Central government debt

56 countries, 2019. Unit: % of GDP.

First in the ranking
7.7 %
Solomon Islands
Median country
49.2 %
half above, half below
Range
7.7 to 159.0
Solomon Islands - United Kingdom

How to read it

Across 56 countries worldwide, the highest value is in United Kingdom (159.0 %) and the lowest in Solomon Islands (7.7 %).

The median country is at 49.2 %: half are above, half below.

Debt is the entire stock of direct government fixed-term contractual obligations to others outstanding on a particular date. It includes domestic and foreign liabilities such as currency and money deposits, securities other than shares, and loans. It is the gross amount of government liabilities reduced by the amount of equity and financial derivatives held by the government. Because debt is a stock rather than a…

Compare selected countries · on the world map

Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF) · via World Bank WDI (GC.DOD.TOTL.GD.ZS) · licence

Government debt over time

%

Ranking of countries

2019
In chart Continent Share of the highest value
1Solomon Islands7.7Oceania
2Botswana16.2Africa
3Russia17.3Europe
4Kazakhstan18.5Asia
5Switzerland18.6Europe
6Federated States of Micronesia24.1Oceania
7Moldova25.5Europe
8Peru26.5South America
9Eswatini29.8Africa
10Ethiopia31.4Africa
11Nepal31.8Asia
12Lesotho32.2Africa
13New Zealand32.8Oceania
14Belarus33.2Europe
15Türkiye33.5Asia
16South Korea37.7Asia
17Uganda38.5Africa
18Thailand38.6Asia
19Andorra38.8Europe
20Papua New Guinea40.2Oceania
21Mexico41.3North America
22Marshall Islands41.6Oceania
23Tonga43.1Oceania
24Bosnia and Herzegovina44.0Europe
25Georgia44.7Asia
26Malawi44.8Africa
27Burkina Faso47.1Africa
28Ukraine48.3Europe
29Armenia50.0Asia
30Uruguay50.1South America
31Kyrgyzstan51.3Asia
32Malaysia52.4Asia
33Canada53.4North America
34El Salvador53.9North America
35San Marino55.1Europe
36Bahamas56.7North America
37Mauritius57.1Africa
38Australia60.0Oceania
39Mongolia60.8Asia
40Zambia61.9Africa
41South Africa64.6Africa
42Jordan72.6Asia
43Colombia72.7South America
44Albania74.8Europe
45Mozambique78.9Africa
46Hungary84.6Europe
47Palau85.2Oceania
48Jamaica85.8North America
49Iceland89.0Europe
50Bhutan90.4Asia
51Bahrain91.4Asia
52Brazil92.6South America
53United States100.2North America
54Spain111.3Europe
55Singapore127.9Asia
56United Kingdom159.0Europe
World Bank, WDI · GC.DOD.TOTL.GD.ZS · 2019 · CC BY 4.0 Source and licence

Biggest changes, 2009-2019

change in percentage points · 35 countries

Largest increase

  1. Bahrain 15.6 → 91.4 +75.7 pp
  2. Spain 48.2 → 111.3 +63.1 pp
  3. Palau 24.7 → 85.2 +60.5 pp
  4. Bhutan 53.9 → 90.4 +36.4 pp
  5. Australia 23.8 → 60.0 +36.2 pp

Largest decrease

  1. Iceland 145.1 → 89.0 −56.1 pp
  2. Jamaica 134.7 → 85.8 −48.9 pp
  3. Marshall Islands 71.9 → 41.6 −30.4 pp
  4. Türkiye 48.5 → 33.5 −15.0 pp
  5. Lesotho 41.7 → 32.2 −9.5 pp

By continent

median country
Africa 44.8 %
Asia 50.7 %
Europe 48.3 %
North America 55.3 %
South America 61.4 %
Oceania 40.9 %

Tick a country in the table to add it to the chart above, up to six at a time. The ranking uses the latest year for which at least half of the countries have a value; countries without a value that year are not listed.