Visualizing Government Debt-to-GDP Around the World

Niccolo Conte
2025-04-29 08:10:00
www.visualcapitalist.com

Visualized: Government Debt-to-GDP Around the World

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In 2025, public debt remains a pressing issue for many countries, with governments around the world are navigating fiscal challenges in the wake of the pandemic, geopolitical instability, and economic slowdowns.

This infographic ranks countries by their debt-to-GDP ratio, a key metric used to assess how much debt a government holds relative to its economic output. The data comes from the IMF’s World Economic Outlook, April 2025 edition.

Countries With the Highest Debt-to-GDP Ratios

Advanced economies are generally grappling with higher debt burdens than others, with an average debt-to-GDP ratio of 110%, compared to around 74% for emerging and developing economies.

The table below highlights the debt-to-GDP ratios for 186 countries in 2025:

Rank	Country	General government gross debt (% of GDP)
#1	Sudan	252%
#2	Japan	235%
#3	Singapore	175%
#4	Greece	142%
#5	Bahrain	141%
#6	Maldives	141%
#7	Italy	137%
#8	United States	123%
#9	France	116%
#10	Canada	113%
#11	Senegal	111%
#12	Ukraine	110%
#13	Cabo Verde	110%
#14	Belgium	106%
#15	United Kingdom	104%
#16	Bhutan	103%
#17	Mozambique	101%
#18	Spain	101%
#19	Dominica	98%
#20	Barbados	98%
#21	China, People’s Republic of	96%
#22	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	94%
#23	Jordan	93%
#24	Bolivia	92%
#25	Brazil	92%
#26	Portugal	92%
#27	Congo	91%
#28	Lao P.D.R.	91%
#29	El Salvador	88%
#30	Egypt	87%
#31	Suriname	87%
#32	Finland	86%
#33	European Union	84%
#34	Mauritius	83%
#35	Austria	83%
#36	Tunisia	83%
#37	India	80%
#38	South Africa	80%
#39	Bahamas, The	79%
#40	Guinea-Bissau	79%
#41	Gabon	79%
#42	Fiji	78%
#43	Rwanda	78%
#44	Pakistan	74%
#45	Saint Lucia	74%
#46	Hungary	74%
#47	Argentina	73%
#48	Malawi	73%
#49	Grenada	71%
#50	Yemen	71%
#51	Aruba	71%
#52	Malaysia	70%
#53	Togo	70%
#54	Israel	69%
#55	Morocco	69%
#56	Uruguay	69%
#57	Kenya	68%
#58	Slovenia	68%
#59	Trinidad and Tobago	68%
#60	Gambia, The	68%
#61	Ghana	66%
#62	Germany	65%
#63	Palau	65%
#64	Jamaica	65%
#65	Angola	65%
#66	Thailand	65%
#67	San Marino	64%
#68	Namibia	64%
#69	Antigua and Barbuda	63%
#70	South Sudan	63%
#71	Myanmar	63%
#72	Romania	62%
#73	Mexico	61%
#74	Poland	61%
#75	Cyprus	60%
#76	Montenegro	60%
#77	Saint Kitts and Nevis	60%
#78	Slovak Republic	60%
#79	Colombia	60%
#80	Costa Rica	60%
#81	Lesotho	60%
#82	Belize	60%
#83	Seychelles	59%
#84	Zimbabwe	59%
#85	Central African Republic	58%
#86	Dominican Republic	58%
#87	Côte d’Ivoire	58%
#88	Panama	58%
#89	Philippines	58%
#90	Algeria	58%
#91	Liberia	57%
#92	Croatia	56%
#93	New Zealand	55%
#94	Armenia	55%
#95	Korea, Republic of	55%
#96	Albania	54%
#97	Uganda	54%
#98	Iceland	53%
#99	North Macedonia	53%
#100	Benin	53%
#101	Nigeria	53%
#102	Papua New Guinea	52%
#103	Mali	52%
#104	Madagascar	51%
#105	Australia	51%
#106	Burkina Faso	50%
#107	Iraq	50%
#108	Nepal	49%
#109	Malta	49%
#110	Vanuatu	49%
#111	Latvia	48%
#112	Tanzania	47%
#113	Mauritania	46%
#114	Serbia	44%
#115	Sierra Leone	44%
#116	Czech Republic	44%
#117	Tonga	44%
#118	Paraguay	44%
#119	Niger	43%
#120	Netherlands	43%
#121	Botswana	43%
#122	Chile	43%
#123	Honduras	43%
#124	Belarus	43%
#125	Norway	43%
#126	Mongolia	43%
#127	Ethiopia	42%
#128	Lithuania	42%
#129	Indonesia	41%
#130	Qatar	41%
#131	Bangladesh	40%
#132	Cameroon	40%
#133	Iran	40%
#134	Guinea	40%
#135	Kyrgyz Republic	39%
#136	Nicaragua	38%
#137	Eswatini	38%
#138	São Tomé and Príncipe	37%
#139	Switzerland	37%
#140	Ireland	37%
#141	Moldova	36%
#142	Georgia	36%
#143	Oman	35%
#144	Burundi	35%
#145	Equatorial Guinea	35%
#146	Saudi Arabia	35%
#147	Chad	34%
#148	Bosnia and Herzegovina	34%
#149	Peru	34%
#150	Sweden	34%
#151	Vietnam	34%
#152	Uzbekistan	33%
#153	United Arab Emirates	33%
#154	Comoros	33%
#155	Andorra	32%
#156	Djibouti	31%
#157	Cambodia	29%
#158	Tajikistan	28%
#159	Bulgaria	28%
#160	Guyana	28%
#161	Guatemala	27%
#162	Türkiye	27%
#163	Denmark	27%
#164	Luxembourg	26%
#165	Estonia	25%
#166	Kazakhstan	25%
#167	Taiwan	24%
#168	Solomon Islands	24%
#169	Samoa	23%
#170	Russian Federation	21%
#171	Azerbaijan	21%
#172	Puerto Rico	19%
#173	Kosovo	19%
#174	DRC	16%
#175	Marshall Islands	15%
#176	Nauru	15%
#177	Timor-Leste	14%
#178	Haiti	12%
#179	Hong Kong SAR	12%
#180	Micronesia	9%
#181	Kiribati	9%
#182	Kuwait	7%
#183	Turkmenistan	5%
#184	Tuvalu	3%
#185	Brunei Darussalam	2%
#186	Macao SAR	0%

