This article contains a list of countries by government debt. Gross government debt is government financial liabilities that are debt instruments. A debt instrument is a financial claim that requires payment of interest and/or principal by the debtor to the creditor in the future. Examples include debt securities (such as bonds and bills), loans, and government employee pension obligations. Net debt equals gross debt minus financial assets that are debt instruments. Net debt estimates are not always available since some government assets are difficult to value, such as loans made at concessional rates.

Changes in government debt over time reflect primarily borrowing due to past government deficits. A deficit occurs when a government's expenditures exceed revenues.

In the list below, government debt is measured for the general government sector because the level of government responsible for programs (for example, health care) differs across countries, and the general government comprises central, state, provincial, regional, and local governments, and social security funds.

To make the numbers comparable across countries of different sizes, government debt is represented as a percentage of a country's gross domestic product (GDP), a measure called the debt-to-GDP ratio. For context on the magnitude of the debt numbers, European Union member countries have an agreement, the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), to maintain a general government gross debt of no more than 60% of GDP. The aim of the SGP is to prevent excessive debt burdens.

Government debt as a percentage of GDP When data is not available, numbers are International Monetary Fund staff estimates.

General Government Debt-to-GDP RatiosCountry and regionGeneral governmentgross debt (2025)General governmentnet debt (2025)8.052.645.554.147.230.351.369.780.349.063.651.032.480.562.920.173.8147.642.094.293.533.1106.393.367.957.3103.684.876.129.920.438.637.293.365.21.527.119.552.041.2101.089.726.540.438.7113.510.261.830.441.827.999.259.952.029.520.296.860.458.555.944.955.324.944.630.227.5 -6.032.132.1102.659.047.354.486.882.287.240.626.124.210.144.940.643.140.778.772.289.341.8116.0108.878.973.934.362.947.248.8145.771.627.248.175.328.626.812.341.211.975.260.356.145.884.141.038.737.333.553.932.926.368.567.0137.1127.756.367.7206.5136.582.824.66.569.366.38.017.514.636.080.646.937.7139.4131.449.17.354.954.90.539.837.127.0 -4.048.778.470.7125.441.938.346.837.511.840.137.586.561.853.28.936.645.167.167.166.5102.551.970.270.114.748.143.335.754.725.834.845.443.935.535.352.551.445.0 -160.235.81.172.866.562.356.640.452.138.135.730.222.959.458.847.589.985.618.041.460.650.017.264.658.451.277.1113.421.260.655.731.722.5130.242.437.551.544.745.2171.361.655.865.950.028.778.675.952.39.362.162.1100.485.0187.6105.834.912.239.419.222.420.521.649.764.714.363.027.484.258.981.323.518.93.83.654.2108.734.3102.393.8123.996.765.756.728.640.9308.730.386.081.043.8

