This statistic shows the national debt of Ireland from 2019 to 2023, with projections up until 2029. In 2023, the national debt of Ireland was around 226.74 billion U.S. dollars.

Graph and download economic data for Central government debt, total (% of GDP) for Ireland (DEBTTLIEA188A) from 1998 to 2022 about Ireland, debt, government, and GDP.

The ratio of national debt to gross domestic product (GDP) in Ireland was forecast to continuously decrease between 2024 and 2029 by in total 6.4 percentage points. After the sixth consecutive decreasing year, the ratio is estimated to reach 35.92 percent and therefore a new minimum in 2029. This indicator describes the general government gross debt in relation to the country's GDP. According to the International Monetary Fund, 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. The GDP, on the other hand, refers to the total value of final goods and services produced during a year.Find more statistics on other topics about Ireland with key insights such as the share in the global GDP adjusted for purchasing power parity, the total population, and the number of employed people.

In September 2023, the national debt of the United States had risen up to 33.17 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.

Debt is the entire stock of direct government fixed-term contractual obligations to others outstanding on a particular date. It includes domestic and foreign liabilities such as currency and money deposits, securities other than shares, and loans. It is the gross amount of government liabilities reduced by the amount of equity and financial derivatives held by the government. Because debt is a stock rather than a flow, it is measured as of a given date, usually the last day of the fiscal year.

Ireland: Government debt as percent of GDP: The latest value from 2023 is 43.7 percent, a decline from 44.4 percent in 2022. In comparison, the world average is 62.14 percent, based on data from 134 countries. Historically, the average for Ireland from 1995 to 2023 is 59.46 percent. The minimum value, 23.6 percent, was reached in 2006 while the maximum of 120.1 percent was recorded in 2013.

Ireland IE: Gross Public Debt: Central Government: Long Term: Over 1 Year: SDRs data was reported at 0.000 EUR mn in Mar 2022. This stayed constant from the previous number of 0.000 EUR mn for Dec 2021. Ireland IE: Gross Public Debt: Central Government: Long Term: Over 1 Year: SDRs data is updated quarterly, averaging 0.000 EUR mn from Mar 1995 (Median) to Mar 2022, with 109 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.000 EUR mn in Mar 2022 and a record low of 0.000 EUR mn in Mar 2022. Ireland IE: Gross Public Debt: Central Government: Long Term: Over 1 Year: SDRs data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Ireland – Table IE.World Bank.QPSD: Gross Public Debt: Central Government.

Ireland IE: Gross Public Debt: % of GDP: Budgetary Central Government: SDRs data was reported at 0.000 % in Mar 2022. This stayed constant from the previous number of 0.000 % for Dec 2021. Ireland IE: Gross Public Debt: % of GDP: Budgetary Central Government: SDRs data is updated quarterly, averaging 0.000 % from Dec 1995 (Median) to Mar 2022, with 106 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.000 % in Mar 2022 and a record low of 0.000 % in Mar 2022. Ireland IE: Gross Public Debt: % of GDP: Budgetary Central Government: SDRs data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Ireland – Table IE.World Bank.QPSD: Gross Public Debt: % of GDP: Budgetary Central Government.

Government debt (% of GDP) of Ireland fell by 2.41% from 44.4 % in 2022 to 43.3 % in 2023. Since the 1.74% upward trend in 2020, government debt (% of GDP) plummeted by 25.39% in 2023. 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. This includes debt liabilities in the form of SDRs, currency and deposits, debt securities, loans, insurance, pensions and standardized guarantee schemes, and other accounts payable. Thus, all liabilities in the GFSM 2001 system are debt, except for equity and investment fund shares and financial derivatives and employee stock options. Debt can be valued at current market, nominal, or face values (GFSM 2001, paragraph 7.110).

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.

The long-term interest rate on government debt is a key indicator of the economic health of a country. The rate reflects financial market actors' perceptions of the creditworthiness of the government and the health of the domestic economy, with a strong and robust economic outlook allowing governments to borrow for essential investments in their economies, thereby boosting long-term growth.

The Euro and converging interest rates in the early 2000s

In the case of many Eurozone countries, the early 2000s were a time where this virtuous cycle of economic growth reduced the interest rates they paid on government debt to less than 5 percent, a dramatic change from the pre-Euro era of the 1990s. With the outbreak of the Global Financial Crisis and the subsequent deep recession, however, the economies of Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Ireland were seen to be much weaker than previously assumed by lenders. Interest rates on their debt gradually began to rise during the crisis, before rapidly increasing beginning in 2010, as first Greece and then Ireland and Portugal lost the faith of financial markets.

