List of National Debt by Country

By on September 7, 2011 in economics

Some selected levels of Public Sector debt in different countries:

  • US Gross Debt 2010 – $14,867.5bn 97% of GDP (US Debt) (US have two figures,  gross debt (97% of GDP) includes funds held by government e.g. social security. Net debt (60% of GDP) below excludes this.
  • Japan National Debt 228% of GDP 2011 (Japan national debt)
  • Italy National Debt 115% of GDP (FT)
  • Canada National debt – note, there are 2 measures 1 Net federal debt (38% of GDP). Another one quoted by CIA (gross government debt of 85% of GDP)
  • UK National Debt 60% of GDP (UK) (note UK is now publishing two figures – one which includes bank bailouts and one which excludes. The figure in this graph is based on old calculation which includes financial sector intervention.  See (UK national debt for more details.)

Other selected Levels of Public Debt as a % of GDP from 2010


1 Japan
225.80
2 Saint Kitts and Nevis
185.00
3 Lebanon
150.70
4 Zimbabwe
149.00
5 Greece
144.00
6 Iceland
123.80
7 Jamaica
123.20
8 Italy
118.10
9 Singapore
102.40
10 Belgium
98.60
11 Ireland
94.20
 more on Ireland Debt
12 Sudan
94.20
13 Sri Lanka
86.70
14 France
83.50
 (more – France National Debt)
15 Portugal
83.20
16 Egypt
80.50
17 Belize
80.00
18 Hungary
79.60
19 Germany
78.80
20 Dominica
78.00
21 Nicaragua
78.00
22 Israel
77.30
23 United Kingdom
76.50
 (see also UK national debt)
24 Malta
72.60
25 Austria
70.40
26 Netherlands
64.60
27 Spain
63.40
28 Cote d’Ivoire
63.30
29 Jordan
61.40
30 Cyprus
61.10
31 Brazil
60.80
32 Mauritius
60.50
33 Ghana
59.90
34 World
59.30
35 Albania
59.30
36 Bahrain
59.20
37 United States
58.90 (net debt)
 (see US debt)
38 Seychelles
58.80
39 Morocco
58.20
40 Bhutan
57.80
41 Guyana
57.00
42 Vietnam
56.70
43 Philippines
56.50
44 Uruguay
56.00
45 India
55.90
46 Croatia
55.00
47 El Salvador
55.00
48 Poland
53.60
49 Malaysia
53.10
50 Kenya
50.90
51 Argentina
50.30
52 Pakistan
49.90
53 Tunisia
49.50
54 Turkey
48.10
55 Norway
47.70
56 Denmark
46.60
57 Aruba
46.30
58 Latvia
46.20
59 Finland
45.40
60 Colombia
44.80
61 United Arab Emirates
44.60
62 Costa Rica
42.40
63 Thailand
42.30
64 Dominican Republic
41.70
65 Mexico
41.50
66 Serbia
41.50
67 Slovakia
41.00
68 Mozambique
40.80
69 Sweden
40.80
70 Malawi
40.40
71 Czech Republic
40.00
72 Panama
40.00
73 Bolivia
39.70
74 Bangladesh
39.30
75 Ethiopia
39.30
76 Yemen
39.10
77 Bosnia and Herzegovina
39.00
78 Ukraine
38.40
79 Switzerland
38.20
80 Montenegro
38.00
81 Lithuania
36.70
82 Slovenia
35.50
83 Romania
34.80
84 Cuba
34.40
85 Macedonia
34.20
86 Canada
34.00 (*)
 See: Canada debt
87 Taiwan
33.90
88 South Africa
33.20
89 Senegal
32.10
90 Syria
29.80
91 Guatemala
29.60
92 Papua New Guinea
27.80
93 Indonesia
26.40
94 Trinidad and Tobago
26.40
95 Honduras
26.10
96 Gabon
25.80
97 Algeria
25.70
98 New Zealand
25.50
99 Venezuela
25.50
100 Moldova
25.00
101 Zambia
24.10
102 Korea, South
23.70
103 Peru
23.60
104 Tanzania
23.30
105 Ecuador
23.20
106 Paraguay
22.80
107 Botswana
22.60
108 Australia
22.40
109 Uganda
20.40
110 Angola
20.30
111 Namibia
20.00
112 Hong Kong
18.20
113 China
17.50
114 Saudi Arabia
16.70
115 Bulgaria
16.20
116 Iran
16.20
117 Luxembourg
16.20
118 Kazakhstan
16.20
119 Nigeria
13.40
120 Kuwait
12.60
121 Qatar
10.30
122 Cameroon
9.60
123 Russia
9.50
124 Uzbekistan
9.00
125 Estonia
7.70
126 Gibraltar
7.50
127 Chile
6.20
128 Wallis and Futuna
5.60
.
129 Azerbaijan
4.60
130 Oman
4.40
131 Equatorial Guinea
4.10
132 Libya
3.30

Source: CIA factbook – National debt by Country

Notes: Japan’s Public sector debt is very high. However, Japan has a high savings rate which makes it easier for the government to finance the debt. 90% of Japanese debt is owned by Japanese individuals. US has a low savings ratio and 25% of US debt is owned by foreigners. Nevertheless the National Debt of Japan is a real burden for the economy.

An important factor is not just cumulative national debt, but, the annual budget deficit. This annual deficit determines the rate of deterioration in the public sector debt.

In the above list, the United States debt is given at just below 60% of national debt. But, a more commonly used statistics is gross government debt which stands at close to 97% of GDP.

Canada has a similar discrepancy between net federal debt and gross government debt.

Budget Deficits by Country

The budget deficit requires the annual net lending.

Government Borrowing in 2012

net -debt

This shows that the US has one of the highest budget deficits in the world.

 

External Debt

A different statistics is external debt, this the amount of debt a country owes to other countries. It includes both the private and public sector debt. See: list of external debt by country

Credit Ratings

Readers Question


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73 Responses to List of National Debt by Country

  1. Nursing Journals Online September 30, 2011 at 4:41 pm #

    You know I am surprised that the U.S. is not higher on this list. We know Greece has been in the news recently for economic troubles. Japan though was a shocker!

    Reply
  2. Dominik Pigeon September 20, 2011 at 10:55 pm #

    Canada’s total public debt is in the 80%. The difference between the 34% and the 84% shown in the 2 sources is the provincial debts. Canada’s federal system is decentralized. The provinces assume now approximately 75% of health costs with little control, a bit like in the US, and with the population getting older, they make huge deficits.
    The federal Canadian government increases its debt by 5 billion $ per month as of the summer 2011. Quebec, a province representing about 22% of Canadian GDP adds 10 billion $ a year currently.
    In total, public debt increases between 5 to 6% of Canadian GDP per year at the current rhythm.

    Reply
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