Public debt per capita

+Public debt per capita (2017) Country (PPP) (Forex) Otheryear $102,503 $91,768 $97,852 $60,016 $77,278 $37,990 $50,562 $33,905 $49,060 $41,056 $47,822 $44,871 $47,291 $44,119 $46,645 $46,645 $44,348 $41,323 $43,659 $21,673 $41,040 $37,189 $39,419 $37,310 $39,311 $35,320 $38,127 $26,462 $37,015 $37,015 2016 $35,466 $26,210 $33,349 $29,394 $30,674 $19,918 2016 $30,452 $27,415 $28,001 $26,777 $27,111 $27,986 $26,367 $34,225 $25,900 $27,095 $25,047 $17,103 $24,939 $17,110 $23,582 $23,742 $22,922 $25,351 $21,746 $14,204 $21,709 $13,796 $21,695 $23,990 $21,693 $10,427 $21,238 $13,039 $21,169 $28,505 $21,048 $21,763 $20,462 $8,525 $20,360 $16,320 $19,796 $19,960 $19,326 $7,196 $19,292 $25,819 $18,601 $9,976 $18,482 $10,068 $18,363 $11,420 $18,027 $8,682 $17,487 $19,784 $16,798 $8,970 $15,915 $12,973 2016 $15,873 $5,313 $15,633 $11,830 $15,241 $11,540 $14,829 $6,912 $14,783 $5,858 $14,735 $7,834 $14,726 $11,722 $14,133 $7,769 $13,728 $18,969 2015 $13,262 $6,253 $13,180 $14,045 $13,064 $8,265 $13,000 $6,717 $12,474 $2,450 $12,206 $7,007 $12,122 $5,234 $11,884 $8,217 $11,701 $3,281 $11,236 $7,335 $10,859 $7,202 $10,847 $4,418 $10,618 $4,962 $10,353 $6,150 $10,252 $7,021 $10,235 $7,293 $10,194 $5,724 $10,069 $3,963 $10,055 $3,051 $9,993 $3,336 $9,663 $3,060 $9,644 $2,858 $9,360 $5,305 $9,333 $3,658 $9,273 $2,190 $9,226 $3,569 $9,167 $5,688 $8,747 $6,223 $8,457 $3,070 $8,406 $2,439 $8,360 $3,931 $8,291 $3,634 $8,257 $4,757 $8,230 $5,713 $8,161 $3,680 $7,878 $4,077 $7,802 $2,049 $7,631 $7,631 $7,613 $2,966 $7,594 $2,253 $7,548 $2,781 $7,342 $3,343 $7,298 $3,225 $6,912 $12,375 2014 $6,249 $2,748 $5,970 $1,811 $5,952 $3,647 $5,879 $4,024 $5,755 $2,109 $5,665 $2,074 $5,615 $2,723 $5,519 $2,019 $5,437 $5,005 2016 $5,311 $2,870 $5,311 $1,769 $5,203 $5,203 2014 $5,202 $1,429 $5,198 $1,928 $5,003 $1,292 $4,990 $2,032 $4,684 $2,579 $4,600 $1,864 $4,555 $2,582 $4,441 $2,510 $4,380 $1,721 $4,347 $1,241 $4,338 $1,492 $4,337 $2,159 $4,159 $1,106 $4,145 $2,709 $3,911 $1,329 $3,632 $1,382 $3,628 $1,637 $3,562 $1,112 $3,488 $1,737 $3,424 $1,201 $3,420 $983 $3,305 $1,182 $3,030 $1,154 $3,013 $1,878 $2,966 $1,699 $2,957 $3,271 $2,773 $2,051 $2,666 $2,053 $2,645 $986 $2,468 $1,081 $2,450 $1,199 2016 $2,428 $1,082 $2,336 $623 $2,216 $724 $2,178 $788 $2,173 $876 $2,105 $754 $2,066 $1,277 $2,057 $1,126 $2,024 $2,024 2013 $2,010 $1,035 $1,992 $406 $1,992 $756 $1,992 $988 $1,913 $813 $1,850 $857 2015 $1,833 $887 $1,805 $395 $1,762 $679 $1,739 $724 $1,696 $1,696 $1,665 $418 $1,585 $1,041 $1,579 $1,579 $1,433 $543 $1,394 $1,328 $1,392 $480 $1,391 $472 $1,309 $730 $1,297 $1,462 $1,289 $504 $1,229 $188 $1,222 $445 $1,201 $403 $1,201 $441 $1,187 $408 $1,169 $366 $1,143 $472 $1,084 $345 $1,003 $404 $949 $327 $932 $397 $894 $328 $873 $261 $823 $775 $820 $304 $792 $295 $703 $221 $692 $243 $669 $186 $660 $748 $576 $248 $559 $161 $546 $474 $520 $257 $498 $188 $437 $235 $431 $213 $349 $148 $312 $178 $213 $80 $189 $185 $146 $88 $139 $41 $63 $47 $0 $0 2015 $0 $0

Other unfunded mandates Governmental unfunded mandates include state-guaranteed pay-as-you-go pension plans.

+Unfunded mandates (2021) Country Unfundedmandates(% of GDP) 451 316 197 320 297 261 24 315 330 398 326 409 334 98 149 434 229 280 355 244 215 264 296 373 378 232 387 501 191 232

See also

Debt Sustainability Analysis List of countries by government budget List of countries by past gross government debt List of countries by tax revenue List of countries by credit rating List of countries by corporate debt List of countries by household debt List of countries by external debt List of sovereign debt crises Consumer price index by country Global debt Government bond Fiscal sustainability

Nation specific National debt of the United States National debt of Japan United Kingdom national debt Canadian public debt National Debt of South Africa

References