Top 100 Countries by Budget Deficit (% of GDP), 2025
Budget Deficit by Country 2025: Top 100 Latest IMF Comparable Snapshot
This budget deficit by country 2025 ranking uses the IMF measure of general government net lending / borrowing as a share of GDP, shown as a budget deficit where the balance is negative. The page uses the latest IMF comparable snapshot: a broad country reference set centered mainly on 2024 actual balances. It is not a final 2025 outturn table.
Answer: in the budget deficit by country 2025 ranking, Timor-Leste has the deepest deficit in the latest IMF comparable snapshot, at −41.13% of GDP. Kiribati ranks second at −22.39%, followed by Ukraine, Maldives and Bolivia. Values are shown as percent of GDP; negative values mean net borrowing.
Use the ratio as an entry point for fiscal analysis, not as a standalone solvency measure. A deficit of −8% of GDP does not automatically mean imminent crisis. Risk depends on debt stock, domestic funding depth, growth, reserve buffers, policy credibility, refinancing pressure, revenue strength, conflict exposure and external balance.
Budget deficit by country 2025: Top 10 deepest deficits
The top of the table includes war finance, microstate volatility, post-crisis adjustment, commodity dependence and structurally weak budget balances.
Timor-Leste sits far above the rest of the ranking, with public spending far ahead of the domestic non-oil revenue base.
Kiribati shows how a very small revenue base can produce large fiscal swings when public expenditure, external grants and capital programs do not move in step.
Ukraine is a wartime case, with defense, resilience and emergency support dominating the fiscal picture.
The Maldives combines heavy infrastructure and debt-service pressure with a tourism-led economy that can be sensitive to shocks.
Bolivia points to a structural deficit pattern rather than a one-off crisis spike.
Zimbabwe combines macro instability, limited policy credibility and a weak fiscal base, which can make a large deficit harder to finance.
Sri Lanka is still carrying the legacy of a severe macro crisis, so the deficit should be read alongside debt restructuring and adjustment.
Egypt’s deficit reflects primary spending, interest costs and refinancing pressure.
In a small island economy, reconstruction, infrastructure or disaster-related spending can lift the deficit sharply because the GDP denominator is modest and revenues are narrow.
Brunei shows that resource-backed economies can run sizable deficits when expenditure commitments stay high relative to cyclical revenues.
Chart 1. Budget deficit by country 2025: Top 20 by % of GDP
The chart uses absolute deficit size, so the longest bar marks the deepest financing gap.
Budget Deficit by Country 2025: Top 100 Latest IMF Snapshot Table
The table lists the 100 deepest negative general-government fiscal balances in the latest IMF comparable country snapshot, shown as percent of GDP.
| Rank | Country | Budget deficit | Interpretive context |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Timor-Leste | −41.13% | Resource fund drawdown |
| 2 | Kiribati | −22.39% | Small-island volatility |
| 3 | Ukraine | −18.74% | War and emergency finance |
| 4 | Maldives | −17.88% | Tourism and debt pressure |
| 5 | Bolivia | −10.44% | Structural budget strain |
| 6 | Zimbabwe | −10.40% | Macro instability |
| 7 | Sri Lanka | −10.22% | Post-crisis adjustment |
| 8 | Egypt | −10.14% | Interest and financing burden |
| 9 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | −10.04% | Small-island capital cycle |
| 10 | Brunei | −9.92% | Commodity-revenue cycle |
| 11 | Algeria | −9.28% | Commodity-revenue cycle |
| 12 | Israel | −9.04% | Security and emergency spending |
| 13 | Malawi | −8.03% | Low-income fiscal stress |
| 14 | Romania | −7.79% | EU fiscal slippage |
| 15 | Syria | −7.79% | Conflict-related distortion |
| 16 | India | −7.78% | Large-economy fiscal gap |
| 17 | Bahrain | −7.65% | Commodity-revenue cycle |
| 18 | United States | −7.63% | Large-economy fiscal gap |
| 19 | Jordan | −7.55% | Structural budget strain |
| 20 | Senegal | −7.51% | Investment and financing pressure |
| 21 | China | −7.43% | Large-economy fiscal gap |
| 22 | Burundi | −7.38% | Low-income fiscal stress |
| 23 | Rwanda | −7.28% | Investment-led deficit |
| 24 | Brazil | −6.93% | Large-economy fiscal gap |
| 25 | Pakistan | −6.75% | Debt and financing pressure |
| 26 | Trinidad and Tobago | −6.72% | Commodity-revenue cycle |
| 27 | Vanuatu | −6.72% | Small-island volatility |
| 28 | Guyana | −6.23% | Fast-growth transition |
