Countries with the Highest Bank NPL Ratios: 2026 Snapshot
Reported Bank Loan Stress by Country
This ranking compares countries and areas by bank nonperforming loans to total gross loans. The metric is the percentage of the banking-sector loan portfolio classified as nonperforming. Higher values rank higher because they indicate a larger reported share of problem loans.
Ukraine leads this 2026 snapshot with an official 2023 NPL ratio of 37.35%, followed by Chad at 31.51% and Equatorial Guinea at 31.15%. All rows use the World Bank indicator FB.AST.NPER.ZS, which is sourced from IMF Financial Soundness Indicators.
The 2026 label describes the publication snapshot, not 2026 banking results. The ranking uses the latest common official 2023 source year with enough confirmed rows for a Top 100 country and area comparison. It lists the 100 highest confirmed 2023 values from 103 reporting economies.
Key figures from the NPL dataset
Official 2023 World Bank / IMF FSI value; the highest confirmed ratio in this Top 100.
Top 100 cut-off; Canada, Sweden and Norway are outside the table because their confirmed 2023 values are lower.
Countries and areas only; aggregates, regions, income groups and blank-value rows are excluded.
Percent of total gross loans; 100 official values, 0 official forecasts, 0 modeled projections.
Calculated from the displayed rows as the midpoint between rank 50 at 3.47% and rank 51 at 3.45%.
Countries are ordered by reported problem-loan exposure, not by banking-sector strength.
Overview
Nonperforming loans are loans that borrowers are no longer servicing normally or that banks classify as unlikely to be repaid in full. The NPL ratio is a credit-quality signal: it shows how much of the reported gross loan book has deteriorated, not the absolute size of bad loans in dollars.
The upper tail is highly concentrated. Ukraine, Chad and Equatorial Guinea all exceed 31%, while ranks 4–10 fall between 21.05% and 14.48%. The displayed median is 3.46%, which means the first few rows describe a stress-heavy tail rather than the typical reporting economy.
Top 10 countries by NPL ratio
The Top 10 should be read as a banking-sector stress list, not a league table of strong banking systems. Several entries are conflict-affected or small financial systems where problem-loan classification can move the national ratio sharply. The table also shows that very high NPL ratios are not limited to one region, although Sub-Saharan Africa is strongly represented near the top.
Top 10 by bank nonperforming loans to total gross loans, 2023 official values
| Rank | Country / area | NPL ratio | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ukraine | 37.35% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 2 | Chad | 31.51% | Sub-Saharan Africa; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 3 | Equatorial Guinea | 31.15% | Sub-Saharan Africa; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 4 | San Marino | 21.05% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 5 | Ghana | 20.58% | Sub-Saharan Africa; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 6 | St. Kitts and Nevis | 19.42% | Latin America and Caribbean; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 7 | Central African Republic | 16.22% | Sub-Saharan Africa; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 8 | Congo, Rep. | 15.22% | Sub-Saharan Africa; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 9 | Iraq | 14.66% | Middle East and North Africa; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 10 | St. Lucia | 14.48% | Latin America and Caribbean; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
Ranking direction is descending: higher NPL ratios appear first because the page ranks reported problem-loan exposure.
Chart: Top 20 confirmed NPL ratios
The chart shows the first 20 confirmed entries from the ranking table. Ukraine is used as the 100% reference bar, so other bars show relative position against the highest value in the Top 100.
Methodology
The metric is bank nonperforming loans divided by total gross loans, expressed as a percentage. The World Bank indicator is sourced from IMF Financial Soundness Indicators. In the source metadata, both nonperforming loans and total gross loans are reported on a gross-book-value basis before deducting specific loan-loss provisions or collateral.
Metric and unit
NPL ratio = nonperforming loans / total gross loans × 100. The unit is percent of the gross loan portfolio.
Year and snapshot
The displayed values are official 2023 observations. They are used as a 2026 snapshot because 2023 is the latest common source year with enough confirmed country and area rows for a full Top 100 comparison.
Ranking direction
Rows are sorted descending by value. Higher NPL ratios rank higher because the page ranks reported problem-loan exposure, not banking-sector strength.
Data audit
The table was compiled from World Bank indicator FB.AST.NPER.ZS for countries and areas with non-empty 2023 observations. Aggregates, regional totals, income groups and blank-value rows were removed before ranking.
Status handling
All displayed rows are official value rows. No official forecasts or modeled projections are used, so no growth assumptions, projection formula or base-year calculation is applied.
Rounding and limits
Values are shown to two decimal places. Comparability can still be affected by national NPL classification rules, restructuring practices, supervisory forbearance, write-off timing, collateral treatment and the coverage of reporting banks.
This metric does not measure the amount of bad loans in U.S. dollars, the quality of collateral, provisioning coverage, bank capital adequacy, credit growth or the distribution of bad loans between households and firms. A smaller banking system can show a high percentage while representing a smaller absolute loan stock than a larger economy with a lower percentage.
