- This is a list of the gross national debt of 178 countries, showing the variation in debt levels from Venezuela at 234% of GDP to Turkmenistan at 4.6% of GDP.
- National debt refers to the amount of total government debt a country has. This is also referred to as ‘public sector debt’.
- It is compiled using data from the IMF.
- Note: National debt is different to ‘External debt‘ – External debt includes all the debt a country (both private and public sector) owes to foreigners.
- Updated 19 Dec 2025
Debt of selected economies
List of National Debt by Country
Levels of general gross government debt. Debt levels as % of GDP for 2024 (accessed Dec 2025)
Full List of Countries debt share
| Debt % GDP | ||
| 1 | Japan | 236.7 |
| 2 | Venezuela | 164.3 |
| 3 | Greece | 150.9 |
| 4 | Italy | 135.3 |
| 5 | United States | 120.8 |
| 6 | France | 113.1 |
| 7 | Canada | 110.8 |
| 8 | Belgium | 104.5 |
| 9 | Spain | 101.8 |
| 10 | United Kingdom | 101.3 |
| 11 | Portugal | 94.9 |
| 14 | Egypt | 90.9 |
| 15 | Ukraine | 89.8 |
| 16 | China | 88.3 |
| 17 | El Salvador | 87.6 |
| 18 | Brazil | 87.3 |
| 19 | Finland | 82.5 |
| 20 | India | 81.3 |
| 21 | Austria | 81.2 |
| 22 | Hungary | 73.5 |
| 23 | Yemen | 70.9 |
| 24 | Malaysia | 70.4 |
| 25 | Israel | 67.8 |
| 26 | Slovenia | 67.0 |
| 27 | Cyprus | 65.3 |
| 28 | Germany | 63.9 |
| 29 | Montenegro | 62.6 |
| 30 | Colombia | 61.3 |
| 31 | Costa Rica | 60.2 |
| 32 | Iceland | 59.1 |
| 33 | Slovak Republic | 58.0 |
| 34 | Croatia | 57.6 |
| 35 | Thailand | 57.2 |
| 36 | Philippines | 57.1 |
| 37 | Panama | 56.6 |
| 38 | Albania | 55.7 |
| 39 | Poland | 55.3 |
| 40 | North Macedonia | 54.8 |
| 41 | Romania | 54.6 |
| 42 | Nigeria | 52.9 |
| 43 | Korea, Republic of | 52.5 |
| 45 | Australia | 49.8 |
| 46 | Tanzania | 48.2 |
| 47 | Malta | 47.4 |
| 48 | Latvia | 47.4 |
| 49 | Serbia | 44.5 |
| 50 | Belarus | 44.4 |
| 51 | Mongolia | 44.4 |
| 52 | Netherlands | 43.2 |
| 53 | Czech Republic | 43.0 |
| 54 | Norway | 42.7 |
| 55 | Chile | 42.0 |
| 56 | Honduras | 41.1 |
| 57 | Ireland | 41.1 |
| 58 | Indonesia | 40.2 |
| 59 | Nicaragua | 39.1 |
| 60 | Lithuania | 38.2 |
| 61 | Moldova | 38.1 |
| 62 | Georgia | 37.9 |
| 63 | Switzerland | 37.6 |
| 65 | Vietnam | 32.9 |
| 66 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 32.8 |
| 67 | Uzbekistan | 32.6 |
| 68 | Sweden | 32.6 |
| 69 | Ethiopia | 32.3 |
| 70 | United Arab Emirates | 32.1 |
| 71 | Peru | 30.9 |
| 72 | Tajikistan | 29.5 |
| 73 | Denmark | 28.0 |
| 74 | Cambodia | 26.6 |
| 75 | Taiwan Province of China | 26.2 |
| 76 | Luxembourg | 26.0 |
| 77 | Türkiye | 26.0 |
| 78 | Kazakhstan | 24.8 |
| 79 | Bulgaria | 24.1 |
| 80 | Estonia | 23.6 |
| 81 | Russian Federation | 20.3 |
| 82 | Congo, | 19.3 |
| 83 | Nauru | 17.6 |
| 84 | Kosovo | 16.9 |
| 87 | Kiribati | 9.9 |
| 88 | Turkmenistan | 4.6 |
a
Source: IMF
Source: IMF DataSet, accessed 1 September 2021
Highest levels of Government debt in the world
The country with probably the biggest debt problem is Venezuela. Because of hyperinflation, sanctions, a collapsing economy and a failure to collect tax revenues they can’t even borrow on international markets.
The country with the highest debt to GDP ratio in 2020 was Japan (234%) – a reflection of an ageing population. The Japanese government is able to borrow from private individuals in Japan because of high saving rates. But, as Japan sees a return of inflation and higher debt, this is becoming more problematic.
