Public Debt (% of GDP)
Public debt, sometimes also referred to as government debt, represents the total outstanding debt (bonds and other securities) of a country’s central government. It is often expressed as a ratio of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Public debt can be raised both externally and internally, where external debt is the debt owed to lenders outside the country and internal debt represents the government’s obligations to domestic lenders. Public debt is an important source of resources for a government to finance public spending and fill holes in the budget. Public debt as a percentage of GDP is usually used as an indicator of the ability of a government to meet its future obligations.
The table below shows public debt as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by country for the last five years.
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Public Debt Data
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | 65.6 | 70.1 | 72.7 | 72.3 | 70.1 |
| Algeria | 7.1 | 7.2 | 14.9 | 19.6 | - |
| Angola | 32.9 | 40.7 | 64.6 | 79.8 | - |
| Argentina | 43.5 | 44.7 | 52.6 | 53.3 | 57.1 |
| Armenia | 40.8 | 43.7 | 48.7 | 56.7 | 58.7 |
| Australia | 30.6 | 34.1 | 37.8 | 40.6 | 41.6 |
| Austria | 81.3 | 84.0 | 84.6 | 83.6 | 78.4 |
| Azerbaijan | 12.6 | 14.4 | 35.0 | 50.7 | - |
| Bahrain | 41.3 | 42.0 | 60.3 | 72.1 | 79.8 |
| Bangladesh | 35.8 | 35.3 | 32.4 | 32.1 | - |
| Belarus | 31.9 | 32.9 | 46.9 | 47.2 | 47.5 |
| Belgium | 106 | 107 | 106 | 106 | 103 |
| Belize | 79.1 | 77.1 | 80.0 | 86.6 | 94.9 |
| Bolivia | 36.1 | 37.0 | 40.6 | 46.2 | - |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 44.5 | 45.0 | 45.5 | 44.0 | - |
| Botswana | 17.4 | 17.3 | 16.3 | 15.5 | 15.6 |
| Brazil | 51.5 | 56.3 | 65.5 | 70.0 | 74.0 |
| Brunei | 2.2 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 3.0 | - |
| Bulgaria | 17.0 | 27.0 | 26.0 | 29.0 | 25.4 |
| Cambodia | 35.4 | 34.1 | 32.5 | 33.7 | 35.1 |
| Canada | 32.4 | 30.5 | 30.1 | 29.9 | 28.9 |
| Chile | 12.7 | 15.0 | 17.3 | 21.0 | 23.6 |
| China | 14.6 | 14.9 | 15.5 | 16.2 | 16.3 |
| Colombia | 34.9 | 37.4 | 41.1 | 42.4 | 43.0 |
| Costa Rica | 35.8 | 38.4 | 40.9 | 45.0 | 49.2 |
| Croatia | 80.5 | 84.0 | 83.8 | 80.6 | 78.0 |
| Cyprus | 103 | 108 | 108 | 107 | 97.5 |
| Czech Republic | 44.9 | 42.2 | 40.0 | 36.8 | 34.6 |
| DR Congo | 20.0 | 17.5 | 16.1 | 16.8 | - |
| Denmark | 44.0 | 44.3 | 39.9 | 37.9 | 36.4 |
| Dominican Republic | 37.0 | 36.0 | 35.1 | 36.9 | 38.9 |
| Ecuador | 24.0 | 29.6 | 33.0 | 38.7 | 45.2 |
| Egypt | 88.2 | 89.4 | 93.1 | 103 | - |
| El Salvador | 67.7 | 69.5 | 71.6 | 73.4 | 74.1 |