Sudan tops the list with public debt at 252% of GDP, driven by prolonged conflict and severe economic challenges. The African country unseated Japan as the country with the highest debt-to-GDP ratio in 2023, the same year in which the Sudan civil war broke out.

Japan has the highest debt burden among developed countries at 235% of GDP, with persistent fiscal deficits and an aging population contributing to its rising debt. Along with Japan, Singapore (175%), Bahrain (141%), and Italy (137%) are among the most-indebted developed nations.

The U.S. also has a high debt-to-GDP ratio of 123%, reflecting years of deficit spending and large-scale stimulus policies in response to recent economic crises like the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Germany has the lowest debt burden among G7 nations at 65% of GDP, and this is projected to fall to 58% by 2029.

The Impact of High Debt Levels

High public debt levels are typically a result of various factors, including aggressive monetary policies, quantitative easing, slow or negative economic growth, and public spending needs.

Typically, debt-to-GDP ratios balloon following periods of recessions or economic shocks, such as the 2008 Financial Crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, when governments use fiscal stimulus to improve economic health.

While debt can be helpful in dealing with economic downturns, persistent and excessive debt carries long-term risks. These include slower GDP growth, currency depreciation, and in extreme cases, sovereign defaults that require IMF-led bailouts.

However, some countries like Japan and the U.S. issue debt in their own currencies and have flexibility in managing debt loads by printing more money. Yet, even these countries face rising interest costs as debt levels increase.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

What does the global economic growth landscape look like in 2025? Find out in this infographic Changing GDP Growth Forecasts for 2025, on the Voronoi app.

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