Public debt, sometimes also referred to as government debt, represents the total outstanding debt (bonds and other securities) of a country’s 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.
Public Debt (% of GDP) Data
2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Afghanistan | 6.4 | 7.8 | 11.5 | 10.9 | - |
Albania | 65.0 | 73.9 | 74.1 | 64.1 | 57.5 |
Algeria | 40.9 | 46.0 | 55.1 | 48.1 | 48.6 |
Andorra | 35.4 | 46.4 | 48.6 | 38.9 | 36.4 |
Angola | 101.4 | 119.1 | 74.3 | 56.1 | 73.7 |
Antigua and Barbuda | 81.6 | 100.5 | 93.0 | 82.0 | 76.8 |
Argentina | 89.8 | 103.9 | 80.6 | 85.2 | - |
Armenia | 50.1 | 63.5 | 60.2 | 46.7 | 48.4 |
Aruba | 71.1 | 112.3 | 101.8 | 90.1 | 78.7 |
Australia | 46.7 | 57.0 | 55.5 | 50.1 | 49.4 |
Austria | 71.0 | 83.2 | 82.4 | 78.4 | 78.6 |
Azerbaijan | 17.7 | 21.3 | 26.3 | 17.3 | - |
Bahamas, The | 61.4 | 74.6 | 99.7 | 88.6 | 81.5 |
Bahrain | 97.1 | 125.7 | 122.3 | 111.1 | 123.3 |
Bangladesh | 32.0 | 34.5 | 35.6 | 37.9 | 39.3 |
Barbados | 108 | 138 | 122 | 113 | 111 |
Belarus | 41.0 | 47.5 | 41.2 | 41.3 | - |
Belgium | 97.5 | 111.2 | 108.4 | 102.6 | 103.1 |
Belize | 78.5 | 103.0 | 82.3 | 67.1 | - |
Benin | 41.2 | 46.1 | 50.3 | 54.2 | 54.5 |
Bhutan | 100 | 115 | 123 | 117 | 116 |
Bolivia | 58.6 | 78.0 | 81.4 | 80.1 | - |
Bosnia-Herz. | 32.1 | 36.0 | 34.4 | 29.6 | - |
Botswana | 16.5 | 18.7 | 18.7 | 18.1 | 20.1 |
Brazil | 74.4 | 86.9 | 77.3 | 71.7 | 74.4 |
Brunei | 2.6 | 2.9 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 2.3 |
Bulgaria | 20.1 | 24.4 | 23.8 | 22.5 | 22.9 |
Burkina Faso | 41.9 | 43.8 | 55.6 | 58.4 | 55.9 |
Burundi | 60.0 | 66.0 | 66.6 | 68.4 | 62.4 |
Cabo Verde | 109 | 144 | 149 | 124 | - |
Cambodia | 28.2 | 34.4 | 35.9 | 36.5 | - |
Cameroon | 41.6 | 44.9 | 47.2 | 45.6 | - |
Canada | 96.7 | 128.8 | 119.0 | 102.0 | 103.7 |
CdI | 37.5 | 46.3 | 50.9 | 56.8 | - |
Central African Republic | 48.2 | 44.4 | 48.5 | 51.0 | - |
Chad | 38.0 | 41.2 | 42.4 | 34.5 | - |
Chile | 28.6 | 32.3 | 36.5 | 37.5 | 38.9 |
China | 60.4 | 70.2 | 71.9 | 77.4 | 84.4 |
Colombia | 50.3 | 65.0 | 63.0 | 60.8 | 56.7 |
Comoros | 21.2 | 24.3 | 26.3 | 28.1 | - |
Congo | 14.8 | 16.2 | 15.9 | 14.3 | - |
Costa Rica | 56.4 | 66.9 | 67.6 | 63.0 | 61.1 |
Croatia | 70.9 | 86.5 | 78.2 | 68.5 | 61.8 |
Cyprus | 92.3 | 113.6 | 96.5 | 81.0 | 73.6 |
