RM (1933/34-1943/44) B.6 total expenditure, total revenue and revenue from taxes and customs duties (1938-1945) B.7 national budget in billions of RM (ordinary and extraordinary income) (1938/39-1944/45) B.8 Floating debt of the German Empire from discounted treasury bills, compared with the proceeds of war bonds (1914-1919)

C. The funding in both wars by credit policy

C.1 Results of the nine German war bonds in million marks (1914-1918) C.2 National debt in million marks (1900-1920) C.3 The bank deposits in billion RM in Germany (1940-1944) C.4 Public and private indebtedness in Germany (1932-1944) C.5A Total outstanding volume of debt securities in million RM (1933-1940) C.5B Total outstanding volume of debt securities in million RM (1933-1940) C.6 National debt in billions of RM (1933/34, 1937/38-1944/45) C.7 The internal debt of various countries (1939-1944) C.8 Development of public debt in various countries in millions of currency units of the country (1913/1920, 1939/45)

D. Financing in both wars by monetary policy

D.1 The Reichsbank, billion marks (1913-1918) D.2 Coverage of circulation of the Reichsbank and of the foreign funds as annual average in percent (1914-1919) D.3 Circulation in million RM (1928-1945) D.4 The sight liabilities of the Reichsbank in million RM (1940-1945)

E. Financing in the two wars by the pricing policies and economic measures

E.1 International wholesale index numbers as annual averages (1913-1922) E.2 General index of prices as an annual average (1928-1944) E.3 The wholesale price index as an annual average (1928-1944) E.4 Index numbers of commodity prices as an annual average (1928-1944) E.5 Import and export values in billions of German marks (1913-1917)

F. The financing of both was from different point of view

F.1 consumer goods production (1939-1944) F.2 The monthly Germany´s armaments production in the First and Second World War (1918, 1944/45) F.3 Empire index numbers for the cost of living as an annual average (1928-1944) F.4 Index number of earnings over the year (1928-1944)

G. G. Further comparison tables other authors

G.1 Defense spending and national income by Blaich (1932-1938) G.2 Share of defense production as a percentage of industrial production in the German Empire (Deutsches Reich) after Rolf Wagenfuhr (1939-1944).

Timeseries are downloadable via the online system HISTAT (www.histat.gesis.org).

In 2018, Germany’s GDP peaked at around four billion U.S. dollars, the highest GDP the country has reported in decades. It is predicted to grow towards 5.57 billion by 2030. Germany has the fourth-largest GDP in the world, after the United States, China, and Japan. The national debt of Germany has steadily been falling since 2012 and is now about a quarter of the size of Japan’s and half that of the United States. Development of GDP per capita Gross domestic product per capita in Germany has been increasing since 2015 and experienced its last period of decline between the mid-nineties and early noughties. In 2001, GDP per capita was the lowest it had been since the early nineties, but more than doubled by the time of the financial crisis in 2008. GDP per capita fluctuated throughout the subsequent decade, before reaching around 48,000 U.S. dollars in 2018. Largest economic sectors The service sector generates the highest share of GDP in Germany at nearly 70 percent. Finance and telecommunications are a large part of the service sector, as well as tourism – including hospitality and accommodation. Roughly a quarter of GDP currently comes from the production industry, not including construction. Agriculture, fishing, and forestry make up less than one percent.