Main ranking table: highest reported NPL ratios
The filters help separate regional patterns from the fixed source-year ranking. The rank column keeps the original highest-to-lowest 2023 order visible, even when the table is sorted or narrowed to a subset.
Top 100 by bank nonperforming loans to total gross loans, official 2023 values used as a 2026 snapshot
| Rank | Country / area | NPL ratio | Source / method note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ukraine | 37.35% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 2 | Chad | 31.51% | Sub-Saharan Africa; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 3 | Equatorial Guinea | 31.15% | Sub-Saharan Africa; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 4 | San Marino | 21.05% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 5 | Ghana | 20.58% | Sub-Saharan Africa; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 6 | St. Kitts and Nevis | 19.42% | Latin America and Caribbean; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 7 | Central African Republic | 16.22% | Sub-Saharan Africa; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 8 | Congo, Rep. | 15.22% | Sub-Saharan Africa; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 9 | Iraq | 14.66% | Middle East and North Africa; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 10 | St. Lucia | 14.48% | Latin America and Caribbean; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 11 | Cameroon | 12.89% | Sub-Saharan Africa; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 12 | Kenya | 12.34% | Sub-Saharan Africa; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 13 | Tonga | 11.18% | East Asia and Pacific; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 14 | Bangladesh | 9.57% | South Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 15 | Solomon Islands | 9.39% | East Asia and Pacific; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 16 | Kyrgyz Republic | 8.92% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 17 | Maldives | 8.35% | South Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 18 | St. Vincent and the Grenadines | 8.11% | Latin America and Caribbean; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 19 | Madagascar | 7.60% | Sub-Saharan Africa; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 20 | Gabon | 7.58% | Sub-Saharan Africa; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 21 | Eswatini | 6.87% | Sub-Saharan Africa; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 22 | Jordan | 6.80% | Middle East and North Africa; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 23 | Pakistan | 6.63% | South Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 24 | Congo, Dem. Rep. | 6.56% | Sub-Saharan Africa; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 25 | Cyprus | 6.11% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 26 | Antigua and Barbuda | 6.05% | Latin America and Caribbean; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 27 | Greece | 5.96% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 28 | Namibia | 5.79% | Sub-Saharan Africa; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 29 | Montenegro | 5.78% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 30 | Moldova | 5.56% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 31 | Papua New Guinea | 5.42% | East Asia and Pacific; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 32 | Samoa | 5.37% | East Asia and Pacific; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 33 | United Arab Emirates | 5.31% | Middle East and North Africa; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 34 | Mauritius | 5.31% | Sub-Saharan Africa; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 35 | Cambodia | 5.13% | East Asia and Pacific; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 36 | Malawi | 5.10% | Sub-Saharan Africa; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 37 | Belarus | 5.05% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 38 | Albania | 4.56% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 39 | Uganda | 4.50% | Sub-Saharan Africa; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 40 | Peru | 4.48% | Latin America and Caribbean; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 41 | Ecuador | 4.24% | Latin America and Caribbean; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 42 | Lesotho | 3.84% | Sub-Saharan Africa; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 43 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 3.82% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 44 | Nepal | 3.78% | South Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 45 | Botswana | 3.67% | Sub-Saharan Africa; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 46 | Bulgaria | 3.62% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 47 | Croatia | 3.60% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 48 | Argentina | 3.55% | Latin America and Caribbean; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 49 | Colombia | 3.47% | Latin America and Caribbean; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 50 | Macao SAR, China | 3.47% | East Asia and Pacific; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 51 | Uzbekistan | 3.45% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 52 | Hungary | 3.27% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 53 | Philippines | 3.19% | East Asia and Pacific; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 54 | Malta | 3.14% | Middle East and North Africa; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 55 | Spain | 3.06% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 56 | Paraguay | 3.01% | Latin America and Caribbean; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 57 | Kazakhstan | 2.89% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 58 | Brazil | 2.84% | Latin America and Caribbean; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 59 | Trinidad and Tobago | 2.80% | Latin America and Caribbean; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 60 | Thailand | 2.76% | East Asia and Pacific; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 61 | North Macedonia | 2.67% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 62 | Panama | 2.57% | Latin America and Caribbean; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 63 | Austria | 2.48% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 64 | Latvia | 2.41% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 65 | Poland | 2.33% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 66 | Chile | 2.10% | Latin America and Caribbean; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 67 | Mexico | 2.08% | Latin America and Caribbean; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 68 | France | 2.06% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 69 | Slovakia | 1.99% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 70 | Costa Rica | 1.96% | Latin