In 2024, the national debt of India amounted to around 3.16 trillion U.S. dollars. Projections show an upward trend, with a significant increase each year. Honor thy national debtNational debt, also called government debt or public debt, is money owed by the federal government. It can be divided into internal debt, (which is owed to lenders in the country) and external debt (which is owed to foreign lenders). National debt is created and increased by using government bonds, for example, or by borrowing money from other nations due to financial struggles (well-known case in point: Greece). A quite complex issue, national debt is expected to be paid back in accordance with certain regulations overseen by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), a financial organization owned by central banks. India’s debt is rising, but so is its economic growthIndia’s liabilities have increased significantly, and forecasts show no end in sight. While India is a fast-growing economy and considered one of the main emerging economies, the so-called BRIC countries, India has been investing and borrowing money from commercial banks as well as several non-banking finance companies, and its national debt today makes up almost 70 percent of its GDP. Luckily, even though the national debt is forecast to increase, this share of GDP is predicted to decrease, as is the trade deficit in the long run, despite a significant jump back into the red in 2017.

India recorded a Government Debt to GDP of 81.59 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product in 2023. This dataset provides - India Government Debt To GDP - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

External Debt in India increased to 736300 USD Million in the first quarter of 2025 from 717900 USD Million in the fourth quarter of 2024. This dataset provides - India External Debt - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

The value of government net debt in India in March 2025 was forecasted to be over *** trillion Indian rupees, an increase from around *** trillion rupees in March 2020. The government debt is estimated to reach over *** trillion in 2030.

Key information about India External Debt

• India External Debt reached 711.8 USD bn in Sep 2024, compared with 682.2 USD bn in the previous quarter.
• India External Debt: USD mn data is updated quarterly, available from Sep 1999 to Sep 2024.
• The data reached an all-time high of 711.8 USD bn in Sep 2024 and a record low of 96.4 USD bn in Sep 2000.

Related information about India External Debt

• In the latest reports of India, Current Account recorded a deficit of 11.2 USD bn in Sep 2024.
• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) increased by 5.0 USD bn in Sep 2024.
• India Direct Investment Abroad expanded by 7.3 USD bn in Sep 2024.
• Its Foreign Portfolio Investment increased by 19.8 USD bn in Sep 2024.
• The country's Nominal GDP was reported at 873.7 USD bn in Mar 2023.

The statistic shows the national debt in India from 2020 to 2023 in relation to gross domestic product (GDP), with projections up until 2030. In 2023, the national debt of India amounted to about 81.23 percent of the gross domestic product. India’s economy on the rise India is one of the most populous countries in the world, and although a large share of inhabitants are living below the poverty line – or probably due to this fact –, the country’s economy is growing steadily. India’s GDP growth is expected to remain steady at more than 7 percent for the next few years, which is almost double that of the global GDP, and both GDP and GDP per capita are expected to increase significantly. Almost half of India’s workforce is employed in the agricultural sector, but services and industry share the other half quite equally. India’s GDP is mostly generated by the services sector, which includes transport, retailing, and offering services in the hospitality and tourism industry. India’s trade balance has been in the red for a decade now, but seems to recover slowly. A trade deficit usually means that a country’s import costs are higher than the amount of money generated with exporting goods. India’s imports could not be compensated for by the country’s exports, as imports have been consistently, even if only slightly, higher over the years both in terms of volume and value. Still, all signs point to India’s economy growing and thriving, reducing India’s debt (as seen above) and unemployment rate, enabling the inhabitants to create a better life for themselves.

Historical chart and dataset showing India external debt by year from 1970 to 2023.

Key information about India National Government Debt

• India National Government Debt reached 2,144.6 USD bn in Sep 2024, compared with 2,113.5 USD bn in the previous quarter.
• India National Government Debt data is updated quarterly, available from Dec 1998 to Sep 2024.
• The data reached an all-time high of 2,144.6 USD bn in Sep 2024 and a record low of 232.8 USD bn in Dec 1998.

CEIC converts quarterly Government Debt into USD. The Ministry of Finance provides Government Debt in local currency. The Federal Reserve Board period end market exchange rate is used for currency conversions. Government Debt covers Central Government only.


Related information about India National Government Debt

• In the latest reports, India Consolidated Fiscal Balance recorded a deficit equal to 4.6 % of its Nominal GDP in Sep 2024.
• The country's Government debt accounted for 58.3 % of its Nominal GDP in Sep 2024.
• India Nominal GDP reached 873.7 USD bn in Mar 2023.

Key information about India Government Debt: % of GDP

• India Government debt accounted for 57.2 % of the country's Nominal GDP in Sep 2024, compared with the ratio of 57.1 % in the previous quarter.
• India government debt to GDP ratio data is updated quarterly, available from Mar 2012 to Sep 2024.
• The data reached an all-time high of 58.8 % in Sep 2023 and a record low of 44.6 % in Dec 2018.

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. Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation provides Nominal GDP in local currency. Government Debt covers Central Government only.


