List of National Debt by Country – Economics Help

  • This is a list of the gross National debt that countries have. 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, Eurostat and CIA agencies.
  • Note: National debt is different to ‘External debt‘ – External debt includes all the debts a country (both private and public sector) owe to foreigners.
  • Note: You may see slightly different figures for government debt levels, depending how it is measured. For example,
    •  US net debt is debt held by private sector. Gross US debt ( includes intra-governmental holdings)
  • Updated July 2017.

List of National Debt by Country

Levels of general gross government debt. Debt levels as % of GDP for 2017.

1
Japan234.7
2Greece181.6
3Lebanon161.5
4Italy132.5
5Jamaica130.1
6Cabo Verde128.6
7Portugal126.2
8Eritrea119.8
9Singapore110.5
10Grenada110
11Barbados108.9
12Belgium106.7
13Cyprus104.6
14Mozambique100.3
15Spain99.6
16Canada98.8
17France96
18Egypt92.6
19Puerto Rico92.5
20United Kingdom92.2
21Yemen92.2
22Jordan90.6
23Sao Tome and Principe89.5
24Antigua and Barbuda89
25Croatia88.3
26European Union86.8
27Belize86.3
28Austria83.5
29Saint Kitts and Nevis83
30Slovenia81.8
31Iraq79
32Ukraine78.2
33Ireland77.9
34Sri Lanka77.1
35Saint Lucia77
36Morocco77
37Hungary75.1
38United States73.8
39Ghana73.7
40Brazil73.5
41Serbia72.9
42Maldives72.8
43Bahrain72
44Albania71
45Montenegro70.7
46Congo, Republic of the70
47Dominica70
48Pakistan69.8
49Kyrgyzstan69.5
50Sudan68.8
51Germany68.2
52Suriname67.8
53Saint Vincent and the Grenadines67
54Aruba67
55Mauritius66
56El Salvador64.9
57Bahamas, The64.4
58Finland63.6
59Togo63.3
60Israel63.2
61Uruguay62.8
62Malta62.6
63Costa Rica62.3
64Netherlands61.8
65Laos61.6
66Malawi61.2
67Belarus60.7
68Djibouti60.5
69United Arab Emirates60.3
70Mongolia60
71Seychelles59.1
72Tunisia59
73Syria57.5
74Angola57.4
75Zambia57.2
76Iceland56.5
77Mexico56.3
78Senegal55.6
79Qatar55.6
80Malaysia55.1
81Vietnam54.9
82Ethiopia54.2
83Argentina53.8
84Lesotho53.4
85Armenia53.4
86Guyana53.1
87Slovakia52.4
88India52.3
89Moldova51.9
90Marshall Islands51.3
91Trinidad and Tobago51.2
92Cote d’Ivoire50.9
93Thailand50.4
94Kenya50.4
95Fiji50.2
96Niger48.9
97Macedonia47.8
98Honduras47.3
99Bolivia47
100Bosnia and Herzegovina46.5
101Australia46.1
102Korea, South46.1
103Virgin Islands45.9
104Zimbabwe45.4
105Tonga45.1
106Nicaragua45
107Poland44.7
108Colombia44.6
109Dominican Republic44
110Gabon43.5
111Burundi43.4
112Sierra Leone43.3
113South Africa43.3
114Namibia43.1
115Bermuda43
116Philippines42.9
117Georgia42.4
118Madagascar41.8
119Lithuania41.8
120Tuvalu41.1
121Andorra41
122Czechia40.8
123Benin40.2
124Papua New Guinea39.4
125Romania39.3
126Panama39.3
127Latvia38.7
128Hong Kong38.4
129Uganda36.9
130Venezuela36.7
131Rwanda36.6
132Tanzania36.6
133Chad35.4
134Faroe Islands35
135Denmark34.2
136Switzerland34.1
137New Zealand34
138Cambodia33.9
139Taiwan33.5
140Curacao33.2
141Ecuador33
142Turkey32.7
143Cuba32.7
144Norway32.2
145Guam32.1
146Cameroon31.1
147Saudi Arabia31
148Sweden31
149Bhutan30
150Indonesia29.4
151Comoros28.5
152Micronesia, Federated States of28
153Nepal27.6
154Guatemala27.4
155Mali27.3
156Bulgaria26.7
157Haiti26.5
158Peru26.3
159Bangladesh25.9
160San Marino25.8
161Paraguay25.5
162West Bank24.4
163Equatorial Guinea24.3
164Kazakhstan24.1
165Kuwait23.1
166Luxembourg21.4
167Botswana21
168Azerbaijan20.4
169Anguilla20.1
170Chile18.5
171Oman18.5
172Congo, Democratic Republic of the18.2
173China16.1
174Swaziland13.7
175Russia13.7
176Nigeria13.2
177Greenland13
178Algeria13
179Iran11.9
180Liberia11.8
181Uzbekistan11
182Kosovo10.6
183Libya10
184Estonia9.7
185Kiribati8.6
186Gibraltar7.5
187Tajikistan6.5
188New Caledonia6.5
189Wallis and Futuna5.6
190Timor-Leste 0

 

 

Sources:

  • CIA factbook – National debt by Country
  • Public debt, International Monetary Fund, April 2012
  • Eurostat pdf.

 

Some selected levels of Public Sector debt in different countries:

  • Canada National debt gross debt 85% of GDP (2012)  Net federal debt involves only central government. (38% of GDP).
  •  Ireland debt
  • Japan debt
  • Italy debt
  • UK national debt

Further Reading

  • Why is Japan able to borrow so much at low interest rates?
  • How much can a government borrow?
  • Euro Debt crisis explained
  • National Debt, printing money and inflation

Annual Government Borrowing

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.

The budget deficit is the total amount the government needs to borrow in a particular year.

Budget Deficits by Country 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

  • List of countries with highest credit rating (AAA)

Readers Question

  • How can debt increase, but debt to GDP fall?
  • History of US Debt / GDP
  • What is difference between debt and deficit?
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