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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Total outstanding debt of the U.S. government reported daily. Includes a breakout of intragovernmental holdings (federal debt held by U.S. government) and debt held by the public (federal debt held by entities outside the U.S. government).

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.

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.

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.

The financial indicators are based on data compiled according to the 2008 SNA "System of National Accounts, 2008". Many indicators are expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or as a percentage of Gross Disposable Income (GDI) when referring to the Households and NPISHs sector. The definition of GDP and GDI are the following:

Gross Domestic Product:
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is derived from the concept of value added. Gross value added is the difference of output and intermediate consumption. GDP is the sum of gross value added of all resident producer units plus that part (possibly the total) of taxes on products, less subsidies on products, that is not included in the valuation of output [System of National Accounts, 2008, par. 2.138]. GDP is also equal to the sum of final uses of goods and services (all uses except intermediate consumption) measured at purchasers’ prices, less the value of imports of goods and services [System of National Accounts, 2008, par. 2.139]. GDP is also equal to the sum of primary incomes distributed by producer units [System of National Accounts, 2008, par. 2.140].

Gross Disposable Income:
Gross Disposable Income (GDI) is equal to net disposable income which is the balancing item of the secondary distribution income account plus the consumption of fixed capital. The use of the Gross Disposable Income (GDI), rather than net disposable income, is preferable for analytical purposes because there are uncertainty and comparability problems with the calculation of consumption of fixed capital. GDI measures the income available to the total economy for final consumption and gross saving [System of National Accounts, 2008, par. 2.145].

Definition of Debt:
Debt is a commonly used concept, defined as a specific subset of liabilities identified according to the types of financial instruments included or excluded. Generally, debt is defined as all liabilities that require payment or payments of interest or principal by the debtor to the creditor at a date or dates in the future. Consequently, all debt instruments are liabilities, but some liabilities such as shares, equity and financial derivatives are not debt [System of National Accounts, 2008, par. 22.104]. According to the SNA, most debt instruments are valued at market prices. However, some countries do not apply this valuation, in particular for securities other than shares, except financial derivatives (AF33). In this dataset, for financial indicators referring to debt, the concept of debt is the one adopted by the SNA 2008 as well as by the International Monetary Fund in “Public Sector Debt Statistics – Guide for compilers and users” (Pre-publication draft, May 2011). Debt is thus obtained as the sum of the following liability categories, whenever available / applicable in the financial balance sheet of the institutional sector:special drawing rights (AF12), currency and deposits (AF2), debt securities (AF3), loans (AF4), insurance, pension, and standardised guarantees (AF6), and other accounts payable (AF8). This definition differs from the definition of debt applied under the Maastricht Treaty for European countries. First, gross debt according to the Maastricht definition excludes not only financial derivatives and employee stock options (AF7) and equity and investment fund shares (AF5) but also insurance pensions and standardised guarantees (AF6) and other accounts payable (AF8). Second, debt according to Maastricht definition is valued at nominal prices and not at market prices.

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Ireland Foreign Direct Investment Income: Inward: Total: G20 Non-OECD Countries data was reported at 154.747 EUR mn in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 272.907 EUR mn for 2022. Ireland Foreign Direct Investment Income: Inward: Total: G20 Non-OECD Countries data is updated yearly, averaging 272.907 EUR mn from Dec 2013 (Median) to 2023, with 11 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 740.471 EUR mn in 2018 and a record low of 59.516 EUR mn in 2013. Ireland Foreign Direct Investment Income: Inward: Total: G20 Non-OECD Countries 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 Income: 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.; G20 countries non OECD members, 8 countries: Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa

This statistic shows the gross domestic product (GDP) in France from 1987 to 2024, with a projection up until 2030. GDP refers to the total market value of all goods and services that are produced within a country per year. It is an important indicator of the economic strength of a country. In 2024, the GDP in France was around 3.16 trillion U.S. dollars. Economy of France France is an economically developed nation and one of the members of the G7. France is also considered to be one of the leading countries in Europe, often seen as the second most important nation in the European Union behind Germany. France has a relatively high gross domestic product (GDP), being one of the top 10 countries with the largest GDP in the world in 2014. Despite this, the country is still ranked in the top 20 in regards to its public debt compared to its GDP in the same year. A high debt-to-GDP ratio demonstrates a country’s ability to produce and sell goods and services in order to be able to pay back its debts, however producing and selling these goods should not result in more debts. France’s national debt slightly increased year-over-year up until 2014, most notably between 2008 and 2009. Additionally, France reported a large trade deficit in 2012, a value almost 5 times larger compared to the previous year, indicating that the country is importing much more than it is exporting. This often leads to higher debts due to a need to borrow more money to produce goods.