World rankings / DATA EXPLORER

THE GLOBAL INDEX #050

Central government debt2019

Central government debt as a percentage of GDP. This scope differs from general government debt and coverage is incomplete.

World Bank
Comparable ranking year2023Latest published year: 2024
Economies with data56 / 217No observation: 161
First-ranked country or territoryUnited Kingdom158.97 % of GDP

Top 10

% of GDP · 2019
02Singapore
127.85
03Spain
111.29
05Brazil
92.57
06Bahrain
91.36
07Bhutan
90.36
08Iceland
89.02
09Jamaica
85.77
10Palau
85.2

Complete ranking

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Central government debt · 2019 · % of GDP
RankCountry / territoryValue (% of GDP)Year
01United Kingdom158.972019
02Singapore127.852019
03Spain111.292019
04United States100.232019
05Brazil92.572019
06Bahrain91.362019
07Bhutan90.362019
08Iceland89.022019
09Jamaica85.772019
10Palau85.22019
11Hungary84.592019
12Mozambique78.882019
13Albania74.812019
14Colombia72.72019
15Jordan72.62019
16South Africa64.592019
17Zambia61.932019
18Mongolia60.842019
19Australia59.982019
20Mauritius57.132019
21Bahamas56.692019
22San Marino55.092019
23El Salvador53.882019
24Canada53.362019
25Malaysia52.422019
26Kyrgyzstan51.332019
27Uruguay50.132019
28Armenia50.032019
29Ukraine48.332019
30Burkina Faso47.062019
31Malawi44.792019
32Georgia44.722019
33Bosnia & Herzegovina44.022019
34Tonga43.052019
35Marshall Islands41.562019
36Mexico41.332019
37Papua New Guinea40.152019
38Andorra38.842019
39Thailand38.632019
40Uganda38.482019
41South Korea37.72019
42Türkiye33.462019
43Belarus33.242019
44New Zealand32.762019
45Lesotho32.172019
46Nepal31.782019
47Ethiopia31.452019
48Eswatini29.82019
49Peru26.532019
50Moldova25.452019
51Micronesia24.092019
52Switzerland18.572019
53Kazakhstan18.482019
54Russia17.282019
55Botswana16.192019
56Solomon Islands7.742019

How this ranking works

For annual statistics, the default is the newest year covering at least 70% of the maximum available country coverage, and at least 20 economies where possible. A ranking uses one year or report edition; missing observations are not replaced with another year. Newer years with lower coverage can be selected.

Intentional homicide rates and peace scores rank from lowest to highest; other indicators rank from highest to lowest. Ranks use original values and competition ranking for ties, for example 1, 2, 2, 4. Filtering or changing display order does not recalculate global ranks. Higher values are not necessarily better.

Statistics reflect the public source snapshot, not live measurements. Some series are modeled estimates or multi-year averages. See original metadata.

No observation (161)

Afghanistan · Algeria · American Samoa · Angola · Antigua & Barbuda · Argentina · Aruba · Austria · Azerbaijan · Bangladesh · Barbados · Belgium · Belize · Benin · Bermuda · Bolivia · British Virgin Islands · Brunei · Bulgaria · Burundi · Cambodia · Cameroon · Cape Verde · Cayman Islands · Central African Republic · Chad · Channel Islands · Chile · China · Comoros · Congo - Brazzaville · Congo - Kinshasa · Costa Rica · Croatia · Cuba · Curaçao · Cyprus · Czechia · Côte d’Ivoire · Denmark · Djibouti · Dominica · Dominican Republic · Ecuador · Egypt · Equatorial Guinea · Eritrea · Estonia · Faroe Islands · Fiji · Finland · France · French Polynesia · Gabon · Gambia · Germany · Ghana · Gibraltar · Greece · Greenland · Grenada · Guam · Guatemala · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Guyana · Haiti · Honduras · Hong Kong SAR China · India · Indonesia · Iran · Iraq · Ireland · Isle of Man · Israel · Italy · Japan · Kenya · Kiribati · Kosovo · Kuwait · Laos · Latvia · Lebanon · Liberia · Libya · Liechtenstein · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Macao SAR China · Madagascar · Maldives · Mali · Malta · Mauritania · Monaco · Montenegro · Morocco · Myanmar (Burma) · Namibia · Nauru · Netherlands · New Caledonia · Nicaragua · Niger · Nigeria · North Korea · North Macedonia · Northern Mariana Islands · Norway · Oman · Pakistan · Palestinian Territories · Panama · Paraguay · Philippines · Poland · Portugal · Puerto Rico · Qatar · Romania · Rwanda · Samoa · Saudi Arabia · Senegal · Serbia · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Sint Maarten · Slovakia · Slovenia · Somalia · South Sudan · Sri Lanka · St. Kitts & Nevis · St. Lucia · St. Martin · St. Vincent & Grenadines · Sudan · Suriname · Sweden · Syria · São Tomé & Príncipe · Tajikistan · Tanzania · Timor-Leste · Togo · Trinidad & Tobago · Tunisia · Turkmenistan · Turks & Caicos Islands · Tuvalu · U.S. Virgin Islands · United Arab Emirates · Uzbekistan · Vanuatu · Venezuela · Vietnam · Yemen · Zimbabwe

Source & definition

Indicator definition
Central government debt as a percentage of GDP. This scope differs from general government debt and coverage is incomplete.
Unit
% of GDP
Source & definition
World Bank · GC.DOD.TOTL.GD.ZS
Open original source ↗
Original metadata
Debt is the entire stock of direct government fixed-term contractual obligations to others outstanding on a particular date. It includes domestic and foreign liabilities such as currency and money deposits, securities other than shares, and loans. It is the gross amount of government liabilities reduced by the amount of equity and financial derivatives held by the government. Because debt is a stock rather than a flow, it is measured as of a given date, usually the last day of the fiscal year. Central government is the part of general government that includes all administrative departments of the national executive, legislative, and judicial functions, other central agencies and those non-market producers controlled by the central government, whose competence extends normally over the whole economic territory. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.

{
  "id": "GC.DOD.TOTL.GD.ZS",
  "name": "Central government debt, total (% of GDP)",
  "unit": "",
  "source": {
    "id": "2",
    "value": "World Development Indicators"
  },
  "sourceNote": "Debt is the entire stock of direct government fixed-term contractual obligations to others outstanding on a particular date. It includes domestic and foreign liabilities such as currency and money deposits, securities other than shares, and loans. It is the gross amount of government liabilities reduced by the amount of equity and financial derivatives held by the government. Because debt is a stock rather than a flow, it is measured as of a given date, usually the last day of the fiscal year. Central government is the part of general government that includes all administrative departments of the national executive, legislative, and judicial functions, other central agencies and those non-market producers controlled by the central government, whose competence extends normally over the whole economic territory. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.",
  "sourceOrganization": "Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF)",
  "topics": [
    {
      "id": "3",
      "value": "Economy & Growth"
    },
    {
      "id": "13",
      "value": "Public Sector "
    }
  ]
}