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the currency reform and of the introduction of the German D-mark on 20th June 1948, the German Bundesbank – in its function as central bank and bank of issue of the Federal Republic of Germany – presented long series of monetary statistics in 1998. In approximately 1,400 data charts, extensive information about the development of the German finance and banking industry, the capital market, and the foreign trade relations are given. In total, approximately 25,000 time series about the following core subjects were collected: general overviews of banking statistics, bank of issue, credit institutions, minimum reserves, interest rates, statistics of exchange rates, capital market, public finances, foreign trade, macroeconomic capital finance accounts and annual accounts of West German companies. Factual classification of the tables in HISTAT: A. Selected data regarding the economic development A.1 Monetary development A.2 Population and labour market A.3 Macroeconomic production and demand A.4 Prices and wages A.5 Distribution of the national income and incomes of the private households B. Foreign trade (currently not completed in HISTAT; access to the subjects B2, B3, B4, B7 see below) B1. Foreign debts and liabilities of domestic companies B.2 Foreign debts and liabilities of the credit institutions B.3 Foreign cross ownerships of German companies B.4 Regional balances of payment B.5 State of assets compared to other countries B.6 Balance of payments B.7 Additional specifications regarding the balance of payments B.8 Foreign payments by the German Bundesbank Any data including a differentiation of countries (EU countries, other industrialised countries, some developing countries, countries of the off-shore finance centres, OPEC countries, reform countries) are currently only available by placing an order with the ZHSF Data Service (ordering address see below) C. General overviews of bank statistics C.1 Consolidated balance of the banking system, assets C.2 Consolidated balance of the banking system, liabilities C.3 Cash circulation C.4 Development of money supply in connection with the balance C.5 Money demand of the Central Bank D. Exchange rate statistics D.1 External value indeces D.2 Exchange rates at the Frankfurt stock exchange D.3 Values of the ECU D.4 Values of the extra educational law E. Macroeconomic capital finance account E1. Domestic financial sectors E2. Domestic non-financial sectors E3. Other countries F. Annual accounts of West German companies F.1 All German companies F.2 Building industry F.3 Clothing trade F.4 Chemical industry F.5 Retail industry (incl. automobile trade and service stations) F.6 Electrical engineering F.7 Power and water supply F.8 Food industry F.9 Glas industry, ceramics, processing of stones and earths F.10 Wholesale trade and trade negotiations F.11 Production of rubber and plastic goods F.12 Production of automobiles and automobile parts F.13 Production of metal goods F.14 Timber industry F.15 Engineering F.16 Medical, measurement, driving and control technology F.17 Metal production and metal working F.18 Paper industry F.19 Textile industry F.20 Manufacturing industry F.21 Transportation (without rail) F.22 Publishing and printing G. Capital market (currently not in HISTAT; access see below) G1. Shares of domestic issuers G2. General overviews G3. Exchange transactions, option and future business G4. Domestic capital investment companies G5. Bonds of foreign issuers G6. Bonds of domestic issuers H. Credit institutions (currently not in HISTAT; access see below) H1. Assets H2. Liabilities H3. Assets and liabilities of the foreign branches and foreign subsidiaries of domestic banks H4. Building associations H5. Deposit statistics H6. Deposits and loans H7. profit situation of the banks H8. domestic and foreign debts and liabilities H9. Circulating bearer bonds according to their terms and bank group H10. Loans H11. Savings deposits and savings certificates H12. Savings business turnover according to bank group and endorsed disposals of non-bank financial companies H13. equity stocks and shares I. Minimum reserves (currently not registered in HISTAT; access see below) I.1 Overview I.2 Itemisation according to steps of progression (from March 1977) I3. Itemisation according to reserve classes (until February 1977) I1.1 Reserve stockpiles according to bank group, obligatory reserve liabilities I1.2. Reserve stockpiles according to bank group, Reserve debits I.2 Reserve ratios J. Central bank (currently not registered in HISTAT; access see below) J.1 Assets J.2 Liabilities K. Public finances K.1 Financial development of the public budgeting K1. Public debts L. Interest rates L.1 Money market rates L1. Bank interest rates (currently not registered in HISTAT; access see below).