The Eurozone crisis

This market adjustment was initially triggered due to revelations by the Greek government that the country's budget deficit was much larger than had been previously expected, with investors seeing the country as an unreliable debtor. The crisis, which became known as the Eurozone crisis, spread to Ireland and then Portugal, as lenders cut-off lending to highly indebted Eurozone members with weak fundamentals. During this period there was also intense speculation that due to unsustainable debt loads, some countries would have to leave the Euro currency area, further increasing the interest on their debt. Interest rates on their debt began to come back down after ECB Chief Mario Draghi signaled to markets that the central bank would intervene to keep the states within the currency area in his famous "whatever it takes" speech in Summer 2012.

The return of higher interest rates in the post-COVID era

Since this period of extremely high interest rates on government debt for these member states, the interest they are charged for borrowing has shrunk considerably, as the financial markets were flooded with "cheap money" due to the policy measures of central banks in the aftermath of the financial crisis, such as near-zero policy rates and quantitative easing. As interest rates have risen to combat inflation since 2022, so have the interest rates on government debt in the Eurozone also risen, however, these rises are modest compared to during the Eurozone crisis.

Graph and download economic data for Amount Outstanding of Total Debt Securities for All Issuers, All Maturities, Residence of Issuer in Ireland (TDSAMRIAOAIIE) from Q4 2009 to Q4 2022 about Ireland, maturity, debt, residents, and securities.

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.

The borrowing of the member states of the European Union is usually governed by the rules of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), an agreement between member states which aims to keep public debt below 60 percent of GDP and to keep annual budget deficits below three percent. These rules have been suspended numerous times since being introduced in 1997, usually due to the effects of an economic crisis, such as with the Global Financial Crisis in 2008-2008. Due to the negative economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic which broke out in Europe in early 2020, the rules of the SGP were suspended between 2020 and 2024. This was done to allow EU member states to stimulate their economies using fiscal policy (i.e. government spending and investment) and also to counteract the effects of declining GDP, as otherwise countries with negative GDP growth would be forced to cut government spending to stay within the rules of the SGP, likely further worsening their recessions. As of 2021, the countries with the greatest net borrowing to GDP ratios were Italy, Malta, and Greece. Most EU member states borrowed more than they lent out in 2022, apart from Denmark, Cyprus, Ireland, Sweden, and Croatia who lent out between 0.1 and 3.3 percent of their GDPs respectively.

Ireland IE: General Government: Gross Debt: % of GDP data was reported at 53.185 % in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 56.177 % for 2022. Ireland IE: General Government: Gross Debt: % of GDP data is updated yearly, averaging 62.888 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2023, with 34 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 119.925 % in 2012 and a record low of 23.616 % in 2006. Ireland IE: General Government: Gross Debt: % of GDP data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by International Monetary Fund. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Ireland – Table IE.IMF.FM: Government Finance Statistics.

Ireland IE: Foreign Direct Investment Financial Flows: Outward: USD: Total: Debt data was reported at 17.610 USD bn in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 38.258 USD bn for 2022. Ireland IE: Foreign Direct Investment Financial Flows: Outward: USD: Total: Debt data is updated yearly, averaging 5.216 USD bn from Dec 2005 (Median) to 2023, with 19 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 38.258 USD bn in 2022 and a record low of -106.464 USD bn in 2019. Ireland IE: Foreign Direct Investment Financial Flows: Outward: USD: Total: Debt data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Ireland – Table IE.OECD.FDI: Foreign Direct Investment: USD: OECD Member: Annual. FDI financial flows, income flows and positions include resident Special Purpose Entities (SPEs) which cannot be identified separately.

In 2023, the U.S. GDP increased from the previous year to about 27.36 trillion U.S. dollars. This increase in GDP can be attributed to a continued rebound from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Gross domestic product (GDP) refers to the market value of all goods and services produced within a country. In 2023, the United States has the largest economy in the world. See, for example, the Russian GDP for comparison.

What is GDP? Gross domestic product is one of the most important indicators used to analyze the health of an economy. GDP is defined by the BEA as the market value of goods and services produced by labor and property in the United States, regardless of nationality. It is the primary measure of U.S. production. The OECD defines GDP as an aggregate measure of production equal to the sum of the gross values added of all resident, institutional units engaged in production (plus any taxes, and minus any subsidies, on products not included in the value of their outputs).

