World rankings / DATA EXPLORER

THE GLOBAL INDEX #050

Central government debt2020

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 data50 / 217No observation: 167
First-ranked country or territoryUnited Kingdom194.68 % of GDP

Top 10

% of GDP · 2020
02Singapore
150.82
03Spain
138.96
05Bahrain
111.6
06Bhutan
111.01
07Zambia
103.54
08Mozambique
101.39
09Brazil
98.71
10Iceland
98.47

Complete ranking

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Central government debt · 2020 · % of GDP
RankCountry / territoryValue (% of GDP)Year
01United Kingdom194.682020
02Singapore150.822020
03Spain138.962020
04United States124.512020
05Bahrain111.62020
06Bhutan111.012020
07Zambia103.542020
08Mozambique101.392020
09Brazil98.712020
10Iceland98.472020
11San Marino98.352020
12Jamaica97.872020
13Hungary97.282020
14Colombia91.162020
15Albania83.452020
16Bahamas79.042020
17South Africa75.732020
18Canada74.552020
19Mongolia73.942020
20Burkina Faso73.392020
21El Salvador70.382020
22Jordan69.262020
23Australia69.072020
24Kyrgyzstan67.962020
25Georgia65.192020
26Armenia63.42020
27Malaysia62.012020
28Uruguay60.42020
29Ukraine58.722020
30Andorra52.482020
31Thailand50.342020
32Papua New Guinea48.682020
33Mexico45.842020
34New Zealand45.672020
35Bosnia & Herzegovina45.422020
36Uganda44.192020
37South Korea43.782020
38Tonga43.082020
39Türkiye41.042020
40Nepal39.052020
41Eswatini38.362020
42Peru34.762020
43Moldova33.962020
44Micronesia27.82020
45Kazakhstan23.722020
46Russia22.992020
47Switzerland20.462020
48Botswana19.622020
49Solomon Islands11.462020
50Lesotho2.992020

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 (167)

Afghanistan · Algeria · American Samoa · Angola · Antigua & Barbuda · Argentina · Aruba · Austria · Azerbaijan · Bangladesh · Barbados · Belarus · 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 · Ethiopia · 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 · Malawi · Maldives · Mali · Malta · Marshall Islands · Mauritania · Mauritius · Monaco · Montenegro · Morocco · Myanmar (Burma) · Namibia · Nauru · Netherlands · New Caledonia · Nicaragua · Niger · Nigeria · North Korea · North Macedonia · Northern Mariana Islands · Norway · Oman · Pakistan · Palau · 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 "
    }
  ]
}