For this study, data-tables of the following authors were compiled: Walter G. Hoffmann, Jörg Beutenmüller, Lutz Koellner, Carol Bielefeld, and Klaus Detlef Tiepelmann future. The sources, as well as the summary table, provide information about the subject area the respective author was in charge with. (A detailed description is as WORD or PDF file available) Hoffman determined a correlation between GNP and military expenditures of countries with different economic and social systems. The author Beutemueller found in his analysis a comparatively high proportion of military expenditure in the social product, because he summarized military expenditures an a portion of war costs, and he related both to the lower reference of the net gross national product (at factor cost). Factual classification of the corresponding data tables in search- and downloadsystem HISTAT(Historical Statistics (www.histat.gesis.org): A. Expenditures on Defence according to Walter G. Hoffmann A.1 The structure of public consumption per type of spending according to Hoffmann (1850-1959) A.2 The structure of public spending (public consumption plus public investments) per type of spending according to Hoffmann (1850-1959) A.3 Public consumption in current prices according to Hoffmann (1925-1938) A.4 Public consumption in current prices according to Hoffmann (1850-1959) A.5 Public consumption in million marks (in prices of 1913) according to Hoffmann (1850-1959) B. Military expenditure according to Jörg Beutenmüller B.1 Military expenditure and their proportion of public spending according to Beutenmüller (1872-1968) B.2 Military expenditure and their proportion of the public spending of the FRG according to Beutenmüller (1951-1968) B.3 Military expenditure and their proportion of the net national product with regard to factor costs according to Beutenmüller (1872-1968) C. Military expenditure in Germany according to the study by Lutz Köllner C.1 Long series referring to the military expenditure in Germany (1900 - 1980) C.1.1 Proportion of military expenditure of the total public spending in selected years in percent (1872-1962) C.1.2 Military expenditure per capita and per employed person in Germany (1900-1980) C.1.3 Proportion of the military expenditure of the net national product at factor prices in million marks (1900-1978) C.1.4 Education spending of the military (1900-1977) C.1.5 Military expenditure per capita of all soldiers and per capita of the officers in billion marks/ reichsmarks/ deutschmarks (1900-1976) C.1.6 Defence density and intensity (1900-1976) C.1.7 Military expenditure in Germany in billion marks/ reichsmarks/ deutschmarks in current prices (1900-1976) C.1.8 Military expenditure in Germany in percent in current prices (1900-1976) C.2 Other tables for the period before 1945 (von Lutz Köllner) C.2.1 Budget and debts of the German Reich in billion reichsmarks (1933-1945) C.2.2 Germany`s arms expenditure in billion reichsmarks (1932-1939) C.2.3 Public spending and arms expenditure of the German Reich in billion reichsmarks (1932-1939) C.2.4 Increase in national debt in selected states (1914-1950) C.2.5 Public spending in Prussia (1640-1862) C.2.6 Arms expenditure and national income in million reichsmarks according to Blaich (1932-1938) C.3 Military and finances in the Federal Republic of Germany, the NATO states, and the world (by Lutz Köllner) C.3.1 Defence expenditure of the NATO states (1949-1980) C.3.2 Social burdens resulting from the war in the Federal Republic of Germany in million deutschmarks (1949-1956) C.3.3 Public spending per capita in deutschmarks (1952-1976) C.3.4 Overall expenditure and defence spending by the Federal Republic of Germany in billion deutschmarks (1956-1981) C.3.5 Distribution of worldwide military expenditure in percent (1955-1980) C.3.6 The long-term development of the defence budget of the Federal Republic of Germany in billion deutschmarks (1956-1984) D. Arms expenditure in the FRG according to Carola Bielfeldt D.1 Defence spending according to different sources in million deutschmarks (1950-1972) D.2 Defence spending in accordance with the NATO criteria in million deutschmarks (1950-1971) D.3 Development of defence spending structure (1950-1971) D.4 Acquisition data for the national economy (1950-1972) D.5 Proportion of defence spending (1950-1971) E. Defence spending in the FRG according to Klaus Tiepelmann and Detlef Zukunft E.1 Development of defence spending in the Federal Republic of Germany according to Tiepelmann and Zukunft (1955-1992). Timeseries are downloadable via the online system HISTAT (www.histat.gesis.org).

The yield on Germany 10Y Bond Yield eased to 2.70% on October 2, 2025, marking a 0.01 percentage points decrease from the previous session. Over the past month, the yield has fallen by 0.04 points, though it remains 0.56 points higher than a year ago, according to over-the-counter interbank yield quotes for this government bond maturity. Germany 10-Year Bond Yield - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on October of 2025.

