Top 100 Countries by Government Debt-to-GDP (%), 2025
Why government debt-to-GDP remains a core fiscal stress indicator in 2025
Government debt-to-GDP is one of the simplest ways to compare the scale of public borrowing across countries. It does not tell the whole story by itself, but it quickly shows how large the public debt stock is relative to the economy that ultimately supports it. For a 2025 ranking page, the most practical basis is the IMF’s October 2025 World Economic Outlook measure of general government gross debt as a share of GDP.
This metric is especially useful because it brings very different countries onto a common scale: large advanced economies, small island states, post-crisis economies, oil exporters and fragile states can all be compared with one ratio. The current global backdrop is one of already-heavy public debt burdens rather than light ones. A country near the top of this ranking is not automatically in trouble, but it is almost always operating with less fiscal room than a country with a lower and more stable ratio.
Figures below are harmonized for ranking use, rounded to one decimal place, and intended for analytical comparison rather than legal or budgetary reporting.
Top 10 countries by government debt-to-GDP (%) in 2025
The top of the ranking is not a single story. It combines an advanced economy with deep domestic funding capacity, a sovereign wealth and savings hub whose gross debt measure needs context, post-crisis and fragile states where debt reflects institutional collapse, and mature economies where public debt has accumulated over many years. That is why debt-to-GDP should always be read together with growth, inflation, borrowing costs, currency structure and the asset side of the public balance sheet.
Japan remains the clear outlier in gross public debt terms. The ratio is exceptionally high, but the risk story is more nuanced because of domestic savings depth, institutional credibility, and the long average maturity of government funding.
Sudan’s debt ratio is now even higher than many headline discussions suggest. In cases like this, a very large debt stock reflects deep structural stress rather than rich-country borrowing space.
Singapore’s gross debt figure still needs balance-sheet context. The headline ratio reflects a distinctive public-finance model in which debt issuance coexists with very large public assets.
Greece remains near the top even after a major decline from earlier crisis peaks. Its case shows that a country can bring debt down materially over time and still remain highly leveraged by international standards.
Bahrain combines a relatively narrow domestic market with persistent fiscal pressure and reliance on external funding. The debt ratio highlights how exposed smaller hydrocarbon economies can become when budgets do not fully adjust.
Italy remains the highest-ranked large euro area economy in the table. Its debt burden is longstanding rather than sudden, shaped by slow nominal growth and the difficulty of shrinking a very large inherited stock.
The Maldives illustrates how public debt can rise rapidly in small island economies that combine heavy infrastructure needs with a narrow export base and sensitivity to tourism cycles and external financing conditions.
The United States carries a lower ratio than the very top group, but its absolute fiscal significance is far greater. Markets watch U.S. debt closely because Treasury financing affects global yields, dollar liquidity, and portfolio allocation worldwide.
Senegal now ranks unexpectedly high in the 2025 cross-country snapshot. Its position underlines how quickly debt burdens can rise in economies facing tighter financing conditions and weaker fiscal room.
France remains in the Top 10 because persistent fiscal gaps have kept debt elevated outside crisis years. The issue is not imminent distress but reduced room for maneuver as aging, defense, and interest costs compete for budget space.
Table 1. Top 10 countries by government debt-to-GDP, 2025
| Rank | Country | Government debt-to-GDP |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | 229.6% |
| 2 | Sudan | 221.5% |
| 3 | Singapore | 175.6% |
| 4 | Greece | 146.7% |
| 5 | Bahrain | 142.5% |
| 6 | Italy | 136.8% |
| 7 | Maldives | 131.8% |
| 8 | United States | 125.0% |
| 9 | Senegal | 122.9% |
| 10 | France | 116.5% |
Chart 1. Government debt-to-GDP for the Top 20 countries
The upper end of the ranking is steep. Japan stands far above the rest, while the next tier is made up of countries with very different fiscal structures: Singapore, crisis-hit economies, euro area debt legacies, small states and large advanced economies with persistent deficits. The chart is a ranking snapshot, not a credit-risk score.
Debt values are shown in percent of GDP and rounded to one decimal place.
Methodology
This page ranks countries by general government gross debt as a share of GDP for 2025, using IMF World Economic Outlook data published in October 2025 as the primary reference point. Country names were standardised for readability, values were rounded to one decimal place, and the ranking was organised from the highest ratio downward. Where the IMF’s country profile and comparable-country tables required light harmonization, the goal was consistency in ranking presentation rather than replication of any single national budget document.
