The statistic shows the 20 countries with the lowest national debt in 2023 in relation to the gross domestic product (GDP). The data refer to the debts of the entire state, including the central government, the provinces, municipalities, local authorities and social insurance. In 2023, Russia's estimated level of national debt reached about 19.66 percent of the GDP, ranking 17th of the countries with the lowest national debt. National debt and GDP The debt-to-GDP ratio is an indicator of a country’s ability to produce and sell goods in order to pay back any present debts, however these countries should not retain newer debts in the process. Many economists believe that if a country is able to produce more without impairing its own economical growth, it can be considered more stable, particularly for the future. However, the listed countries, with the exception of Russia and Saudi Arabia, are not necessarily economic first-world powers. Additionally, economically powerful countries such as the United States and France maintain one of the highest debt-to-GDP ratios, signifying that occurring debt does not necessarily damage the state of the economy and is sometimes necessary in order to help develop it. Saudi Arabia has maintained one of the lowest debt-to-GDP ratios due to its high export rates, which primarily consist of petroleum and petroleum goods. Given the significance of oil in today’s world, Saudi Arabia produces enough oil and earns enough revenue to maintain a high GDP and additionally refrain from incurring debt.

The average for 2022 based on 174 countries was 59.99 percent. The highest value was in Japan: 236.58 percent and the lowest value was in Liechtenstein: 0.5 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2024. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

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 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.

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.

In 2024, Ukraine's estimated national debt amounted to nearly 96 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), which was the highest ratio among the Eurasian countries. Armenia and Kyrgyzstan ranked second and third, with national debts amounting to approximately 52 percent and 42 percent of their GDP, respectively. The debt-to-GDP ratio is an indicator of a country’s ability to produce and sell goods in order to pay back any present debts. A higher ratio means that a country does not produce enough to pay off its debt, whereas a lower ratio indicates enough economic activity to make debt payments.

In 2024, Japan had the highest level of total non-financial debt among advanced economies, reaching 394 percent of the country's GDP. Total non-financial debt includes government debt, as well as private and business debt. Debt of the financial sector is not included in the figures.

Graph and download economic data for Federal Debt: Total Public Debt (GFDEBTN) from Q1 1966 to Q1 2025 about public, debt, federal, government, and USA.

The external debt (or the foreign debt), at any given time, is the outstanding amount of the actual current (and not contingent) liabilities that require payment(s) of principal and/or interest by the debtor at some point(s) in the future and that are owed to non-residents by residents of an economy. The external debt is the portion of a country's debt that was borrowed from creditors outside the country, including commercial banks, other governments or international financial institutions (such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank). The assets/liabilities include debt securities, such as bonds, notes and money market instruments, as well as loans, deposits, currency, trade credits and advances due to non-residents. The loans must usually be paid in the currency in which they was made. In order to earn the needed currency, the borrowing country may sell and export goods to the lender's country. The data are expressed in % of GDP.

This dataset provides values for PRIVATE 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.

Graph and download economic data for Gross Federal Debt Held by the Public as Percent of Gross Domestic Product (FYPUGDA188S) from 1939 to 2023 about public, gross, debt, federal, GDP, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Gross Federal Debt as Percent of Gross Domestic Product (GFDGDPA188S) from 1939 to 2023 about gross, debt, federal, GDP, and USA.

The statistic shows the national debt of the United States from 2019 to 2022 in relation to the gross domestic product (GDP), with projections up until 2029. In 2022, the national debt of the United States was at around 120.03 percent of the gross domestic product. See the US GDP for further information. US finances There has been a dramatic increase in the public debt of the United States since 1990, although the month-to-month change has been quite stable over the last few months. Public debt is defined as the amount of money borrowed by a country to cover budget deficits. A ranking of individual state debt in the United States shows that California is leading by a clear margin, with more than double the amount of runner-up New York. Vermont, North Dakota and South Dakota are the states with the lowest amount of debt. Even before the recession of 2008, the national debt of the United States had been increasing steadily and excessively, and it is predicted to rise even further. Budget cuts and fewer job opportunities as a result of the crisis are taking their toll on the American economy, which is still recovering. Trade figures as well as unemployment are still below average. Subsequently, the national debt and the national debt of the United States per capita have more or less quadrupled since the 1990s. Interestingly, the United States is not even among the top ten of countries with the highest public debt in relation to gross domestic product in international comparison. Japan, Greece and Italy – among others – report far higher figures than the United States.

Russia Public External Debt: Countries not in Paris Club data was reported at 209.628 USD mn in 2024. This stayed constant from the previous number of 209.628 USD mn for 2023. Russia Public External Debt: Countries not in Paris Club data is updated yearly, averaging 845.900 USD mn from Dec 2005 (Median) to 2024, with 20 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.500 USD bn in 2005 and a record low of 209.600 USD mn in 2022. Russia Public External Debt: Countries not in Paris Club data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Russian Federation – Table RU.FH002: Public External Debt: Annual.