As of December 2024, the countries with the highest 10-year yields are the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia with 4.68, 4.38 and 4.21 percent, respectively. Of the largest economies by GDP, the United States saw the sharpest fall in absolute terms for 10-year government bond yields due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. From a level of 1.51 percent in January 2020, yields on 10-year government bonds fell to 0.65 percent by April 2020, and had further fallen to 0.53 percent by July 2020 before starting to recover towards the end of the year. Conversely, countries that went into 2020 with already low bond yields like Japan, Germany and France actually saw a small increase in March 2020 - although these already low yields mean that these small changes are significant in relative terms.

As of July 22, 2025, the yield for a ten-year U.S. government bond was 4.38 percent, while the yield for a two-year bond was 3.88 percent. This represents an inverted yield curve, whereby bonds of longer maturities provide a lower yield, reflecting investors' expectations for a decline in long-term interest rates. Hence, making long-term debt holders open to more risk under the uncertainty around the condition of financial markets in the future. That markets are uncertain can be seen by considering both the short-term fluctuations, and the long-term downward trend, of the yields of U.S. government bonds from 2006 to 2021, before the treasury yield curve increased again significantly in the following years. What are government bonds? Government bonds, otherwise called ‘sovereign’ or ‘treasury’ bonds, are financial instruments used by governments to raise money for government spending. Investors give the government a certain amount of money (the ‘face value’), to be repaid at a specified time in the future (the ‘maturity date’). In addition, the government makes regular periodic interest payments (called ‘coupon payments’). Once initially issued, government bonds are tradable on financial markets, meaning their value can fluctuate over time (even though the underlying face value and coupon payments remain the same). Investors are attracted to government bonds as, provided the country in question has a stable economy and political system, they are a very safe investment. Accordingly, in periods of economic turmoil, investors may be willing to accept a negative overall return in order to have a safe haven for their money. For example, once the market value is compared to the total received from remaining interest payments and the face value, investors have been willing to accept a negative return on two-year German government bonds between 2014 and 2021. Conversely, if the underlying economy and political structures are weak, investors demand a higher return to compensate for the higher risk they take on. Consequently, the return on bonds in emerging markets like Brazil are consistently higher than that of the United States (and other developed economies). Inverted yield curves When investors are worried about the financial future, it can lead to what is called an ‘inverted yield curve’. An inverted yield curve is where investors pay more for short term bonds than long term, indicating they do not have confidence in long-term financial conditions. Historically, the yield curve has historically inverted before each of the last five U.S. recessions. The last U.S. yield curve inversion occurred at several brief points in 2019 – a trend which continued until the Federal Reserve cut interest rates several times over that year. However, the ultimate trigger for the next recession was the unpredicted, exogenous shock of the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, showing how such informal indicators may be grounded just as much in coincidence as causation.

The statistic shows the growth of the real gross domestic product (GDP) in the European Union and the Euro area from 2020 to 2024, with projections up until 2030. GDP refers to the total market value of all goods and services that are produced within a country per year. It is an important indicator of the economic strength of a country. Real GDP is adjusted for price changes and is therefore regarded as a key indicator for economic growth. In 2024, the GDP in the European Union increased by about 1.12 percent compared to the previous year. Growth trends in the EU compared to the euro area The euro area, which is also called the eurozone, is an economic and monetary union (EMU) which includes 19 of the 27 European Union member states which have formally adopted the euro. Those countries include Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain. Member states which have not yet adopted the euro include Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Additionally, there is the so-called Schengen Area, which is composed of EU and non-EU states, and has been established mainly to facilitate travelling in Europe. While some countries, such as Kosovo and Montenegro have adopted the euro unilaterally, they are not formally part of the eurozone. Others have established a monetary agreement with the EU to use the euro, such as Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican, but they do not form part of the official euro area. As can be seen in the chart, annual GDP growth slumped in 2012 and 2013, presumably as a result of the global financial crisis, in both the EU and the euro area. In 2013, growth began increasing ever so slightly and in 2014 the EU regained a bit of stability. However, overall recovery in the EU has been relatively moderate and gradual; growth throughout the EU has been slightly better than in the euro area and is projected to remain slightly better for the foreseeable future. Relatively new member states such as Romania and Czechia, which have not yet adopted the euro, reported the highest annual growth rates in the EU in 2015, and generally, new member states show slightly better growth rates. Also, unemployment has been slightly higher in the euro area compared to the EU for the last ten years (267906). The unemployment rate also remains relatively high for both the EU and the euro area. As for public spending as a share of GDP, these figures are slightly higher in the euro area than in the EU as a whole. The member states with the highest national debt include the United Kingdom, Italy, France and Germany - some of the oldest members of the euro area. The national debt of the euro area is slightly higher than the national debt of the EU as a whole, underlining the economic situation of both areas.

