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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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 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.

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.

The average for 2022 based on 91 countries was 43.94 percent. The highest value was in Zimbabwe: 665.18 percent and the lowest value was in Haiti: 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 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.

Key information about United States Government Debt: % of GDP

• United States Government debt accounted for 124.0 % of the country's Nominal GDP in Dec 2024, compared with the ratio of 123.1 % in the previous quarter.
• US government debt to GDP ratio data is updated quarterly, available from Mar 1969 to Dec 2024.
• The data reached an all-time high of 130.4 % in Mar 2021 and a record low of 31.8 % in Sep 1974.

CEIC calculates quarterly Government Debt as % of Nominal GDP from monthly Government Debt and rolling sum of quarterly Nominal GDP. The Bureau of the Fiscal Service provides Government Debt in USD. The Bureau of Economic Analysis provides Nominal GDP in USD. Government Debt covers Central Government only.


Related information about United States Government Debt: % of GDP

• In the latest reports, US National Government Debt reached 36,220.2 USD bn in Jan 2025.
• The country's Nominal GDP reached 6,632.4 USD bn in Mar 2023.

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.

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 2019, Interest Payments on Government Debt in Zambia jumped by 33.9points from a year earlier.

As of 2024, the United States' government debt accounted for more than ******* of the world total. Second in the ranking was China with **** percent of the total, followed by Japan with *** percent.

This dataset provides values for HOUSEHOLDS 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.

Of the G7 countries, Japan had the highest net debt in terms of share of gross domestic product (GDP) between 2010 and 2024. That year, Japan's government's net debt reached an estimated *** percent of its total GDP. Italy had the second highest debt rate at *** percent of its GDP, whereas Canada had the lowest at only ** percent.