Czech Republic | 29.6 | 36.9 | 40.7 | 42.5 | 42.4 |
Denmark | 38.3 | 46.3 | 40.5 | 34.1 | 33.6 |
Djibouti | 41.1 | 41.5 | 40.4 | 36.6 | 34.6 |
Dominica | 97.7 | 112.5 | 108.5 | 103.6 | 96.5 |
Dominican Republic | 53.6 | 71.5 | 63.2 | 59.5 | 60.0 |
DR Congo | 14.8 | 16.2 | 15.9 | 14.3 | - |
Ecuador | 53.0 | 63.6 | 56.4 | 53.5 | 51.4 |
Egypt | 80.1 | 86.2 | 89.9 | 88.5 | 95.9 |
El Salvador | 73.7 | 90.8 | 83.9 | 79.2 | 59.1 |
Equatorial Guinea | 43.2 | 49.4 | 42.3 | 30.2 | 37.4 |
Eritrea | 260 | - | - | - | - |
Estonia | 9.0 | 19.1 | 18.4 | 19.1 | 20.2 |
Ethiopia | 53.7 | 53.8 | 46.9 | 38.7 | - |
Euro Area | 83.6 | 96.5 | 93.8 | 89.5 | 87.4 |
Fiji | 49.0 | 63.6 | 83.3 | 91.2 | 83.3 |
Finland | 65.3 | 75.4 | 73.2 | 74.0 | 77.1 |
France | 98.1 | 114.8 | 112.7 | 111.2 | 109.9 |
Gabon | 59.8 | 78.2 | 68.4 | 65.6 | - |
Gambia, The | 83.0 | 85.9 | 83.1 | 82.9 | 75.2 |
Georgia | 40.0 | 59.6 | 49.1 | 39.2 | 39.2 |
Germany | 58.7 | 68.0 | 68.1 | 65.0 | 62.9 |
Ghana | 58.3 | 72.3 | 79.2 | 92.7 | 82.9 |
Greece | 183 | 209 | 197 | 177 | 164 |
Grenada | 62.7 | 89.5 | 86.6 | 78.8 | - |
Guatemala | 26.5 | 31.4 | 30.6 | 28.8 | 27.2 |
Guinea | 38.6 | 47.8 | 42.7 | 40.2 | 40.8 |
Guinea-Bissau | 65.3 | 77.7 | 79.0 | 80.8 | - |
Guyana | 43.6 | 51.1 | 43.2 | 26.5 | 26.4 |
Haiti | 26.5 | 22.3 | 28.9 | 29.5 | 28.5 |
Honduras | 43.5 | 53.7 | 51.0 | 49.8 | 45.0 |
Hong Kong | 0.3 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 4.3 | 6.3 |
Hungary | 65.0 | 78.7 | 76.2 | 73.8 | 73.4 |
Iceland | 66.6 | 77.8 | 75.6 | 68.7 | - |
India | 75.0 | 88.4 | 83.5 | 81.7 | 82.7 |
Indonesia | 30.6 | 39.7 | 41.1 | 40.1 | 39.6 |
Iran | 46.6 | 48.3 | 42.4 | 36.9 | - |
Iraq | 43.4 | 76.5 | 57.6 | 40.0 | 44.5 |
Ireland | 55.9 | 57.0 | 52.6 | 43.1 | 43.3 |
Israel | 58.7 | 70.8 | 67.1 | 59.7 | 60.2 |
Italy | 134 | 154 | 146 | 138 | 135 |
Jamaica | 94.3 | 109.7 | 94.2 | 77.0 | 73.3 |
Japan | 236 | 258 | 254 | 256 | 250 |
Jordan | 77.2 | 87.0 | 90.9 | 89.4 | - |
Kazakhstan | 19.9 | 26.4 | 25.1 | 23.5 | 22.8 |
Kenya | 59.1 | 68.0 | 68.2 | 67.8 | 73.1 |
Kiribati | 19.0 | 17.2 | 14.1 | 13.3 | - |
Korea | 35.4 | 41.1 | 43.7 | 45.9 | 46.9 |
Kosovo | 17.6 | 22.4 | 21.5 | 20.0 | 17.5 |
Kuwait | 11.6 | 11.7 | 8.7 | 2.9 | - |
Kyrgyzstan | 48.8 | 63.6 | 56.2 | 46.8 | 44.7 |