The yield on Germany 5 Year Bond Yield rose to 2.31% on October 3, 2025, marking a 0.01 percentage points increase from the previous session. Over the past month, the yield has edged up by 0.03 points and is 0.23 points higher than a year ago, according to over-the-counter interbank yield quotes for this government bond maturity. Germany 5 Year Bobl Yield - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on October of 2025.

In 2024, Japan had an average inflation rate estimated at 2.74 percent, marking the highest rate of inflation in Japan in almost a decade. However, this figure was still very low compared to most other major economies, such as Japan's fellow G7 members, four of which had inflation rates around six or seven percent in 2023 due to the global inflation crisis. Why is Japan's inflation rate lower? There are a number of contributing factors to Japan's relatively low inflation rate, even during economic crises. Japan eased its Covid restrictions more slowly than most other major economies, this prevented post-pandemic consumer spending that may have driven inflation through supply chain issues caused by higher demand. As the majority of Japan's food and energy comes from overseas, and has done so for decades, the government has mechanisms in place to prevent energy and wheat prices from rising too quickly. Because of this, Japan was able to shield its private sector from many of the negative knock on effects from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which had a significant impact on both sectors globally. Persistent deflation and national debt An additional factor that has eased the impact of inflation on Japan's economy is the fact that it experienced deflation before the pandemic. Deflation has been a persistent problem in Japan since the asset price bubble burst in 1992, and has been symptomatic of Japan's staggering national debt thereafter. For almost 30 years, a combination of quantitative easing, low interest rates (below 0.5 percent since 1995, and at -0.1% since 2016), and a lack of spending due to low wages and an aging population have combined to give Japan the highest national debt in the world in absolute terms, and second-highest debt in relation to its GDP, after Venezuela. Despite this soaring debt, Japan remains the fourth-largest economy in the world, behind the U.S., China, and Germany.

As of December 2024, all United Kingdom government debt securities were returning positive yields, regardless of maturity. This places the yield of both UK short term bonds and long term bonds above that of major countries like Germany, France and Japan, but lower than the United States. What are government bonds? Government bonds are debt instruments where a certain amount of money is given to the issuer, in exchange for regular payments of interest over a fixed period. At the end of this period the issuer then returns the amount in full. Bonds differ from a regular loan through how they can be traded on financial markets once issued. This ability to trade bonds makes it more complex to measure the return investors receive from bonds, as the price they buy a bond for on the market may differ from the price the same bond was initially issued at. The yield is therefore calculated as what investors can expect to receive based on current market prices paid for the bond, not the value it was issued at. In total, UK government debt amounted to over 2.4 trillion British pounds in 2023 – with the majority being comprised of different types of UK government bonds. Why are inverted yield curves important? UK government bond yields over recent years have taken on a typical shape, with short term bonds having a lower yield than bonds with a maturity of 10 to 20 years. The higher yield of longer-term bonds compensates investors for the higher level of uncertainty in the future. However, if investors are sufficiently worried about both a short term economic decline, and low long term growth, they may prefer to purchase short term bonds in order to secure assets with regular interest payments in the here and now (as opposed to shares, which can lose a lot of value in a short time). This can lead to an inverted yield curve, where shorter term debt has a higher yield. Inverted yield curves are generally seen as a reliable indicator of a recession, with inverted yields occurring before most recent U.S. recessions. The major exception to this is the recession from the coronavirus pandemic – but even then, U.S. yield curves came perilously close to being inverted in mid-2019.