The national debt of China amounted to 16.65 trillion U.S. dollars in 2024. Following a continuous upward trend, the national debt has risen by 16.46 trillion U.S. dollars since 1995. Between 2024 and 2030, the national debt will rise by 12.97 trillion U.S. dollars, continuing its consistent upward trajectory.

Graph and download economic data for General government gross debt for China (GGGDTACNA188N) from 1995 to 2024 about China, debt, gross, and government.

China recorded a Government Debt to GDP of 88.30 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product in 2024. This dataset provides - China Government Debt To GDP - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Key information about China Government Debt: % of GDP

• China Government debt accounted for 27.6 % of the country's Nominal GDP in Jun 2025, compared with the ratio of 26.5 % in the previous quarter.
• China government debt to GDP ratio data is updated quarterly, available from Mar 2014 to Jun 2025.
• The data reached an all-time high of 27.6 % in Jun 2025 and a record low of 14.0 % in Mar 2014.

CEIC calculates quarterly Government Debt as % of Nominal GDP from quarterly Government Debt and rolling sum of quarterly Nominal GDP. The Ministry of Finance provides Government Debt in local currency. The National Bureau of Statistics provides Nominal GDP in local currency. Government Debt covers Central Government only.


Related information about China Government Debt: % of GDP

• In the latest reports, China National Government Debt reached 4,736.4 USD bn in Dec 2024.
• The country's Nominal GDP reached 4,953.4 USD bn in Sep 2025.

As of December 2024, Japan held United States treasury securities totaling about 1.06 trillion U.S. dollars. Foreign holders of United States treasury debt According to the Federal Reserve and U.S. Department of the Treasury, foreign countries held a total of 8.5 trillion U.S. dollars in U.S. treasury securities as of December 2024. Of the total held by foreign countries, Japan and Mainland China held the greatest portions, with China holding 759 billion U.S. dollars in U.S. securities. The U.S. public debt In 2023, the United States had a total public national debt of 33.2 trillion U.S. dollars, an amount that has been rising steadily, particularly since 2008. In 2023, the total interest expense on debt held by the public of the United States reached 678 billion U.S. dollars, while 197 billion U.S. dollars in interest expense were intra governmental debt holdings. Total outlays of the U.S. government were 6.1 trillion U.S. dollars in 2023. By 2029, spending is projected to reach 8.3 trillion U.S. dollars.

Debt service on external debt, total (TDS, current US$) in China was reported at 385484224724 USD in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. China - Debt service on external debt, total (TDS, current US$) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

Key information about China External Debt

• China External Debt reached 2,436.8 USD bn in Jun 2025, compared with 2,451.4 USD bn in the previous quarter.
• China External Debt: USD mn data is updated quarterly, available from Jun 2003 to Jun 2025.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange provides quartely External Debt in USD.


Related information about China External Debt

• In the latest reports of China, Current Account recorded a surplus of 195.6 USD bn in Sep 2025.
• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) increased by 8.5 USD bn in Sep 2025.
• China Direct Investment Abroad expanded by 39.9 USD bn in Sep 2025.
• Its Foreign Portfolio Investment increased by 8.3 USD bn in Jun 2025.
• The country's Nominal GDP was reported at 4,953.4 USD bn in Sep 2025.

. The People's Bank of China provides Household Debt in local currency. The Federal Reserve Board period end market exchange rate is used for currency conversions. Loans are used due to the lack of Flow of Funds statistics.