GDP and national debt

Although the United States had the highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world in 2022, this does not tell us much about the quality of life in any given country. GDP per capita at purchasing power parity (PPP) is an economic measurement that is thought to be a better method for comparing living standards across countries because it accounts for domestic inflation and variations in the cost of living.

While the United States might have the largest economy, the country that ranked highest in terms of GDP at PPP was Luxembourg, amounting to around 141,333 international dollars per capita. Singapore, Ireland, and Qatar also ranked highly on the GDP PPP list, and the United States ranked 9th in 2022.

Ireland IE: Foreign Direct Investment Position: Outward: USD: Total: Debt data was reported at -67.520 USD bn in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of -66.903 USD bn for 2022. Ireland IE: Foreign Direct Investment Position: Outward: USD: Total: Debt data is updated yearly, averaging 42.344 USD bn from Dec 2005 (Median) to 2023, with 19 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 104.498 USD bn in 2018 and a record low of -95.756 USD bn in 2021. Ireland IE: Foreign Direct Investment Position: Outward: USD: Total: Debt data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Ireland – Table IE.OECD.FDI: Foreign Direct Investment: USD: OECD Member: Annual. FDI financial flows, income flows and positions include resident Special Purpose Entities (SPEs) which cannot be identified separately.

Ireland IE: Foreign Direct Investment Financial Flows: Inward: Total: Debt data was reported at 27,600.778 EUR mn in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of -35,101.768 EUR mn for 2022. Ireland IE: Foreign Direct Investment Financial Flows: Inward: Total: Debt data is updated yearly, averaging -4,316.451 EUR mn from Dec 2005 (Median) to 2023, with 19 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 70,974.968 EUR mn in 2019 and a record low of -113,462.725 EUR mn in 2016. Ireland IE: Foreign Direct Investment Financial Flows: Inward: Total: Debt data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Ireland – Table IE.OECD.FDI: Foreign Direct Investment: OECD Member: Annual. FDI financial flows, income flows and positions include resident Special Purpose Entities (SPEs) which cannot be identified separately.

Ireland IE: Foreign Direct Investment Financial Flows: Outward: Total: Fiji data was reported at -0.024 EUR mn in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of -0.080 EUR mn for 2022. Ireland IE: Foreign Direct Investment Financial Flows: Outward: Total: Fiji data is updated yearly, averaging 0.000 EUR mn from Dec 2012 (Median) to 2023, with 12 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.016 EUR mn in 2019 and a record low of -0.080 EUR mn in 2022. Ireland IE: Foreign Direct Investment Financial Flows: Outward: Total: Fiji data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Ireland – Table IE.OECD.FDI: Foreign Direct Investment Financial Flows: by Region and Country: OECD Member: Annual. Reverse investment: Netting of reverse investment in equity (when a direct investment enterprise acquires less than 10% equity ownership in its parent) and reverse investment in debt (when a direct investment enterprise extends a loan to its parent) is applied in the recording of total inward and outward FDI transactions and positions. Treatment of debt FDI transactions and positions between fellow enterprises: directional basis according to the residency of the ultimate controlling parent (extended directional principle). FDI transactions and positions by partner country and/or by industry are available excluding and including resident Special Purpose Entities (SPEs). The dataset 'FDI statistics by parner country and by industry - Summary' contains series including resident SPEs only. Valuation method used for listed inward and outward equity positions: Market value, Own funds at book value. Valuation method used for unlisted inward and outward equity positions: Own funds at book value. Valuation method used for inward and outward debt positions: Market value .; FDI statistics are available by geographic allocation, vis-à-vis single partner countries worldwide and geographical and economic zones aggregates. Partner country allocation can be subject to confidentiality restrictions. Geographic allocation of inward and outward FDI transactions and positions is according to the immediate counterparty. Intercompany debt between related financial intermediaries, including permanent debt, are not excluded from FDI transactions and positions. Direct investment relationships are identified according to the criteria of the Framework for Direct Investment Relationships (FDIR) method. Debt between fellow enterprises are completely covered. Collective investment institutions are not covered as direct investment enterprises. Non-profit institutions serving households are covered as direct investors. FDI statistics are available by industry sectors according to ISIC4 classification. Industry sector allocation can be subject to confidentiality restrictions. Inward FDI transactions and positions are allocated to the activity of the resident direct investment enterprise. Outward FDI transactions and positions are allocated according to the activity of the resident direct investor. Statistical unit: Enterprise.