Lowest levels of government debt in the world
The country with the lowest levels of debt is Turkmenistan – an reflection of its natural-gas–based economic model and political choices, rather than broad economic strength. Turkmenistan has some of the world’s largest gas reserves and gas exports (especially to China) generate large foreign-currency inflows. The government often funds spending from energy revenues, reducing the need to borrow
Some very poor countries like Afghanistan, Congo and Haiti have perhaps surprisingly low levels of debt. One reason is that the country does not have functioning bond markets. There is so much uncertainty that governments do not have the opportunity to borrow.
Problems of national debt
High levels of national debt can cause these potential problems
- Requirement of higher taxes and/or lower spending
- Higher debt interest payments
- Pressure to print money – causing inflation.
- Debt financed by overseas borrowing can lead to external pressure
- Crowding out of the private sector
See: more problems of government borrowing
How much can a government borrow?
- Japan’s national debt is 236% of GDP and has been high for a couple of decades. This reflects the ability of Japan to borrow from domestic citizens. Despite prolonged periods of high debt, interest rates are still low because markets feel the government is still solvent.
- A developing economy like Argentina has a track record of default on debt, therefore markets are less willing to lend money to the government. Therefore when debt levels in Argentina increase it has a greater effect on pushing up interest rates.
Factors that depend on how much a government can borrow include
- Default rates of government
- Inflationary pressures. High inflation will make investors less willing to buy government bonds because they will devalue due to inflation
- Can the government print its own money? If the government can print money it can avoid liquidity issues, though there is potential danger of inflation.
- What are the prospects for economic growth? Higher economic growth makes it easier to reduce debt to GDP ratios over time.
- How much can a government borrow?
Difference between debt and deficit
Government debt is the total amount of outstanding liabilities. The deficit is the annual amount by which spending exceeds income. The debt is the accumulation of past deficits.
For example in 2025, the US deficit was $1.8 trillion The US total debt is $38 trillion.
Causes of national debt
This graph for US national debt shows how national crisis leads to a rise in government borrowing. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Government debt enabled the US government to finance the short-term costs of the two world wars. It also enabled the government to respond to the crisis of the 2008 financial crash and the 2020 Covid crisis. Causes of national debt can include
- Recession – tax revenues fall when the economy shrinks. Also the government spend more on unemployment benefits
- Investment – Governments might borrow to build new roads, schools and hospitals.
- Finance war –
- Demographic changes and welfare spending. An ageing population tends to place more strain on government finances with older people requiring more health care spending, pensions and also they pay less income tax.
- Political decisions. Some governments may support higher spending on welfare programmes, whearas other governments may target a balanced budget.
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wow, most interesting. I had no idea Japan was s high.
What is the interest paid by these countries on their national debt….because I feel the net outgoings due to annual interest payments will give a better picture of the situation.
Yeah, that list made a relief… So we in Bulgaria have a very small national debt. That’s good, that’s good… And don’t think you can make our debt higher! I read about a plan two American politicians have made in 1990 about “the economical destroying of Bulgaria”. It consisted of the idea of making people borrow more money that they cannot pay back – in other words, making a huge national debt. If you read the information from some sites (ah, yes, they’re all in Bulgarian), you’ll find out that we, the people in the Balkans, especially Bulgaria, have some kind of special character foreigners describe as “foolishness” or “primitiveness” that, unbelievable as it may be, has saved our identity during the centuries. Saved us from big empires’attacks in the past and, fortunately, from full Americanization now. I can’t predict if the Chinese Yuan will become an international currency or if the Far East will economically conquer the West, but I know one thing. Our peninsula has always been a crossroad between Europe and Asia and neither the USA nor the Asian Tigers can succeed in conquering us. I am 15 years old, a boy living in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, and that’s from me.
wellthe world bank play an important roll in a modern economy but still the functions of is not that much in facor of india. they have to change thair bluddy stratrrgy………
It is interesting how the Japanese, as high as their exports are with their technology markets, have such a high debt. Why would their debts be so high if their savings are high at the same time? Perhaps if Japanese citizens concentrate more on repaying their personal debt, they would be in much better standings.
Surely there are methods for people to manage their debt by budgeting their finances. I know websites similar to heaps.co.nz (heaps!) are specifically set up to get people out of their debt (whether student, mortgage, etc.)
What is the most interesting question is who is the whole world in debt to and why should we be in debt to anyone considering that without its people a country produces nothing (except raw materials for those countries which are lucky enough to have them). For the answer see the documentary: “Ring of Power – Empire of the city” I think the website is helpfreetheearth.com but you can watch it on youtube.