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
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | 74.0 | 73.2 | 70.2 | 68.0 | 66.6 |
| Algeria | 8.7 | 20.5 | 27.1 | 38.1 | 46.3 |
| Angola | 57.1 | 75.7 | 69.3 | 89.0 | - |
| Argentina | 52.6 | 53.1 | 56.6 | 86.0 | 89.4 |
| Armenia | 44.1 | 51.9 | 53.7 | 51.3 | 50.0 |
| Australia | 37.7 | 40.5 | 41.1 | 41.5 | 45.0 |
| Austria | 84.9 | 82.9 | 78.3 | 74.0 | 70.4 |
| Azerbaijan | 35.0 | 50.7 | 53.2 | 48.4 | - |
| Bahrain | 60.4 | 71.8 | 79.5 | 80.7 | 83.0 |
| Bangladesh | 33.7 | 33.3 | 33.4 | 34.6 | 35.7 |
| Belarus | 46.9 | 47.2 | 47.2 | 45.4 | 44.8 |
| Belgium | 105 | 105 | 102 | 99.8 | 98.6 |
| Belize | 82.7 | 88.9 | 96.4 | 96.6 | 99.7 |
| Bolivia | 40.9 | 46.5 | 51.3 | 53.9 | 58.0 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 45.5 | 44.1 | 39.2 | 34.3 | - |
| Botswana | 23.2 | 21.3 | 18.1 | 18.9 | 18.7 |
| Brazil | 65.5 | 69.8 | 73.7 | 76.5 | 75.8 |
| Brunei | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 2.6 | - |
| Bulgaria | 26.0 | 29.3 | 25.3 | 22.3 | 20.4 |
| Cambodia | 31.2 | 29.1 | 30.0 | 28.6 | - |
| Canada | 91.2 | 91.7 | 90.5 | 89.7 | - |
| Chile | 17.3 | 21.0 | 23.6 | 25.6 | 27.9 |
| China | 15.5 | 16.1 | 16.2 | 16.3 | 17.0 |
| Colombia | 42.9 | 43.8 | 44.9 | 48.2 | 47.2 |
| Costa Rica | 41.0 | 45.1 | 48.4 | 53.2 | 58.5 |
| Croatia | 84.3 | 80.8 | 77.8 | 74.7 | 73.2 |
| Cyprus | 108 | 103 | 93.9 | 101 | 95.5 |
| Czech Republic | 40.0 | 36.8 | 34.7 | 32.6 | 30.8 |
| DR Congo | - | - | - | - | - |
| Denmark | 39.8 | 37.2 | 35.8 | 33.9 | 33.2 |
| Dominican Republic | 44.7 | 46.6 | 48.9 | 50.4 | 53.6 |
| Ecuador | 33.0 | 38.2 | 44.6 | 46.0 | 50.2 |
| Egypt | 93.1 | 103 | 108 | 97.3 | 90.2 |
| El Salvador | 70.8 | 72.6 | 73.6 | 72.7 | 73.3 |
| Estonia | 10.0 | 10.2 | 9.3 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| Ethiopia | 55.8 | 57.7 | 61.1 | 57.6 | - |
| Eurozone | 90.9 | 90.0 | 87.8 | 85.8 | 84.1 |
| Finland | 63.6 | 63.2 | 61.3 | 59.6 | 59.4 |
| France | 95.6 | 98.0 | 98.3 | 98.1 | 98.1 |
| Georgia | 36.8 | 40.3 | 39.9 | 39.9 | 41.2 |
| Germany | 72.1 | 69.2 | 65.3 | 61.9 | 59.8 |
| Ghana | 55.1 | 57.3 | 57.2 | 59.1 | - |
| Greece | 176 | 179 | 176 | 181 | 177 |
| Guatemala | 24.9 | 25.2 | 25.2 | 26.2 | 26.9 |
| Haiti | 30.3 | 33.7 | 31.0 | 33.3 | - |
| Hong Kong | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
| Hungary | 76.2 | 75.5 | 72.9 | 70.2 | 66.3 |
| Iceland | 65.0 | 51.2 | 43.2 | 37.4 | - |
| India | 68.8 | 68.7 | 69.4 | 69.4 | 71.9 |
| Indonesia | 27.0 | 28.0 | 29.4 | 30.1 | 30.4 |
| Iran | 38.4 | 47.5 | 39.5 | 31.8 | - |
| Iraq | 56.9 | 64.3 | 58.9 | 49.3 | - |
| Ireland | 76.7 | 73.8 | 67.7 | 63.5 | 58.8 |
| Israel | 63.8 | 61.8 | 59.9 | 60.4 | 59.6 |
| Italy | 135 | 135 | 134 | 135 | 135 |
| Jamaica | 122 | 114 | 101 | 94.4 | - |
| Japan | 231 | 236 | 234 | 236 | 237 |
| Jordan | 92.4 | 93.8 | 94.3 | 94.4 | 96.6 |
| Kazakhstan | 22.8 | 28.2 | 26.3 | 26.0 | 25.2 |
| Kenya | 50.2 | 54.5 | 56.0 | 59.3 | 62.1 |
| Korea | 37.3 | 37.6 | 36.7 | 37.9 | 40.7 |
| Kosovo | 13.1 | 14.4 | 16.2 | 16.9 | 17.5 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 67.1 | 59.1 | 58.9 | 54.8 | 54.1 |
| Laos | 53.1 | 54.2 | 55.8 | 57.4 | 60.6 |
| Latvia | 37.3 | 40.9 | 39.3 | 37.2 | 36.9 |
| Lebanon | 141 | 146 | 150 | 155 | 171 |
| Lithuania | 42.6 | 39.7 | 39.1 | 33.8 | 36.3 |
| Luxembourg | 22.0 | 20.1 | 22.3 | 21.0 | 22.1 |
| Malaysia | 53.6 | 51.9 | 50.1 | 51.2 | 52.5 |
| Malta | 58.0 | 55.5 | 50.3 | 45.6 | 43.1 |
| Mexico | 45.4 | 49.4 | 46.9 | 46.8 | 47.1 |
| Moldova | 37.8 | 35.6 | 31.8 | 29.7 | 27.3 |