America and Caribbean; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 71 | Indonesia | 1.96% | East Asia and Pacific; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 72 | Kosovo | 1.93% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 73 | Azerbaijan | 1.93% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 74 | Luxembourg | 1.86% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 75 | Belgium | 1.82% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 76 | El Salvador | 1.77% | Latin America and Caribbean; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 77 | Guatemala | 1.75% | Latin America and Caribbean; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 78 | India | 1.72% | South Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 79 | Malaysia | 1.65% | East Asia and Pacific; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 80 | Uruguay | 1.65% | Latin America and Caribbean; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 81 | Iceland | 1.58% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 82 | Netherlands | 1.56% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 83 | Germany | 1.54% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 84 | Nicaragua | 1.52% | Latin America and Caribbean; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 85 | Slovenia | 1.52% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 86 | Saudi Arabia | 1.51% | Middle East and North Africa; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 87 | Georgia | 1.48% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 88 | Turkiye | 1.48% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 89 | Kuwait | 1.42% | Middle East and North Africa; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 90 | Finland | 1.29% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 91 | Ireland | 1.27% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 92 | Czechia | 1.21% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 93 | Hong Kong SAR, China | 1.20% | East Asia and Pacific; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 94 | Estonia | 1.08% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 95 | United Kingdom | 0.98% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 96 | Israel | 0.97% | Middle East and North Africa; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 97 | Denmark | 0.94% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 98 | Dominican Republic | 0.93% | Latin America and Caribbean; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 99 | United States | 0.85% | North America; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
| 100 | Switzerland | 0.83% | Europe and Central Asia; official World Bank / IMF FSI value, 2023. |
Source note: World Bank indicator FB.AST.NPER.ZS, sourced from IMF Financial Soundness Indicators. Values are official 2023 percentages for countries and areas with non-empty observations. Aggregates, regional totals, income groups and blank rows were excluded before ranking. The Top 100 excludes Canada, Sweden and Norway, which are the three lowest 2023 reporting economies in the source table.
Insights from the ranking
Key insight
The highest ratios are far above the rest of the table: Ukraine, Chad and Equatorial Guinea all exceed 31%, while rank 4 drops to 21.05%.
Notable pattern
The listed median is 3.46%, so the upper tail is not representative of the full Top 100. A small group of high-stress banking systems pulls the top of the distribution away from the middle.
Regional concentration
Sub-Saharan Africa is strongly represented in the upper ranks, including Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Central African Republic, Congo, Cameroon, Kenya, Madagascar and Gabon.
Outlier
Ukraine is the largest visible outlier in the table: the top value is 37.35%, far above the Top 100 median and still well above the fourth-ranked value.
What it means
For readers, this ranking is useful as an early warning map of reported bank-asset stress. A high NPL ratio can point to pressure on credit supply, bank profitability, provisioning needs and the ability of households or firms to refinance debt. It does not prove that a banking crisis is underway, but it identifies systems where loan quality deserves a closer look.
For investors and analysts, the measure is best used with bank capital ratios, provisioning coverage, credit growth, exchange-rate risk and macroeconomic context. For policy readers, it helps distinguish a broad credit-quality problem from isolated bank-level issues.
A low reported NPL ratio should also be read carefully. Rapid credit growth, weak supervision, delayed recognition of troubled loans or heavy restructuring can keep the ratio low even when risk is building outside the headline number.
FAQ
What does the NPL ratio show?
It shows bank nonperforming loans as a percentage of total gross loans. A 10% ratio means that one-tenth of the reported gross loan book is classified as nonperforming.
Is a higher NPL ratio good or bad?
A higher ratio is usually a stress signal. It suggests that a larger share of the banking system’s loans is not performing normally.
Why is this called a 2026 snapshot if the values are from 2023?
The 2026 label refers to the publication snapshot. The values are official 2023 observations because that is the latest common source year with enough confirmed rows for a Top 100 comparison.
Why are Canada, Sweden and Norway not in the Top 100?
The source table has 103 reporting countries and areas for 2023. This page lists the 100 highest confirmed ratios, so the three lowest reporting economies are outside the cut-off.
Does this measure the total amount of bad loans?
No. It measures a percentage of the loan book. A large banking system with a low ratio can still have a larger dollar amount of bad loans than a small banking system with a high ratio.
Can a country have a low NPL ratio and still face banking risk?
Yes. Rapid credit growth, weak supervision, delayed recognition, restructuring practices or unreported off-balance-sheet risk can keep the headline NPL ratio low.
Why can NPL ratios differ across countries?
National classification rules, write-off timing, collateral treatment, restructuring practice, bank coverage and supervisory forbearance can all affect comparability.
Sources
World Bank — Bank nonperforming loans to total gross loans (%)
Primary indicator page used for the country and area values, source year and series identity.
World Bank metadata glossary — FB.AST.NPER.ZS
Definition reference for the NPL ratio, including the gross-loan denominator and Financial Soundness Indicators sourcing.
https://databank.worldbank.org/metadataglossary/world-development-indicators/series/FB.AST.NPER.ZS
IMF — Financial Soundness Indicators
Underlying statistical framework and data source used by the World Bank indicator for banking-sector soundness measures.
https://data.imf.org/en/Data-Explorer?datasetUrn=IMF.STA%3AFSI%287.0.0%29