| 29 | South Africa | −6.23% | Structural budget strain |
| 30 | Botswana | −6.12% | Commodity-revenue cycle |
| 31 | Zambia | −6.10% | Debt restructuring pressure |
| 32 | Japan | −6.09% | Mature-economy deficit |
| 33 | Tuvalu | −6.04% | Small-island volatility |
| 34 | France | −5.96% | Mature-economy deficit |
| 35 | Tunisia | −5.95% | Debt and financing pressure |
| 36 | Mexico | −5.90% | Large-economy fiscal gap |
| 37 | Slovakia | −5.89% | European fiscal pressure |
| 38 | Myanmar | −5.79% | Conflict and instability |
| 39 | Burkina Faso | −5.69% | Security spending pressure |
| 40 | Poland | −5.66% | European fiscal pressure |
| 41 | Turkey | −5.19% | Macro and policy strain |
| 42 | Kenya | −5.04% | Investment and financing pressure |
| 43 | Moldova | −5.04% | Security and external shock |
| 44 | Iraq | −5.01% | Commodity-revenue cycle |
| 45 | North Macedonia | −4.98% | European fiscal pressure |
| 46 | Hungary | −4.95% | European fiscal pressure |
| 47 | Uganda | −4.93% | Investment-led deficit |
| 48 | Togo | −4.88% | Investment and financing pressure |
| 49 | Libya | −4.78% | Conflict-related distortion |
| 50 | Armenia | −4.75% | Regional security pressure |
| 51 | Ghana | −4.72% | Debt adjustment pressure |
| 52 | Nepal | −4.69% | Low-revenue budget gap |
| 53 | Belgium | −4.66% | Mature-economy deficit |
| 54 | Bangladesh | −4.64% | Public investment pressure |
| 55 | Bhutan | −4.61% | Hydropower investment cycle |
| 56 | Nigeria | −4.55% | Revenue weakness |
| 57 | El Salvador | −4.48% | Debt and financing pressure |
| 58 | Djibouti | −4.47% | Debt and logistics buildout |
| 59 | Hong Kong | −4.46% | Cyclical revenue weakness |
| 60 | Colombia | −4.39% | Structural budget strain |
| 61 | Eritrea | −4.36% | Low-income fiscal stress |
| 62 | Morocco | −4.27% | Investment and social spending |
| 63 | Panama | −4.26% | Revenue-cycle pressure |
| 64 | United Kingdom | −4.25% | Mature-economy deficit |
| 65 | Mozambique | −4.25% | Debt and financing pressure |
| 66 | Fiji | −4.23% | Small-island tourism cycle |
| 67 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | −4.13% | Small-island capital cycle |
| 68 | Niger | −4.06% | Security and development strain |
| 69 | Ivory Coast | −4.05% | Investment-led deficit |
| 70 | Italy | −3.99% | Mature-economy deficit |
| 71 | Malta | −3.99% | Revenue-cycle pressure |
| 72 | Papua New Guinea | −3.92% | Commodity-revenue cycle |
| 73 | Gabon | −3.89% | Commodity-revenue cycle |
| 74 | Philippines | −3.87% | Public investment pressure |
| 75 | New Zealand | −3.84% | Mature-economy deficit |
| 76 | Guinea-Bissau | −3.79% | Low-income fiscal stress |
| 77 | Madagascar | −3.76% | Low-income fiscal stress |
| 78 | Costa Rica | −3.71% | Structural budget strain |
| 79 | Benin | −3.70% | Investment-led deficit |
| 80 | Finland | −3.68% | Mature-economy deficit |
| 81 | Mali | −3.60% | Security spending pressure |
| 82 | Malaysia | −3.59% | Public investment pressure |
| 83 | Uzbekistan | −3.54% | State-led investment |
| 84 | Yemen | −3.54% | Conflict-related distortion |
| 85 | Latvia | −3.44% | European fiscal pressure |
| 86 | Austria | −3.37% | Mature-economy deficit |
| 87 | Peru | −3.21% | Revenue-cycle pressure |
| 88 | Central African Republic | −3.08% | Conflict and fragility |
| 89 | Iran | −3.08% | Sanctions and revenue strain |
| 90 | Montenegro | −3.06% | Small-economy investment cycle |
| 91 | Dominican Republic | −3.05% | Public investment pressure |
| 92 | Saudi Arabia | −3.03% | Commodity-revenue cycle |
| 93 | Guinea | −3.00% | Mining and investment cycle |
| 94 | Mauritius | −3.00% | Small-economy transition |
| 95 | Uruguay | −2.99% | Moderate structural gap |
| 96 | Estonia | −2.98% | European fiscal pressure |
| 97 | Spain | −2.95% | Mature-economy deficit |
| 98 | Bulgaria | −2.93% | European fiscal pressure |
| 99 | Tanzania | −2.90% | Public investment pressure |
| 100 | Sierra Leone | −2.89% | Low-income fiscal stress |
Table note: latest IMF comparable country snapshot, centered mainly on 2024 actual balances and compiled on the same general-government net lending / borrowing basis. The ranking is a 2025 comparison page based on the nearest broad-coverage IMF reference set.
Methodology: IMF WEO fiscal balance snapshot and data year
The metric used throughout is the IMF WEO fiscal balance concept of general government net lending / borrowing, percent of GDP (indicator code GGXCNL_NGDP). Negative values indicate a deficit and positive values indicate a surplus. The ranking is ordered from the deepest negative balance to the mildest deficit inside the top 100.