Russia Public External Debt: Official Bilateral Creditors: Countries not in Paris Club data was reported at 209.600 USD mn in Mar 2025. This records a decrease from the previous number of 209.628 USD mn for Feb 2025. Russia Public External Debt: Official Bilateral Creditors: Countries not in Paris Club data is updated monthly, averaging 629.300 USD mn from May 2009 (Median) to Mar 2025, with 191 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.909 USD bn in May 2009 and a record low of 209.600 USD mn in Mar 2025. Russia Public External Debt: Official Bilateral Creditors: Countries not in Paris Club data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Russian Federation – Table RU.FH001: Public External Debt.

Graph and download economic data for Federal Debt Held by Foreign and International Investors (FDHBFIN) from Q1 1970 to Q1 2025 about foreign, debt, federal, and USA.

This statistic shows the national debt of Greece from 2020 to 2023, with projections until 2030. In 2023, the national debt in Greece was around 420.4 billion U.S. dollars. In a ranking of debt to GDP per country, Greece is currently ranked third. Greece's struggle after the financial crisis Greece is a developed country in the EU and is highly dependent on its service sector as well as its tourism sector in order to gain profits. After going through a large economic boom from the 1950s to the 1970s as well as somewhat high GDP growth in the early to mid 2000s, Greece’s economy took a turn for the worse and struggled intensively, primarily due to the Great Recession, the Euro crisis as well as its own debt crisis. National debt within the country saw significant gains over the past decades, however roughly came to a halt due to financial rescue packages issued from the European Union in order to help Greece maintain and improve their economical situation. The nation’s continuous rise in debt has overwhelmed its estimated GDP over the years, which can be attributed to poor government execution and unnecessary spending. Large sums of financial aid were taken from major European banks to help balance out these government-induced failures and to potentially help refuel the economy to encourage more spending, which in turn would decrease the country’s continuously rising unemployment rate. Investors, consumers and workers alike are struggling to see a bright future in Greece, whose chances of an economic comeback are much lower than that of other struggling countries such as Portugal and Italy. However, Greece's financial situation might improve in the future, as it is estimated that at least its national debt will decrease - slowly, but steadily. Still, since its future participation in the European Union is in limbo as of now, these figures can only be estimates, not predictions.

As of 2024, Ukraine had the highest government debt of any candidate country for membership of the European Union, with its debt being worth approximately 95 percent of its gross domestic product. This debt burden was in line with the average government debt level of European Union countries, which stood at 80 percent in 2023, driven by highly indebted countries such as Greece, Italy, and France. All candidate countries for EU membership apart from Ukraine have relatively low levels of government debt, a positive sign for their chances of joining the EU, as the Copenhagen Criteria require that a country which joins the EU must have a stable market economy which will be able to deal with the impact of joining the union. Government debt levels of around 50 percent are common among developed countries and are not considered to be detrimental to economic progress.

The statistic shows the national debt of the United States from 2020 to 2024, with projections up until 2030. The amount of the debt of the United States amounted to around 35.25 trillion U.S. dollars in 2024. National debt of the United States National debt in the United States is a topic of much debate and controversy, primarily due to large amounts of unnecessary spending. Despite the fact that the United States had the highest gross domestic product (GDP) in the world in 2016, along with being one of the most developed powerhouses in the world, the country suffers in many economical aspects. When analyzing the country’s imports and exports, the United States has recorded a trade deficit for more than a decade as of 2015, meaning that its imports exceeded its exports every year. However, despite being significantly affected by the world economic crisis in 2008, the country’s trade balance noticeably improved in 2009, almost halving the country’s total trade deficit. An economical aspect that did not improve during the world economic crisis was the country’s unemployment rate. The number of unemployed in the United States increased greatly in 2009 and continued to rise in 2010, however finally stabilized in the following years and has since declined yearly. When considering the total population of the United States, which amounted to roughly 322 million in 2015, a large percentage of citizens, who are capable of work, have been left without a job for roughly 7 years.

In 2023, the gross federal debt in the United States amounted to around 93,500 U.S. dollars per capita. This is a moderate increase from the previous year, when the per capita national debt amounted to about 92,528 U.S. dollars. The total debt accrued by the U.S. annually can be accessed here. Federal debt of the United States The level of national debt held by the United States government has risen sharply in the years following the Great Recession. Federal debt is the amount of debt the federal government owes to creditors who hold assets in the form of debt securities. As with individuals and consumers, there is a common consensus among economists that holding debt is not necessarily problematic for government so long as the public debt is held at a sustainable level. Although there is no agreed upon ratio of debt to gross domestic product, the increasing debt held by the Federal Reserve has become a major part of the political discourse in the United States. Politics and the national debt In recent years, debate over the debt ceiling has been of concern to domestic politicians, the owners of federal debt, and global economy as a whole. The debt ceiling is a legislated maximum amount that national debt can reach intended to impose a degree of fiscal prudence on incumbent governments. However, as national debt has grown the debt ceiling has been reached, thus forcing legislative action by Congress. In both 2011 and 2013, new legislation was passed by Congress allowing the debt ceiling to be raised. The Budget Control Act of 2011 and the No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013 successively allowed the government to avoid defaulting on national debt and therefore avert a potential economic crisis.