Further information about China Household Debt

• In the latest reports, China Household Debt accounted for 60.4 % of the country's Nominal GDP in Sep 2025
• Money Supply M2 in China increased 44,251.0 USD bn YoY in Mar 2025
• China Foreign Exchange Reserves was measured at 3,343.3 USD bn in Oct 2025
• The Foreign Exchange Reserves equaled 15.5 Months of Import in Oct 2025
• China Domestic Credit reached 52,818.4 USD bn in Oct 2025, representing an increased of 7.9 % YoY

The graph shows national debt in China related to gross domestic product until 2024, with forecasts to 2030. In 2024, gross national debt ranged at around 88 percent of the national gross domestic product. The debt-to-GDP ratio In economics, the ratio between a country's government debt and its gross domestic product (GDP) is generally defined as the debt-to-GDP ratio. It is a useful indicator for investors to measure a country's ability to fulfill future payments on its debts. A low debt-to-GDP ratio also suggests that an economy produces and sells a sufficient amount of goods and services to pay back those debts. Among the important industrial and emerging countries, Japan displayed one of the highest debt-to-GDP ratios. In 2024, the estimated national debt of Japan amounted to about 250 percent of its GDP, up from around 180 percent in 2004. One reason behind Japan's high debt load lies in its low annual GDP growth rate. Development in China China's national debt related to GDP grew slowly but steadily from around 23 percent in 2000 to 34 percent in 2012, only disrupted by the global financial crisis in 2008. In recent years, China increased credit financing to spur economic growth, resulting in higher levels of debt. China's real estate crisis and a difficult global economic environment require further stimulating measures by the government and will predictably lead to even higher debt growth in the years ahead.

Key information about China External Debt: % of GDP

• China External Debt accounted for 12.9 % of the country's Nominal GDP in 2024, compared with the ratio of 13.4 % in the previous year.
• China External Debt: % of Nominal GDP data is updated yearly, available from Dec 1985 to Dec 2024.
• The data reached an all-time high of 16.7 % in Dec 2014 and a record low of 5.1 % in Dec 1985.

CEIC calculates External Debt as % of Nominal GDP from annual External Debt and annual Nominal GDP. The State Administration of Foreign Exchange provides External Debt in USD. The National Bureau of Statistics provides Nominal GDP in local currency. Federal Reserve Board average market exchange rate is used for currency conversions.


Related information about China External Debt: % of GDP

• In the latest reports of China, Current Account recorded a surplus of 195.6 USD bn in Sep 2025.
• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) increased by 8.5 USD bn in Sep 2025.
• China Direct Investment Abroad expanded by 39.9 USD bn in Sep 2025.
• Its Foreign Portfolio Investment increased by 8.3 USD bn in Jun 2025.
• The country's External Debt reached 2,436,751.9 in Jun 2025.
• The country's Nominal GDP was reported at 4,953.4 USD bn in Sep 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Federal Debt Held by Foreign and International Investors (FDHBFIN) from Q1 1970 to Q2 2025 about foreign, debt, federal, and USA.

Actual value and historical data chart for China Present Value Of External Debt Us Dollar

External Debt in China decreased to 24198 USD Hundred Million in 2024 from 24475 USD Hundred Million in 2023. This dataset provides - China External Debt - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

CN: External Debt: INT: PS: Multilateral data was reported at 1.209 USD bn in 2031. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1.366 USD bn for 2030. CN: External Debt: INT: PS: Multilateral data is updated yearly, averaging 732.016 USD mn from Dec 1983 (Median) to 2031, with 49 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2.103 USD bn in 2024 and a record low of 3.338 USD mn in 1983. CN: External Debt: INT: PS: Multilateral data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s China – Table CN.World Bank.IDS: External Debt: Disbursements and Interest Payment: Annual. Public sector multilateral loans include loans and credits from the World Bank, regional development banks, and other multilateral and intergovernmental agencies. Excluded are loans from funds administered by an international organization on behalf of a single donor government; these are classified as loans from governments. Interest payments are actual amounts of interest paid by the borrower in currency, goods, or services in the year specified. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

Debt-trap diplomacy is a term in international finance which describes a creditor country or institution extending debt to a borrowing nation partially, or solely, to increase the lender's political leverage. The term was coined by Indian academic Brahma Chellaney.