Laos | 69.1 | 76.0 | 92.9 | 130.7 | 115.9 |
Latvia | 37.9 | 44.0 | 45.9 | 44.4 | 45.0 |
Lebanon | 172 | 149 | 358 | - | - |
Lesotho | 58.2 | 54.7 | 58.4 | 64.5 | 61.5 |
Liberia | 48.6 | 58.7 | 53.3 | 54.0 | 58.8 |
Lithuania | 35.6 | 45.9 | 43.3 | 38.1 | 37.3 |
Luxembourg | 22.3 | 24.5 | 24.4 | 24.6 | 25.5 |
Madagascar | 41.3 | 51.9 | 51.9 | 53.9 | - |
Malawi | 41.2 | 53.9 | 66.5 | 76.7 | 91.3 |
Malaysia | 52.4 | 62.0 | 63.3 | 60.2 | 64.3 |
Maldives | 77.2 | 155.7 | 123.4 | 120.0 | - |
Mali | 40.7 | 46.9 | 50.3 | 53.1 | - |
Malta | 39.2 | 48.7 | 49.6 | 49.4 | 47.4 |
Marshall Islands | 25.1 | 21.7 | 20.1 | 19.8 | - |
Mauritania | 57.7 | 56.5 | 54.5 | 50.5 | 48.2 |
Mauritius | 81.1 | 91.9 | 85.9 | 81.2 | 78.6 |
Mexico | 45.5 | 51.7 | 50.5 | 48.3 | 47.5 |
Micronesia, Federated States of | 19.8 | 21.5 | 17.0 | - | - |
Moldova | 28.8 | 36.6 | 33.6 | 34.9 | 35.3 |
Mongolia | 66.8 | 83.4 | 67.7 | 64.5 | 46.8 |
Montenegro | 78.8 | 107.3 | 85.6 | 70.6 | 61.5 |
Morocco | 60.3 | 72.2 | 69.4 | 71.5 | - |
Mozambique | 98.3 | 120.0 | 104.3 | 100.3 | 93.9 |
Myanmar | 38.8 | 40.6 | 61.3 | 62.4 | 59.7 |
Namibia | 57.6 | 64.3 | 69.6 | 70.0 | 66.1 |
Nauru | 59.6 | 56.3 | 20.5 | 21.7 | - |
Nepal | 34.0 | 43.3 | 43.3 | 42.7 | 47.1 |
Netherlands | 47.6 | 53.3 | 50.4 | 48.3 | 45.1 |
New Zealand | 31.9 | 43.3 | 47.5 | 47.1 | 45.8 |
Nicaragua | 57.6 | 65.4 | 65.9 | 61.1 | 56.8 |
Niger | 39.8 | 45.0 | 51.3 | 50.6 | 56.6 |
Nigeria | 29.2 | 34.5 | 35.7 | 39.7 | 46.4 |
North Macedonia | 40.5 | 50.8 | 51.4 | 50.5 | 53.1 |
Norway | 39.9 | 45.2 | 41.3 | 36.5 | 44.3 |
Oman | 52.5 | 67.9 | 61.9 | 40.9 | 36.5 |
Pakistan | 77.5 | 79.6 | 73.5 | 76.2 | 77.3 |
Palau | 85.2 | - | - | - | - |
Panama | 44.5 | 64.8 | 60.1 | 58.0 | 56.4 |
Papua New Guinea | 40.6 | 48.7 | 52.6 | 48.3 | - |
Paraguay | 25.8 | 36.9 | 37.5 | 40.5 | 41.2 |
Peru | 26.5 | 34.5 | 35.8 | 33.9 | 32.9 |
Philippines | 39.6 | 54.6 | 60.4 | 60.9 | 60.1 |
Poland | 45.7 | 57.2 | 53.6 | 49.2 | 49.6 |
Portugal | 116.1 | 134.1 | 123.9 | 111.2 | 97.9 |
Puerto Rico | 48.8 | 50.2 | 48.9 | 16.7 | 16.7 |
Qatar | 62.1 | 72.6 | 58.4 | 42.6 | 43.3 |
Romania | 35.0 | 46.6 | 48.3 | 47.9 | 48.9 |
Russia | 13.7 | 19.2 | 16.4 | 18.5 | 19.5 |
Rwanda | 49.9 | 65.6 | 66.6 | 60.6 | 64.5 |
Saint Kitts and Nevis | 54.3 | 68.0 | 69.1 | 60.2 | - |
