List of National Debt by Country

  • This is a list of the gross national debt of 178 countries, showing the variation in debt levels from Venezuela at 304% of GDP to Macau at 0% 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 1 September 2021.

Debt of selected economies

selected-20-gdp-
Source: IMF (2021)

List of National Debt by Country

Levels of general gross government debt. Debt levels as % of GDP for 2021 (² unless stated)

RankCountryDebt levels as % of GDP for 2021
1Venezuela ²304
2Japan256.5
3Sudan211.7
4Greece210.1
5Eritrea175.6
6Suriname157.4
7Italy157.1
8Lebanon ²154
9Barbados143
10Maldives139.7
11Cabo Verde137.6
12Belize134.6
13United States132.8
14Portugal131.4
15Singapore129.5
16Bahrain129.4
17Mozambique125.3
18Bhutan123.4
19Zambia118.7
20Spain118.4
21Canada116.3
22Belgium115.9
23France115.2
24Cyprus113
25Angola110.7
26United Kingdom107.1
27Sri Lanka105.4
28Argentina (2)103
29Brazil98.4
30Jamaica96.5
31Dominica96.4
32Montenegro94.6
33Egypt92.9
34Jordan91.2
35Tunisia91.2
36Congo, Republic of90.5
37Bahamas, The88.6
38El Salvador88.2
39Mauritius87.7
40Pakistan87.7
41Austria87.2
42India86.6
43Croatia86.3
44Fiji83.6
45Iceland82.5
46Ghana81.5
47South Africa80.8
48Slovenia80.5
49Hungary80
50Israel78.3
51Guinea-Bissau78.1
52Mongolia77.9
53Morocco77.1
54Malawi76.8
55Burundi75.6
56Albania75.4
57Grenada74.5
58Gambia, The73.9
59Kyrgyz Republic73.4
60Yemen73
61Costa Rica72.5
62São Tomé and Príncipe72.4
63Australia72.1
64Kenya71.5
65Namibia71.4
66Oman71.3
67Gabon71.1
68Germany70.3
69Armenia69.9
70Iraq69.7
71China, People’s Republic of69.6
72Bolivia69
73Finland68.8
74Lao P.D.R.68.3
75Uruguay68
76Malaysia67
77Senegal66.8
78Dominican Republic66.6
79Rwanda66
80Ecuador65.1
81Puerto Rico64.8
82Colombia64.2
83Slovak Republic64
84Emerging market and developing economies64
85Georgia63.9
86Algeria63.3
87Ireland63.2
88Trinidad and Tobago62.1
89Panama61.4
90Mexico60.5
91Togo60
92Qatar59.8
93Serbia59
94Ukraine58.1
95Malta57.9
96Poland57.4
97Liberia57
98Mauritania56.3
99Netherlands56.1
100Ethiopia56
101Thailand55.9
102Honduras53.9
103North Macedonia53.8
104Korea, Republic of53.2
105Romania52.6
106Philippines51.9
107Zimbabwe51.4
108Lesotho49.8
109Tajikistan49.8
110Nepal49.6
111Papua New Guinea49.6
112Lithuania49.5
113Myanmar49.1
114Samoa49
115Uganda48.8
116Vietnam48
117West Bank and Gaza47.9
118Benin47.7
119Nicaragua47.6
120Latvia47.2
121South Sudan, Republic of47
122Madagascar46.9
123Burkina Faso46.8
124New Zealand46.4
125Côte d’Ivoire46.3
126Mali46.1
127Belarus45.7
128Switzerland44.8
129Niger44.5
130Equatorial Guinea44.1
131Czech Republic44
132Tonga43.7
133Cameroon42.5
134Guinea42.3
135Uzbekistan42.3
136Central African Republic42.2
137Chad41.7
138Denmark41.6
139Norway41.6
140Guyana41.4
141Indonesia41.4
142Sweden40.4
143Bangladesh40.2
144Djibouti40.2
145Moldova39.5
146Bosnia and Herzegovina38.6
147Tanzania37.9
148Turkey37.1
149United Arab Emirates37.1
150Iran36.6
151Paraguay35.7
152Peru35.4
153Chile33.6
154Cambodia33.4
155Guatemala33.1
156Taiwan Province of China32.5
157Nigeria31.9
158Saudi Arabia31
159Azerbaijan30.9
160Kazakhstan27
161Luxembourg26.8
162Haiti26
163Turkmenistan26
164Bulgaria25.5
165Botswana25.3
166Estonia25.1
167Marshall Islands23.3
168Kiribati21.4
169Russian Federation18.1
170Micronesia, Fed. States of15.3
171Timor-Leste15
172Kuwait13.7
173Congo, Dem. Rep. of the12.4
174Tuvalu11.8
175Afghanistan8.8
176Brunei Darussalam2.3
177Hong Kong SAR0.9
178Macao SAR0

All debt levels apply to 2021, except  ² No figures for 2021. Debt given for 2020

Source: IMF DataSet, accessed 1 September 2021

Highest levels of Government debt in the world

top-20-national-debt

The country with the highest debt to GDP ratio in 2020 was Venezuela (304%) – a reflection of a collapsing economy and failure to collect tax revenues.

The second biggest debt burden is Japan with 256% – though this is very different situation with economic stability and prosperity. The Japanese government is able to borrow from private individuals in Japan. Conflict in Sudan and Eritrea have played a large role in their high debt levels.

Lowest levels of government debt in the world

lowest-20-gdp-debt

The country with the lowest levels of debt is Macau – an autonomous region on the south coast of China. Macau is the most densely populated region in the world, with one of highest levels of GDP per capita. Nearly 80% of the government’s revenue comes from a thriving gambling industry. Oil producing countries, like Brunei, Kuwait and Kazakhstan have low levels of debt because governments have successfully collected tax revenue from oil.

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

  1. Requirement of higher taxes and/or lower spending
  2. Higher debt interest payments
  3. Pressure to print money – causing inflation.
  4. Debt financed by overseas borrowing can lead to external pressure
  5. Crowding out of the private sector

See: more problems of government borrowing

How much can a government borrow?

  • Japan’s national debt is 265% 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 2020, the US deficit was $3.13 trillion. The US total debt is $29 trillion.

Causes of national debt

us-national-debt-held-public-1790-2021

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.

Related

Further Reading

Readers Question

37 thoughts on “List of National Debt by Country”

  1. No the numbers say the truth. Everyone cuts paper for money without giving any excuse and all the borrowers must pay their taxes. U.S Germany and U.K are the worst governments in the planet and we have to pay for their sins!!! That is the truth!!!

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