For country coverage, the page uses the latest broadly comparable IMF fiscal snapshot available across a large cross-section of economies. In practice, the Top 100 table is centered mainly on 2024 actual values, because that is where broad coverage is strongest and most consistent. The 2025 label refers to the comparison page and publication context; the data should be read as the latest IMF comparable snapshot, not as a pure 2025 forecast table or final 2025 outcome.
Fiscal years differ across countries; conflict-affected economies can have weaker measurement quality; GDP rebasing can change the denominator; and the same deficit number can imply very different risk depending on debt stock, financing structure, reserve cover, inflation and market access. General-government coverage can also vary in quality where subnational or extra-budgetary units are hard to capture. The ranking should be read together with debt, interest burden and external-balance indicators.
Insights from the budget deficit by country ranking
1. The largest deficits belong to different fiscal stories. The table mixes conflict and emergency finance, microstate volatility, post-crisis repair, and structurally weak budget positions in larger economies. These categories should not be interpreted as the same type of deficit.
2. Small countries can look dramatic because the denominator is small. Kiribati, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, and small island or frontier economies can move sharply in the ranking when one investment phase, reconstruction cycle, or revenue swing hits a modest GDP base.
3. A commodity economy can still run a deep deficit. Algeria, Brunei, Bahrain, Iraq, Gabon, Papua New Guinea, and Saudi Arabia show that hydrocarbons or mining do not automatically produce fiscal balance when spending commitments are sticky or revenues are cyclical.
4. Large economies matter differently from microstates. A deficit near 7% of GDP in the United States, China, India, Brazil, or Mexico has broader macro significance because it affects much larger debt markets, financing volumes, and policy expectations.
5. The same ratio can hide very different levels of danger. An advanced economy with deep local-currency funding may live with a 4–6% deficit far more easily than a frontier or fragile economy with weaker institutions, higher inflation, and narrow financing channels.
How to use the ranking
- For investors: a large deficit can point to heavier bond issuance, refinancing risk, interest-cost pressure, or a future adjustment through taxes and spending restraint.
- For businesses: persistent fiscal strain can affect procurement timing, subsidy policy, exchange-rate stability, and the probability of tax changes.
- For migration and relocation decisions: deep fiscal stress can influence public-service quality, pension politics, infrastructure spending, and the durability of social programs.
- For policy analysis: deficit data are stronger when read next to debt-to-GDP, general government interest payments, current account balance, reserve adequacy and inflation.
Use the ranking to see where fiscal pressure is concentrated, then judge the risk through debt, funding conditions, inflation, and the external position.
FAQ about budget deficit by country and IMF fiscal balance data
Which country has the deepest budget deficit in this 2025 ranking?
Timor-Leste has the deepest budget deficit in the latest IMF comparable snapshot used here, at −41.13% of GDP. Kiribati, Ukraine, Maldives and Bolivia complete the top five.
What does budget deficit as a share of GDP actually mean?
It measures how large the government financing gap is relative to the size of the economy. A deficit of 5% of GDP means the public sector is spending the equivalent of 5% of annual output more than it collects.
Why are the numbers negative?
The IMF fiscal balance indicator is expressed as net lending or borrowing. Negative means net borrowing, which corresponds to a budget deficit in standard fiscal terminology.
Why can a 5% deficit be manageable in one country and dangerous in another?
Because the ratio says nothing by itself about debt stock, funding currency, interest costs, reserve buffers, inflation, or market confidence. Those surrounding conditions determine how sustainable the deficit is.
Why are some very small countries so high in the ranking?
Because a narrow tax base and a small GDP denominator can make one investment cycle, disaster-recovery program, or spending package move the ratio by several percentage points very quickly.
Why is this a 2025 page if the values are centered mainly on 2024 actual balances?
The page is a current 2025 comparison built from the latest IMF comparable country snapshot. Broad cross-country fiscal coverage is strongest around 2024 actual balances, while a strict 2025-only table would rely more heavily on estimates or would reduce coverage.
Does a high deficit automatically mean a sovereign debt crisis is near?
No. Some deficits are temporary, cyclical, or manageable. Others are a sign of a deeper structural mismatch between spending and sustainable revenue. The wider macro setting decides which is which.
Sources for the budget deficit by country ranking
- IMF World Economic Outlook database portal: https://data.imf.org/en/datasets/IMF.RES%3AWEO
- IMF DataMapper dataset hub: https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/datasets/WEO
- IMF DataMapper indicator page for general government net lending/borrowing: https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/GGXCNL_NGDP%40WEO/EURO/EU/USA/JPN/CHN
- IMF Fiscal Monitor dataset hub, used for fiscal-risk and deficit/debt context rather than as the direct source of table rows: https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/datasets/FM
Source note: values are harmonized from IMF fiscal-balance references and rounded to two decimals. The table should be cited as a latest IMF comparable snapshot, centered mainly on 2024 actual balances, rather than as final 2025 outcomes.