| Estonia | 10.2 | 10.7 | 10.0 | 9.4 | 9.0 |
| Ethiopia | 46.8 | 54.0 | 55.0 | 56.2 | - |
| Eurozone | 91.6 | 91.9 | 89.9 | 89.0 | 86.7 |
| Finland | 56.5 | 60.2 | 63.5 | 63.0 | 61.4 |
| France | 93.4 | 94.9 | 95.6 | 96.6 | 97.0 |
| Georgia | 34.7 | 35.6 | 41.4 | 44.6 | 44.9 |
| Germany | 77.5 | 74.7 | 71.0 | 68.2 | 64.1 |
| Ghana | 56.8 | 70.2 | 72.2 | 73.1 | - |
| Greece | 177 | 179 | 177 | 181 | 179 |
| Guatemala | 24.6 | 24.7 | 24.3 | 24.2 | 23.9 |
| Haiti | 21.5 | 26.3 | 30.2 | 33.9 | 31.1 |
| Hong Kong | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Hungary | 77.1 | 76.6 | 76.7 | 76.0 | 73.6 |
| Iceland | 84.3 | 81.8 | 67.6 | 52.7 | 40.9 |
| India | 68.5 | 67.8 | 69.6 | 68.9 | 70.2 |
| Indonesia | 22.0 | 24.3 | 27.5 | 28.9 | 30.5 |
| Iran | 10.7 | 11.8 | 41.6 | 48.9 | 40.9 |
| Iraq | 31.2 | 32.0 | 55.1 | 64.4 | - |
| Ireland | 119 | 105 | 76.9 | 72.8 | 68.0 |
| Israel | 66.0 | 65.3 | 62.6 | 60.7 | 59.1 |
| Italy | 129 | 132 | 132 | 132 | 132 |
| Jamaica | 141 | 140 | 121 | 114 | 104 |
| Japan | 232 | 236 | 231 | 236 | - |
| Jordan | 86.7 | 89.0 | 93.4 | 95.1 | 95.3 |
| Kazakhstan | 12.3 | 14.3 | 22.1 | 24.4 | 26.0 |
| Kenya | 44.5 | 45.9 | 50.2 | 53.2 | 59.0 |
| Korea | 35.4 | 37.3 | 39.5 | 40.0 | 39.8 |
| Kosovo | 8.9 | 10.5 | 12.9 | 14.0 | 15.9 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 46.2 | 52.3 | 64.9 | 58.1 | - |
| Laos | 54.3 | 58.6 | 58.1 | 58.4 | - |
| Latvia | 39.0 | 40.9 | 36.8 | 40.5 | 40.1 |
| Lebanon | 138 | 139 | 142 | 151 | 153 |
| Lithuania | 38.8 | 40.5 | 42.6 | 40.1 | 39.7 |
| Luxembourg | 23.7 | 22.7 | 22.0 | 20.8 | 23.0 |
| Macedonia | 40.3 | 45.8 | 46.6 | 48.5 | 47.6 |
| Malaysia | 53.0 | 52.7 | 54.5 | 52.7 | 50.8 |
| Malta | 68.4 | 63.8 | 58.7 | 56.2 | 50.8 |
| Mexico | 40.0 | 42.6 | 46.6 | 48.7 | 46.2 |
| Moldova | 29.6 | 36.0 | 44.8 | 42.1 | - |
| Mongolia | 49.4 | 57.1 | 62.1 | 87.6 | - |
| Montenegro | 55.2 | 59.9 | 66.2 | 64.4 | 65.1 |
| Morocco | 61.7 | 63.4 | 63.7 | 64.7 | 64.5 |
| Mozambique | 53.1 | 62.4 | 88.1 | 119 | - |
| Myanmar | 33.2 | 29.9 | 34.5 | 35.7 | 34.7 |
| Netherlands | 67.7 | 67.9 | 65.2 | 62.3 | 56.7 |
| New Zealand | 35.7 | 34.7 | 35.4 | 34.3 | 32.5 |
| Nigeria | 12.9 | 13.1 | 16.0 | 19.6 | 23.4 |
| Norway | 29.7 | 27.3 | 31.8 | 35.3 | 36.2 |
| Oman | 4.9 | 4.9 | 12.8 | 31.4 | - |
| Pakistan | 62.6 | 62.7 | 61.8 | 65.5 | 65.0 |
| Panama | 35.0 | 37.1 | 38.8 | 39.1 | 37.8 |
| Paraguay | 14.4 | 17.6 | 20.0 | 22.8 | 24.1 |
| Peru | 20.0 | 20.1 | 23.3 | 23.8 | 24.8 |
| Philippines | 49.2 | 45.4 | 44.7 | 42.1 | 42.1 |
| Poland | 55.7 | 50.3 | 51.1 | 54.2 | 50.6 |
| Portugal | 129 | 131 | 129 | 130 | 126 |
| Puerto Rico | 94.2 | 97.8 | 95.1 | 91.5 | 91.0 |