Related information about India Government Debt: % of GDP

• In the latest reports, India National Government Debt reached 2,144.6 USD bn in Sep 2024.
• The country's Nominal GDP reached 873.7 USD bn in Mar 2023.

Key information about India External Debt: % of GDP

• India External Debt accounted for 18.9 % of the country's Nominal GDP in 2023, compared with the ratio of 20.0 % in the previous year.
• India External Debt: % of Nominal GDP data is updated yearly, available from Mar 1970 to Mar 2023.
• The data reached an all-time high of 38.2 % in Mar 1992 and a record low of 10.9 % in Mar 1980.

CEIC calculates External Debt as % of Nominal GDP from annual External Debt and annual Nominal GDP. The Ministry of Finance provides External Debt in local currency. Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation provides Nominal GDP in local currency based on SNA 2008, at 2011-2012 prices. External Debt as % of Nominal GDP is in annual frequency, ending in March of each year.


Related information about India External Debt: % of GDP

• In the latest reports of India, Current Account recorded a deficit of 1.3 USD bn in Mar 2023.
• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) increased by 9.3 USD bn in Mar 2023.
• India Direct Investment Abroad expanded by 3.0 USD bn in Mar 2023.
• Its Foreign Portfolio Investment fell by 1.6 USD bn in Mar 2023.
• The country's External Debt reached 624,653.7 in Mar 2023.
• The country's Nominal GDP was reported at 873.7 USD bn in Mar 2023.

In financial year 2022, the internal debt of the central government of India amounted to around *** trillion Indian rupees, an increase from the previous year. It was estimated, that the internal debt would reach nearly *** trillion rupees in 2024.

Total reserves (% of total external debt) in India was reported at 97.06 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. India - Total reserves (% of total external debt) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

Current and historical data on India's External Debt - including its classification, currency, sources, term maturity, and its comparison with global peers.

The dataset contains All India Yearly Central and State Government Debt Indicators as percentage to GDP from Handbook of Statistics on Indian Economy.

Note: 1. Data for 2022-23 are Revised Estimates and data for 2023-24 are Budget Estimates. 2. External liabilities of the Centre is at current exchange rate. 3. Total liabilities of the States, Combined domestic liabilities of Centre & States and Combined total liabilities of the Centre & States have been revised to include 'reserve funds', 'deposits and advances' and 'contingency fund' of State Governments. 4. Data in respect of Combined finances are exclusive of NCT Delhi from 2005-06 onwards. 5. Combined and Centre's liabilities are inclusive of securities/treasury bills under market stabilisation scheme (MSS). 6. GDP data for 2023-24 is taken from Union Budget 2023-24. 7. Combined total liabilities of Centre & States is the sum of External liabilities of the Centre and Combined domestic liabilities of Centre & States

Central government debt, total (% of GDP) in India was reported at 46.52 % in 2018, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. India - Central government debt, total (% of GDP) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on August of 2025.

India External Debt: Total External Debt per Capita data was reported at 0.000 USD mn in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.000 USD mn for 2022. India External Debt: Total External Debt per Capita data is updated yearly, averaging 0.000 USD mn from Dec 1970 (Median) to 2023, with 54 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.000 USD mn in 2023 and a record low of 0.000 USD mn in 1970. India External Debt: Total External Debt per Capita data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s India – Table IN.World Bank.IDS: External Debt: Debt Outstanding, Debt Ratio and Debt Service: Annual. Total external debt is debt owed to nonresidents repayable in currency, goods, or services. Total external debt is the sum of public, publicly guaranteed, and private nonguaranteed long-term debt, use of IMF credit, and short-term debt. Short-term debt includes all debt having an original maturity of one year or less and interest in arrears on long-term debt. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

In fiscal year 2025, the external debt to GDP ratio in India was estimated to be over ** percent. This was a slight increase compared to the previous fiscal year, when the country's external debt to GDP ratio was about **** percent.

India External Debt: USD: IMF data was reported at 21.581 USD bn in Dec 2024. This records a decrease from the previous number of 22.445 USD bn for Sep 2024. India External Debt: USD: IMF data is updated quarterly, averaging 5.534 USD bn from Sep 1999 (Median) to Dec 2024, with 102 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 23.314 USD bn in Sep 2021 and a record low of 0.000 USD mn in Dec 2003. India External Debt: USD: IMF data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Finance. The data is categorized under Global Database’s India – Table IN.FK003: External Debt:: USD.

This dataset contains the trend of India's Total External debt. Additionally, the share of Sovereign and Non-Sovereign debt in the Total External debt is also provided.

India External Debt: USD: Total data was reported at 529.685 USD bn in 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 471.308 USD bn for 2017. India External Debt: USD: Total data is updated yearly, averaging 92.695 USD bn from Mar 1970 (Median) to 2018, with 49 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 529.685 USD bn in 2018 and a record low of 10.045 USD bn in 1970. India External Debt: USD: Total data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Finance. The data is categorized under Global Database’s India – Table IN.FC004: External Debt: USD (Annual).