Worldwide, the ************* has, by far, the highest public debt, more than twice as high as ***** in second. ***** followed in third.

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.

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.

Sudan has the highest public debt rate worldwide. The country was for a long time placed on the list of terror-sponsoring states by the United States, a decision that was only changed as late as 2020. Moreover, the country has been ridden by civil war since **********, and several other internal conflicts before. All these factors mean that creditors have had little trust in Sudan's ability to repay loans, and as a result, its debt rate stands at over *** percent of its gross domestic product.

In 2024, Sudan ranked had the highest public debt level in relation to its GDP, with an estimated debt almost three times larger than its GDP. The countries with the highest public debt often have a high level of economic instability, however there are also many more developed economies on this list, such as five of the G7 countries, who feature due to their high levels of national borrowing and public spending. Venezuela's public debt

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

Venezuela was the most indebted country in Latin America and the Caribbean based on total government debt as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP). The lowest general government debt to GDP ratio in the region was found in Haiti, where the total public debt accounted for only **** percent of the country's GDP as of 2024.

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.

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.

Context

The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to countries of the world for capital projects. The World Bank's stated goal is the reduction of poverty. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Bank

Content

This dataset contains both national and regional debt statistics captured by over 200 economic indicators. Time series data is available for those indicators from 1970 to 2015 for reporting countries.

For more information, see the World Bank website.

Fork this kernel to get started with this dataset.

Acknowledgements

https://bigquery.cloud.google.com/dataset/bigquery-public-data:world_bank_intl_debt

https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/public-data/world-bank-international-debt

Citation: The World Bank: International Debt Statistics

Dataset Source: World Bank. This dataset is publicly available for anyone to use under the following terms provided by the Dataset Source - http://www.data.gov/privacy-policy#data_policy - and is provided "AS IS" without any warranty, express or implied, from Google. Google disclaims all liability for any damages, direct or indirect, resulting from the use of the dataset.

Banner Photo by @till_indeman from Unplash.

Inspiration

What countries have the largest outstanding debt?

https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/images/outstanding-debt.png" alt="enter image description here"> https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/images/outstanding-debt.png

The average for 2023 based on 27 countries was 49.58 percent. The highest value was in Mongolia: 189.66 percent and the lowest value was in Iran: 2.45 percent. The indicator is available from 1970 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

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.

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

The average for 2022 based on 118 countries was 11.51 percent. The highest value was in China: 51.68 percent and the lowest value was in Burkina Faso: 0 percent. The indicator is available from 1970 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

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.

Developing countries pay the highest interest payments on public debt as a share of their gross domestic product (GDP), with Zambia paying the highest rate at ***** percent. Many developing countries rely on public debt to finance key investments, but a high debt burden means that funds need to be allocated to debt repayments.

The average for 2022 based on 11 countries was 67.15 percent. The highest value was in Montenegro: 138.74 percent and the lowest value was in Russia: 17.15 percent. The indicator is available from 1970 to 2022. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

The average for 2022 based on 9 countries was 9.05 percent. The highest value was in Argentina: 18.6 percent and the lowest value was in Guyana: 2.62 percent. The indicator is available from 1970 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.