The creditor country is said to extend excessive credit to a debtor country with the intention of extracting economic or political concessions when the debtor country becomes unable to meet its repayment obligations.The conditions of the loans are often not publicized, and benefit the lender. The borrowed money commonly pays for contractors and materials sourced from the creditor country. Although the term is most commonly associated with China, it has also been applied to the International Monetary Fund (IMF); both allegations, however, are disputed. The term "debt-trap diplomacy" began to be used in United States government documents during the Trump administration. A number of U.S. government documents refer to it, including the 2020 Department of State report "The Elements of the China Challenge".

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The outstanding value of China's general government debt securities has shown an upward trend from 2000 to the third quarter of 2024, rising from *** billion U.S. dollars to over ** trillion U.S. dollars. The largest increase occurred between 2019 and 2020, when it went from *** trillion to *** trillion U.S. dollars.

U.S. Public Debt vs. GDP

Trends and Comparisons

By Charlie Hutcheson [source]

About this dataset

This dataset contains quarterly data on the US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Total Public Debt from 1947 through 2020. It provides a comprehensive view into the development of debt versus GDP over the years, offering insights into how our economy has grown and changed since The Great Depression. Explore this valuable information to answer questions such as: How do debt and GDP relate to one another? Has US government spending been outpacing wealth throughout history? From what sources does our national debt originate? This dataset can be utilized by economists, governments, researchers, investors, financial institutions, journalists — anyone looking to gain a better understanding of where our economy stands today compared to past decades

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How to use the dataset

This dataset, U.S. GDP vs Debt Over Time, contains quarterly data on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Total Public Debt of the United States between 1947 to 2020. This can be useful for conducting research into how the total public debt relates to economic growth in the US.

The dataset includes 4 columns: Quarter , Gross Domestic Product ($mil), Total Public Debt ($mil). The Quarter column consists of strings that represent each quarter from 1947-2020 with a corresponding number (e.g., “Q1-1947”). The Gross Domestic Product ($mil) and Total Public Debt ($mil) columns consist of numbers that indicate the respective amounts in millions for each quarter during this same time period.

By analyzing this dataset you can explore various trends over different periods as it relates to public debt versus economic growth in America and make informed decisions about how certain policies may affect future outcomes. Additionally, you could also compare these two values with other variables such as unemployment rate or inflation rate to gain deeper insights into America’s economy over time

Research Ideas

• Comparing the quarterly growth in GDP with public debt to show the correlation between economic growth and government spending.
• Creating a bar or line visualization that compares the US’s total public debt to comparable economic powers like China, Japan, and Europe over time.
• Examining how changes in government deficit have contributed towards an increase in public debt by analyzing which quarters saw significant leaps of growth from one year to the next

Acknowledgements

If you use this dataset in your research, please credit the original authors. Data Source

License

License: Dataset copyright by authors - You are free to: - Share - copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercially. - Adapt - remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially. - You must: - Give appropriate credit - Provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. - ShareAlike - You must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original. - Keep intact - all notices that refer to this license, including copyright notices.

Columns

File: US GDP vs Debt.csv | Column name | Description | |:----------------------------------|:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Quarter | The quarter of the year in which the data was collected. (String) | | Gross Domestic Product ($mil) | The total value of all goods and services produced by the US in a given quarter. (Integer) | | Total Public Debt ($mil) | The total amount owed by the federal government. (Integer) |

Acknowledgements

If you use this dataset in your research, please credit the original authors. If you use this dataset in your research, please credit Charlie Hutcheson.

Graph and download economic data for Federal Debt Held by Federal Reserve Banks (FDHBFRBN) from Q1 1970 to Q2 2025 about debt, federal, banks, depository institutions, and USA.

This statistic shows the national debt of important industrial and emerging countries in 2024 in relation to the gross domestic product (GDP). In 2024, the national debt of China was at about 88.33 percent of the gross domestic product.

Actual value and historical data chart for China Debt Service On External Debt Public And Publicly Guaranteed Ppg Tds Us Dollar