A few measurement cautions matter. First, this is gross debt, not net debt, so it does not subtract sovereign assets, pension reserves or other public financial holdings. Second, a debt ratio alone does not show who holds the debt, what currency it is issued in, or when it must be refinanced. Third, crisis countries can move sharply because of recession, inflation, exchange-rate collapse or institutional breaks, not just fresh borrowing. Readers should treat the ranking as a strong comparative signal, but not as a stand-alone verdict on solvency.
Insights from the ranking
Three patterns stand out. First, the upper tail is crowded not only with rich economies but also with stressed and fragile states. High debt is therefore not a “rich-country only” phenomenon. Second, the top group includes economies whose debt ratios mean very different things in practice: Japan and the United States borrow in deep markets with institutional capacity, while Lebanon or Sudan reflect a very different fiscal reality. Third, the ranking is wide rather than narrow: in this Top 100 list, 17 countries sit at or above 100% of GDP, 42 are at or above 75%, and 73 are at or above 60%.
The centre of the list is still elevated. The median country in this Top 100 set sits around 69.8% of GDP, and the simple average is about 80.2%. That is why fiscal debates in 2025 are no longer limited to a handful of distressed sovereigns. Interest costs, defence budgets, ageing-related spending, climate investment and more expensive refinancing all now interact with already-heavy debt stocks.
How to use this ranking
For ordinary readers, debt-to-GDP matters because it shapes the room governments have to respond when something goes wrong. A country with a very high debt ratio may still function smoothly for years, but it usually has less budget flexibility when recession hits, borrowing costs rise or new spending pressures appear. That can affect taxation, public services, pension debates, infrastructure timing and the political appetite for reform.
For people comparing countries for work, migration, study or investment, the indicator is best used as context rather than as a yes-or-no filter. High debt in a reserve-currency issuer means something different from high debt in a small external-financing-dependent economy. The most useful reading is practical: combine this ranking with inflation, growth, currency stability, unemployment, demographics and institutional quality before drawing conclusions about long-term opportunity.
FAQ
No. It is a warning sign, not an automatic crisis trigger. Market access, interest rates, debt maturity, currency structure and institutional credibility all matter.
Because the funding structure, domestic investor base, monetary framework and policy credibility are very different from those of smaller or fragile borrowers.
Because gross debt is not the same as net fiscal weakness. Singapore’s public sector also holds very large assets, so the headline gross ratio needs balance-sheet context.
Gross debt measures what the government owes. Net debt subtracts certain financial assets. For some countries, that difference is huge.
Yes. If GDP falls, inflation slows, the currency weakens or contingent liabilities move onto the state balance sheet, the ratio can worsen even without a dramatic jump in fresh issuance.
Because the ranking intent is a 2025 snapshot page. IMF October 2025 data provide the best broad cross-country comparable view for that year.
Full Top 100 table: how heavy public debt is distributed across countries in 2025
The full ranking is wider than the headline top group suggests. It includes large advanced economies, post-crisis European cases, small island states, African borrowers, conflict-affected economies and countries where debt is high largely because nominal GDP is weak rather than because markets see the borrower as immediately comparable to a G7 issuer. That is exactly why a long-form table is useful: it shows clusters, not just a handful of famous names.
The interactive table below lets you search, sort, and filter the full list. The default view is limited for readability, but you can expand it to see the full Top 100.
Table 2. Top 100 countries by government debt-to-GDP (%), 2025
| Rank | Country | Debt-to-GDP | Region / debt band |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | 229.6% | Asia · 100%+ |
| 2 | Sudan | 221.5% | Africa · 100%+ |
| 3 | Singapore | 175.6% | Asia · 100%+ |
| 4 | Greece | 146.7% | Europe · 100%+ |
| 5 | Bahrain | 142.5% | MENA · 100%+ |
| 6 | Italy | 136.8% | Europe · 100%+ |
| 7 | Maldives | 131.8% | Asia · 100%+ |