| Qatar | 30.9 | 24.9 | 34.9 | 46.5 | 54.0 |
| Romania | 37.5 | 39.1 | 37.7 | 37.4 | 35.0 |
| Russia | 10.6 | 13.0 | 12.4 | 13.3 | 12.6 |
| Saudi Arabia | 2.1 | 1.6 | 5.8 | 13.1 | 17.1 |
| Serbia | 59.6 | 70.4 | 74.7 | 71.9 | 61.5 |
| Singapore | 103 | 98.1 | 101 | 108 | 112 |
| Slovakia | 54.7 | 53.5 | 52.3 | 51.8 | 50.9 |
| Slovenia | 70.4 | 80.3 | 82.6 | 78.6 | 73.6 |
| South Africa | 44.1 | 47.0 | 49.3 | 51.6 | 53.0 |
| Spain | 95.5 | 100 | 99.4 | 99.0 | 98.3 |
| Sri Lanka | 71.8 | 72.2 | 78.5 | 79.6 | 79.4 |
| Sweden | 40.7 | 45.5 | 44.2 | 42.1 | 40.6 |
| Switzerland | 30.3 | 30.6 | 30.0 | 29.1 | 29.7 |
| Taiwan | 33.8 | 32.8 | 31.6 | 31.2 | 30.7 |
| Tajikistan | 29.1 | 27.5 | 34.3 | 41.8 | 47.8 |
| Tanzania | 30.9 | 33.8 | 37.2 | 38.0 | - |
| Thailand | 42.2 | 42.5 | 43.7 | 40.7 | 41.8 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 40.2 | 46.3 | 50.9 | 58.8 | 61.6 |
| Tunisia | 46.6 | 50.8 | 55.4 | 61.9 | 69.9 |
| Turkey | 31.3 | 28.6 | 27.5 | 28.3 | 28.3 |
| Turkmenistan | 20.0 | 16.8 | 21.8 | 24.1 | - |
| USA | 104 | 104 | 105 | 107 | 106 |
| Uganda | 27.7 | 30.8 | 33.5 | 37.2 | - |
| Ukraine | 39.9 | 69.4 | 79.1 | 80.9 | 71.8 |
| United Arab Emirates | 15.7 | 15.5 | 18.7 | 20.7 | - |
| United Kingdom | 85.6 | 87.4 | 88.2 | 88.2 | 87.7 |
| Uruguay | 57.5 | 58.6 | 58.9 | 63.6 | 64.5 |
| Uzbekistan | 7.5 | 8.8 | 9.7 | 11.2 | - |
| Venezuela | 31.3 | 28.5 | 74.7 | - | - |
| Vietnam | 51.8 | 55.0 | 57.0 | 59.8 | - |
| Yemen | 48.2 | 51.6 | 70.9 | - | - |
| Zambia | 27.1 | 36.1 | 62.3 | 60.5 | - |
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Public Debt Economic News
Egypt: Draft budget continues slow process of mending public finances, while boosting investment and maintaining social safety net
April 4, 2018
The draft FY 2019 budget approved by cabinet on 18 March aims to further reduce the budget deficit in order to trim the hefty public debt burden.
Hong Kong: Lam’s first budget reimagines Hong Kong as an innovation and technology hub, slashes taxes and returns much of FY 2017’s windfall to taxpayers
February 28, 2018
Hong Kong is in an enviable fiscal position entering FY 2018, which begins on 1 April, thanks to last fiscal year’s record-breaking surplus.
Canada: Federal budget projects narrower fiscal deficit in 2018–2019 amid solid economic outlook and new spending
February 28, 2018
Finance Minister Bill Morneau unveiled the Trudeau government’s moderately expansionary—and largely unsurprising—federal budget for 2018–2019 on 27 February, outlining a fiscal track that fell broadly in line with October’s Fall Economic Report.
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