Saint Lucia | 62.1 | 95.0 | 81.9 | 73.4 | 74.5 |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 68.1 | 79.9 | 88.3 | 84.7 | 87.1 |
Samoa | 44.3 | 43.2 | 46.3 | 43.7 | 33.4 |
San Marino | 57.4 | 71.6 | 81.3 | 74.5 | - |
Sao Tome and Principe | 76.4 | 70.8 | 60.1 | 55.9 | 50.7 |
Saudi Arabia | 21.6 | 31.0 | 28.6 | 23.9 | 26.2 |
Senegal | 63.6 | 69.2 | 73.2 | 75.0 | - |
Serbia | 51.9 | 57.0 | 56.5 | 55.1 | 52.0 |
Seychelles | 48.9 | 77.4 | 71.2 | 58.9 | 56.5 |
Sierra Leone | 45.3 | 46.4 | 47.1 | 54.0 | 49.2 |
Singapore | 125 | 146 | 133 | 157 | 171 |
Slovakia | 48.0 | 58.4 | 60.2 | 57.7 | 56.1 |
Slovenia | 66.0 | 80.2 | 74.8 | 72.7 | 68.4 |
Solomon Islands | 7.8 | 11.5 | 16.1 | 16.0 | - |
South Africa | 56.1 | 68.9 | 68.7 | 70.8 | 73.4 |
South Sudan | 42.8 | 49.3 | 52.2 | 39.9 | 54.8 |
Spain | 97.7 | 119.3 | 115.7 | 109.5 | 105.1 |
Sri Lanka | 81.9 | 96.6 | 100.0 | 114.2 | 103.9 |
Sudan | 200 | 275 | 188 | 128 | - |
Suriname | 84.0 | 146.4 | 115.8 | 116.9 | - |
Swaziland | 31.4 | 38.7 | 37.0 | 40.7 | 38.5 |
Sweden | 35.7 | 40.1 | 36.7 | 33.6 | 31.5 |
Switzerland | 25.5 | 28.2 | 27.0 | 25.9 | - |
Taiwan | 32.7 | 32.1 | 30.2 | 29.7 | 29.1 |
Tajikistan | 43.5 | 49.8 | 42.5 | 34.6 | - |
Tanzania | 40.4 | 41.3 | 43.4 | 44.9 | 46.9 |
Thailand | 41.2 | 52.0 | 59.6 | 60.9 | 61.8 |
Timor-Leste | 9.4 | 10.1 | 6.5 | 7.9 | 10.9 |
Togo | 54.9 | 62.2 | 64.9 | 67.4 | 68.0 |
Tonga | 41.3 | 43.6 | 47.5 | 47.5 | - |
Trinidad and Tobago | 45.3 | 60.6 | 60.0 | 50.7 | 56.1 |
Tunisia | 67.8 | 77.9 | 79.7 | 83.0 | 83.9 |
Turkey | 32.4 | 39.4 | 40.4 | 30.8 | 29.3 |
Turkmenistan | 15.3 | 13.1 | 10.1 | 5.2 | - |
Tuvalu | 11.5 | 12.1 | 11.1 | 9.4 | 7.5 |
UAE | 26.8 | 41.1 | 35.9 | 30.0 | - |
Uganda | 37.5 | 46.3 | 50.4 | 50.0 | 51.0 |
Ukraine | 50.2 | 60.4 | 49.0 | 77.8 | 84.4 |
United Kingdom | 85.7 | 105.8 | 105.1 | 99.6 | 100.0 |
United States | 108 | 130 | 125 | 121 | 123 |
Uruguay | 59.9 | 74.4 | 69.9 | 68.2 | 69.1 |
Uzbekistan | 25.4 | 33.7 | 31.7 | 30.5 | 32.5 |
Vanuatu | 45.1 | 48.0 | 47.5 | 45.8 | - |
Venezuela | 205 | 328 | 251 | 158 | - |
Vietnam | 41.0 | 41.3 | 39.2 | 34.7 | - |
West Bank and Gaza | 46.1 | 61.2 | 64.3 | 59.8 | - |
Yemen | 91.5 | 87.0 | 75.9 | 65.8 | 81.2 |
Zambia | 94.4 | 140.0 | 111.0 | 99.5 | - |
Zimbabwe | 82.3 | 84.5 | 58.2 | 102.1 | 96.7 |