| 8 | United States | 125.0% | Americas · 100%+ |
| 9 | Senegal | 122.9% | Africa · 100%+ |
| 10 | France | 116.5% | Europe · 100%+ |
| 11 | Canada | 113.9% | Americas · 100%+ |
| 12 | Ukraine | 108.6% | Europe · 100%+ |
| 13 | Belgium | 107.5% | Europe · 100%+ |
| 14 | Cabo Verde | 106.0% | Africa · 100%+ |
| 15 | Bhutan | 105.6% | Asia · 100%+ |
| 16 | United Kingdom | 103.4% | Europe · 100%+ |
| 17 | Spain | 100.4% | Europe · 100%+ |
| 18 | Barbados | 99.8% | Americas · 75–99% |
| 19 | Mozambique | 97.2% | Africa · 75–99% |
| 20 | Dominica | 95.7% | Americas · 75–99% |
| 21 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 94.0% | Americas · 75–99% |
| 22 | Bolivia | 93.7% | Americas · 75–99% |
| 23 | Congo, Republic of | 93.1% | Africa · 75–99% |
| 24 | Brazil | 91.4% | Americas · 75–99% |
| 25 | Portugal | 90.9% | Europe · 75–99% |
| 26 | Lao P.D.R. | 90.7% | Asia · 75–99% |
| 27 | Jordan | 89.7% | MENA · 75–99% |
| 28 | Suriname | 89.1% | Americas · 75–99% |
| 29 | Mauritius | 88.1% | Africa · 75–99% |
| 30 | El Salvador | 87.6% | Americas · 75–99% |
| 31 | Egypt | 87.0% | MENA · 75–99% |
| 32 | Finland | 86.8% | Europe · 75–99% |
| 33 | Austria | 82.0% | Europe · 75–99% |
| 34 | India | 81.4% | Asia · 75–99% |
| 35 | Tunisia | 80.6% | MENA · 75–99% |
| 36 | Malawi | 80.4% | Africa · 75–99% |
| 37 | Argentina | 78.8% | Americas · 75–99% |
| 38 | South Africa | 77.3% | Africa · 75–99% |
| 39 | Saint Lucia | 77.0% | Americas · 75–99% |
| 40 | Fiji | 76.6% | Oceania · 75–99% |
| 41 | Gabon | 76.2% | Africa · 75–99% |
| 42 | Guinea-Bissau | 76.2% | Africa · 75–99% |
| 43 | Hungary | 74.8% | Europe · 60–74% |
| 44 | Gambia | 74.4% | Africa · 60–74% |
| 45 | Bahamas | 74.1% | Americas · 60–74% |
| 46 | Rwanda | 73.2% | Africa · 60–74% |
| 47 | Togo | 71.9% | Africa · 60–74% |
| 48 | Pakistan | 71.6% | Asia · 60–74% |
| 49 | Yemen | 71.4% | MENA · 60–74% |
| 50 | Malaysia | 70.4% | Asia · 60–74% |
| 51 | Israel | 69.2% | MENA · 60–74% |
| 52 | Kenya | 68.0% | Africa · 60–74% |
| 53 | Grenada | 67.7% | Americas · 60–74% |
| 54 | Morocco | 67.2% | MENA · 60–74% |
| 55 | Aruba | 67.1% | Americas · 60–74% |
| 56 | Slovenia | 66.6% | Europe · 60–74% |
| 57 | Uruguay | 66.6% | Americas · 60–74% |
| 58 | South Sudan | 66.0% | Africa · 60–74% |
| 59 | Antigua and Barbuda | 65.7% | Americas · 60–74% |
| 60 | Trinidad and Tobago | 65.3% | Americas · 60–74% |
| 61 | Thailand | 64.9% | Asia · 60–74% |
| 62 | Belize | 64.7% | Americas · 60–74% |
| 63 | Germany | 64.4% | Europe · 60–74% |
| 64 | Namibia | 63.6% | Africa · 60–74% |
| 65 | Myanmar | 63.5% | Asia · 60–74% |
| 66 | Palau | 63.1% | Oceania · 60–74% |
| 67 | San Marino | 62.7% | Europe · 60–74% |
| 68 | Angola | 62.4% | Africa · 60–74% |
| 69 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 61.9% | Americas · 60–74% |
| 70 | Romania | 61.2% | Europe · 60–74% |
| 71 | Montenegro | 60.8% | Europe · 60–74% |
| 72 | Dominican Republic | 58.9% | Americas · Below 60% |
| 73 | Poland | 60.0% | Europe · 60–74% |
| 74 | Costa Rica | 59.7% | Americas · Below 60% |
| 75 | Panama | 59.6% | Americas · Below 60% |
| 76 | Slovak Republic | 59.6% | Europe · Below 60% |
| 77 | Jamaica | 59.2% | Americas · Below 60% |
| 78 | Ghana | 59.1% | Africa · Below 60% |
| 79 | Colombia | 58.9% | Americas · Below 60% |
| 80 | Mexico | 58.9% | Americas · Below 60% |
| 81 | Philippines | 58.2% | Asia · Below 60% |
| 82 | Cyprus | 53.7% | Europe · Below 60% |
| 83 | Central African Republic | 57.1% | Africa · Below 60% |
| 84 | Lesotho | 57.1% | Africa · Below 60% |
| 85 | Croatia | 57.4% | Europe · Below 60% |
| 86 | Seychelles | 56.7% | Africa · Below 60% |
| 87 | Liberia | 55.7% | Africa · Below 60% |
| 88 | Côte d'Ivoire | 55.6% | Africa · Below 60% |
| 89 | Albania | 54.1% | Europe · Below 60% |
| 90 | Algeria | 54.0% | MENA · Below 60% |
| 91 | Armenia | 53.4% | Europe · Below 60% |
| 92 | Korea, Republic of | 53.4% | Asia · Below 60% |
| 93 | Burkina Faso | 53.2% | Africa · Below 60% |
| 94 | New Zealand | 53.2% | Oceania · Below 60% |
| 95 | Iraq | 53.1% | MENA · Below 60% |
| 96 | North Macedonia | 52.9% | Europe · Below 60% |
| 97 | Uganda | 52.4% | Africa · Below 60% |
| 98 | São Tomé and Príncipe | 51.4% | Africa · Below 60% |
| 99 | Australia | 51.0% | Oceania · Below 60% |
| 100 | Benin | 50.7% | Africa · Below 60% |
Coverage note: this ranking is a harmonized comparable-country Top 100 built from IMF 2025 debt ratios. Country naming is kept close to IMF usage where needed for consistency. It is intended for cross-country analysis, not for reproducing country budget tables line for line.