| Mongolia | 62.1 | 87.6 | 84.6 | 73.3 | - |
| Montenegro | 66.2 | 64.4 | 64.2 | 70.1 | 77.2 |
| Morocco | 63.7 | 64.9 | 65.1 | 65.2 | 66.2 |
| Mozambique | 94.2 | 130 | 101 | 99.8 | - |
| Myanmar | 35.8 | 37.8 | 38.3 | 36.3 | 38.2 |
| Netherlands | 64.6 | 61.9 | 56.9 | 52.4 | 48.6 |
| New Zealand | 35.1 | 33.7 | 31.8 | 30.4 | 28.1 |
| Nigeria | 20.3 | 23.4 | 25.3 | 27.2 | - |
| North Macedonia | 38.1 | 39.9 | 39.4 | 40.6 | 40.2 |
| Norway | 33.4 | 37.2 | 37.8 | 39.4 | 40.6 |
| Oman | 15.5 | 32.7 | 46.4 | 53.5 | 62.6 |
| Pakistan | 61.8 | 65.5 | 65.1 | 69.9 | 83.7 |
| Panama | 37.4 | 37.3 | 37.6 | 39.4 | 46.4 |
| Paraguay | 15.1 | 17.3 | 18.2 | 19.4 | 21.3 |
| Peru | 23.3 | 23.9 | 24.9 | 25.8 | 26.8 |
| Philippines | 42.7 | 40.2 | 40.2 | 39.9 | 39.6 |
| Poland | 51.3 | 54.3 | 50.6 | 48.8 | 46.0 |
| Portugal | 131 | 132 | 126 | 122 | 118 |
| Puerto Rico | 95.1 | 91.8 | 92.9 | - | - |
| Qatar | 35.5 | 46.7 | 49.8 | 44.6 | 52.3 |
| Romania | 37.8 | 37.3 | 35.1 | 34.7 | 35.2 |
| Russia | 13.5 | 13.2 | 14.6 | 14.9 | 15.3 |
| Saudi Arabia | 5.8 | 13.1 | 17.2 | 19.0 | 22.8 |
| Serbia | 69.5 | 67.6 | 59.3 | 53.7 | 52.0 |
| Singapore | 99.5 | 105 | 106 | 109 | 126 |
| Slovakia | 51.9 | 52.0 | 51.3 | 49.4 | 48.0 |
| Slovenia | 82.6 | 78.7 | 74.1 | 70.4 | 66.1 |
| South Africa | 49.3 | 51.5 | 53.0 | 56.7 | 62.2 |
| Spain | 99.3 | 99.2 | 98.6 | 97.6 | 95.5 |
| Sri Lanka | 77.7 | 79.0 | 77.9 | 83.7 | 86.8 |
| Sweden | 43.9 | 42.2 | 40.8 | 38.8 | 35.1 |
| Switzerland | 30.0 | 28.9 | 29.3 | - | - |
| Taiwan | 36.6 | 36.2 | 35.5 | 35.1 | - |
| Tajikistan | 34.7 | 42.1 | 50.4 | 47.9 | 44.6 |
| Tanzania | 37.1 | 37.0 | 37.7 | 38.6 | - |
| Thailand | 43.7 | 41.0 | 41.1 | 41.8 | 41.2 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 53.9 | 58.3 | 61.8 | 60.1 | 63.2 |
| Tunisia | 55.4 | 62.4 | 70.2 | 77.9 | 72.2 |
| Turkey | 27.5 | 28.2 | 28.2 | 30.4 | 33.1 |
| Turkmenistan | 21.8 | 24.1 | 28.8 | 29.1 | - |
| USA | 104 | 107 | 105 | 107 | 108 |
| Uganda | 34.3 | 37.1 | 39.7 | 41.4 | - |
| Ukraine | 79.1 | 80.9 | 71.8 | 60.9 | 50.3 |
| United Arab Emirates | 18.7 | 20.2 | 20.0 | 19.1 | - |
| United Kingdom | 86.9 | 86.8 | 86.2 | 85.7 | 85.4 |
| Uruguay | 62.9 | 61.4 | 60.7 | 63.5 | 66.3 |
| Uzbekistan | 7.1 | 8.6 | 20.2 | 20.4 | 29.3 |
| Venezuela | 74.7 | 92.3 | 120 | - | - |
| Vietnam | 61.0 | 63.7 | 61.4 | 58.4 | - |
| Yemen | 65.5 | 79.6 | 84.3 | 64.8 | - |
| Zambia | 62.3 | 60.7 | 61.9 | 78.1 | - |
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Public Debt Economic News
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Vietnam: National Assembly approves constrained 2021 budget to rein in deficit
November 12, 2020
On 12 November, the National Assembly approved the 2021 state budget.
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Malaysia: Government announces largest budget in history to address Covid-19 impact and spur economic growth
November 6, 2020
On 6 November, Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz presented the government’s 2021 draft budget.
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South Africa: Government tables medium-term budget; sticks to debt stabilization plan but raises reliance on public wage cuts
October 28, 2020
On 28 October, the government unveiled the FY 2020 medium-term budget policy statement to parliament, reaffirming its commitment to fiscal consolidation—as established in June’s supplementary budget—and to bringing back debt stocks to a sustainable level.
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