Chart 2. Debt level in 2025 vs. change since 2022 for selected high-debt countries
A debt ratio is a stock measure. To understand direction, it helps to compare the 2025 level with where the country stood only a few years earlier. This scatter chart pairs the 2025 debt ratio with the approximate change since 2022 for selected countries near or inside the upper tail. Some countries remain highly indebted but have improved; others entered 2025 with both a high level and a worsening trajectory.
The horizontal axis shows the 2025 debt ratio. The vertical axis shows the approximate percentage-point change versus 2022 in the same harmonised dataset.
How to interpret a high debt ranking without oversimplifying it
A high debt-to-GDP ratio is important, but it is not a complete judgment on fiscal health. Countries carry debt under very different conditions. Some have deep domestic capital markets, long maturities and strong monetary credibility. Others depend more heavily on external financing, face political instability or struggle to grow their nominal GDP fast enough to stabilise the ratio. The same number can therefore imply very different levels of risk.
That is why the ranking should be read in layers. First ask how high the debt ratio is. Then ask whether it is rising or falling. After that, look at the structure: local currency or foreign currency, short-term or long-term, market-held or domestically anchored, asset-rich or asset-poor. Only then does the number become policy-relevant in a serious way.
The 2025 hierarchy also reinforces a broader point about the world economy: debt is now a mainstream macroeconomic constraint, not a niche topic. Large defense commitments, aging populations, slower productivity growth, energy-system investment, and more expensive refinancing mean that debt management is becoming central to economic strategy across both advanced and developing economies.
Policy takeaways
The most useful reading of this ranking is comparative, not alarmist. Debt-to-GDP helps identify where fiscal room is probably thinner, where refinancing sensitivity is likely higher and where growth becomes especially important for stabilisation.
- Very high-debt advanced economies need durable medium-term fiscal frameworks, not only one-off fixes. Small changes in interest costs matter much more when the debt stock is already large.
- Fragile and crisis-hit states usually need more than austerity rhetoric. Debt sustainability there is inseparable from institutional rebuilding, inflation control, external support and renewed growth capacity.
- Small island and tourism-dependent economies remain especially exposed to shocks because debt can rise quickly when growth is concentrated in a narrow set of sectors.
- Large reserve-currency issuers have more financing flexibility than most countries, but not infinite room. Persistent deficits still shape global rates, capital flows and future policy trade-offs.
- Readers and investors should use debt ratios together with inflation, growth, current-account dynamics, political stability and demographics before drawing long-term conclusions.
Official sources
- IMF DataMapper — World Economic Outlook (October 2025), General government gross debt (% of GDP)Core cross-country source for the 2025 debt ratio used on this page.
https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/GGXWDG_NGDP@WEO/OEMDC/ADVEC/WEOWORLD - IMF World Economic Outlook data portalOfficial database entry point for the October 2025 WEO release and downloadable country data.
https://data.imf.org/en/datasets/IMF.RES:WEO - IMF World Economic Outlook databases pageBackground page for WEO database vintages, methodology and updates.
https://www.imf.org/en/publications/sprolls/world-economic-outlook-databases - IMF Fiscal MonitorBroad fiscal context, debt risks and policy discussion for public finances.
https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fm - IMF Global Debt DatabaseLong-run debt series and supporting public-debt context beyond the WEO ranking snapshot.
https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/datasets/GDD - OECD Government at a Glance 2025Useful benchmark for debt levels and institutional context across OECD members.
https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/government-at-a-glance-2025_50312d1f-en.html
Values in the article are rounded for readability. For formal research, financial analysis or legal referencing, the original IMF and OECD publications should always be checked directly.
